Mission Statement : integrating models, getting unstuck, healing, wholeness, grace journey

Mission Statement

Our goal is to help guide individuals, couples, families & children through their healing processes. We see God as being invested in helping to heal past & present woundings & relationship difficulties, because He cares & these things stand in the way of His wholeness (progressive image of Christ) in us. We see counseling / counselling as one piece of how God helps us to get �unstuck� from unhealthy & restricting patterns.

We believe that all truth is God�s truth, & that those who sincerely seek truth will be helped by God to find it, whether they are Christian or not. As such, we are open to learning from & using all forms & elements of counseling / counselling, that do not seem to be heading in directions that are contra-indicated by scriptural truth & values. This would include drawing from psychodynamic, systemic, behavioral, cognitive, narrative, addiction/codependency, play & art therapy models, etc..

We also use & integrate elements from a number of Christian Inner Healing models, & try to move with God in a prayer counseling / counselling format, with those who are open to this. Ultimately, we believe that Spiritual Direction models are probably the culminating component in this growth & healing process.

We acknowledge the very real danger in Christian counseling / counselling of relying on professional models more than on God, & as such giving God mere lip-service as we do our own thing. This problem, however, is equally applicable to using prayer, scripture & Inner Healing models as familiar & comfortable formulas, rather than keeping Jesus as the focus & relying on His gentle movings in our thoughts, feelings & perceptions.

We counsel both Christians & non-Christians within the context of a biblical value base, although we do not push the integration of scripture or prayer where this would be offensive to others. We believe God has called us to be facilitators to the healing process that He is constantly doing in each person. This includes non-Christians, as they seek to sincerely respond to their consciences (Rom. 2:14-15).

We see salvation as meaning �wholeness�, not just in relation to heaven vs. hell, but also here & now in relation to every dimension of our being (emotionally, intellectually, relationally, socially & spiritually). In that we were created in God�s image, we see the process of wholeness as being, us co-operating with God, as He seeks to progressively draw His image & character out of us. We believe that sanctification is God�s ongoing process in all of us, whereby He draws us further & further into the wholeness of the image of Christ, part of which involves healing those things that stand in the way of this.

We are not New Age-ish & do not believe that we are all really God or little gods, merely that wholeness involves being transformed by God, back towards what He intended us to be (1 Cor. 15:45-47). This is a life-long, grace filled journey which we never finish (Phil. 3:12-14), & of which counseling / counselling is only a small part. It does not replace or negate our need of the cross of Christ, as we have all sinned & will never be able to perfectly or fully live �in sinc� with God�s image & character in us (Rom. 7:15-25). Jesus alone did this.

Context of our Value Base

Our counseling services are available to both Christians & non-Christians alike, & for both we integrate our spirituality only to the degree that people request & are comfortable with. We are respectful of others being in somewhat different places than we are in the life journeys we walk out, & are also aware that many have been hurt or offended religiously by others in their past.

We do not try to force our Christian value base or beliefs on others, although it can at times affect what goals we feel comfortable about being able to work on with others, because there are a handful of moral & spiritual issues where we will not be comfortable in counseling contrary to our beliefs. These issues generally do not tend to come up in most people's counseling though.

We come from a spiritual, biblical perspective so when requested we also function as pastoral counselors / counsellors in addition to being professional counselors, marriage & family therapists. We are very comfortable with prayer & the inclusion of scripture where this is requested & desired, yet even then it will be integrated only to the degree that people are comfortable with.

Who we are : MSW 30+ years counseling experience

Please feel free to book Online & Phone counseling appointments as an alternative to our Office appointments