Pastoral Counseling

Pastoral Counseling combines theological (an understanding of how God wants us to live) with psychological (proven researched understandings of how our mind works which causes us to behave in certain ways) disciplines.  I have training in both disciplines.  

I have an undergraduate degree in human relations (psychology and sociology) and masters and doctorate degrees in pastoral care from theological institutions.  In addition, I have clinical training in psychiatric and general hospitals as a chaplain and have completed my Board Certification in that field and have 13 years of experience as a chaplain.  I also have over 30 years of experience working with families in a church context. 

No worries.  I work with all kinds of people.  I will not fill our sessions with a lot of “God talk.”  I do acknowledge that God is present in all our sessions. No healing comes apart from God.  From time to time, I will reference God or some passage of scripture, but the goal is not to offend the client.  It’s not my goal to impose my religion or beliefs on the client.  If clients are comfortable, there are times I might pray for them at the end of a session.  I’m always happy to answer faith questions if you have them.  For those clients who are religious, some sessions may include more references to faith issues than others.  Sometimes, faith matters are part of a client’s struggles and we deal with those straight on.  It’s important for clients to know they can be real with me, say what needs to be said, and not be judged.  You will say nothing that I have not heard.  I don’t have virgin ears.

The best thing to do is make the first step.  A marriage cannot heal without two people working together.  However, if one person makes changes, the other cannot help but recognize the effort.  Also, at the first session, I can introduce you to the Prepare/Enrich marital inventory concept.  In fact, you can check it out for yourself now.  Go to Prepare-enrich.com and read about the inventory for marital couples.  I used this excellent inventory to show couples their strengths and growth areas and show them a snapshot of exactly where the most troublesome places are within the marriage and then, through several sessions of counseling, help them strengthen their growth areas to help save their marriage.  I’ve had reluctant spouses look at this inventory and decide to try it and then come to counseling.  This could work for you, too.

I do not accept any form of insurance.  My rate of $110 is a competitive rate compared with other counselors in the area.  While I can schedule a few sessions during the day, I am accessible in the evenings and on weekends.  Many counselors are not.  This makes it convenient for many of my clients because of work issues.  

Most people would rather meet face-to-face and I understand that.  However, the pandemic taught us that meeting virtually has many advantages.  We can meet each other more conveniently and at various times and lose little of the one-on-one dynamics of a conversation.  I have counseled married candidates from Connecticut and Atlanta, and I have clients from Florida, California, and North Carolina.  No one has ever complained about missing anything from this way of doing counseling.  It doesn’t matter if you are just down the street.  If you need counseling, we can find a way and a time to connect!