Clinical Counseling, from a Christian Perspective
Helping You Find Holistic Healing
Are you looking for a therapist who will take your spirituality seriously? Are you hoping to work from within your faith framework as you tackle your counseling goals? Many people are hoping to find some kind of bigger meaning within their emotional pain but aren’t sure how to start looking at their challenges in such a holistic way.
I specialize in helping people who are looking for an integration of Christian spiritual practice and a focus on emotional health within their therapy experience.
My counseling practice is a place where spiritual beliefs are respected and seen as a vital part of emotional growth. I welcome life’s biggest questions and honor the ways in which these questions inform our emotional experiences and decisions, big and small. As a therapist with a background in both clinical counseling and Christian ministry, churches and ministries frequently refer people to my practice. Some examples of concerns include:
Relationship problems
Big transitions like birth, divorce or loss of a loved one
Feelings of guilt, inadequacy or shame
Anxiety, panic attacks and self-doubt
Postpartum adjustment issues
Difficulty experiencing spirituality in an emotionally healthy way
Struggles unique to Christan leadership (counseling for pastors, missionaries and other staff of faith-based organizations)
Difficulty finding meaning in everyday life despite a deeply held commitment to Christian beliefs and practice
Why Work With Me?
I am passionate about helping Christians approach difficulties in life honestly and deeply. I do not believe that we need to sugar-coat how we feel in order to approach God. He is big enough to handle what is really there.
In fact, just like a healthy relationship with another human being, a real relationship with God simply cannot stand up under pretenses that exclude our actual experiences and feelings- in all their individuality.
Part of approaching God with our struggles starts with understanding our struggles ourselves. Therapy is a place to slow down, be heard without judgment and to be able to recognize what is going on inside your heart and mind.
In working from a Christian perspective, my approach is not about forcing a set of theological propositions onto the so often hard realities of life. It is about helping clients to explore where they are coming from and finding a way to relate to God from within these experiences, rather than struggling to make these experiences go away. It is about recognizing that as human beings, we are equal parts body, mind, soul and spirit; and that our healing must take place within all of these areas with equal recognition.
A second goal for my work with Christian clients is to help resolve the “symptoms” of emotional suffering, when it is possible to do so. I have expertise in several evidence-based treatment protocols for addressing issues such as anxiety including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), both of which have significant overlap with Christian spiritual tradition and can be very useful in learning how to cope with and manage symptoms.
I believe that helping clients to find spiritual purpose in their circumstances AND resolution for their painful emotions are compatible goals and we will work toward both.
“Emotion is a difficult topic...Peace that passes all understanding is possible, but more often than not it is an occasional refuge that comes only after wrestling with the inner realities of our struggles with life and with God. Therefore, don’t assume that resolving your turbulent emotions is the key to meeting God. It is actually within this inner mayhem of life that a stage is built for the intrusive story of His light and hope. The absence of tumult, more than its presence, is an enemy of the soul. God meets you in your weakness, not in your strength. He comforts those who mourn, not those who are above desperation. He reveals himself more often in darkness than in the happy moments of life.”
Let’s Talk About Where You Are
Trying to work through your thoughts, feelings and spiritual path can be overwhelming when faced by yourself; but I want you to know that hope and healing are possible. Sometimes it just takes the opportunity to slow down, have the chance to listen to your own heart and be able to do so in the presence of a supportive partner on the journey who works hard to understand where you are coming from. I would be honored to talk more about how I might be of assistance to you on your journey toward emotional and spiritual wholeness.