SUPPORT, COUNSELING, AND CARE-SPECIFIC RESOURCES FOR BOTH CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS
Our counselors provide care to educators at various levels – from junior high teachers to universtity professors – as well as the full range of church staff, ensuring emotional support and mental wellness throughout both groups.
It’s vital that school counselors and educators manage stress to foster a healthy classroom environment for the children under their care. Similarly, church staff need authentic, Christ-centered guidance to navigate the spiritual and personal challenges so they can effectively and compassionately serve their members and their community.
Churches, Ministries and Clergy
More than 50 years ago, The Center was founded as The Pastoral Counseling Center as part of a movement by ministers who recognized the value of clinical training in pastoral care and saw their role as pastors as helping professionals providing emotional support for their congregations. The provision of “pastoral counseling” recognized the influences of both spirituality and psychology on the lives of those they served and added intentional theological reflection to the psychological care they provided.
While our services and reach have expanded, we remain a trusted resource for ministers and ministry leaders who would like support providing mental health services and education to those they serve and to ministers who need support for challenges in their own lives. With a new name – but the same mission – The Center encourages the church to join forces with us in de-stigmatizing mental health issues and counseling and provide preventative education.
OUR MINISTRY-RELATED SERVICES INCLUDE:
- Training and mental health education for church leadership & staff
- Informative workshops, retreats and presentations for church members and the community on topics such as communication, parenting, marriage, emotional health challenges, and grief – workshops can be held for Sunday School classes, other church events and the community
- Individual and family counseling for ministers and church staff
- Ministerial candidate evaluations and programs
- Articles on mental health for church communications
Counseling within Churches
The Center provides counseling within churches enabling churches to make counseling accessible to the church and community. An agreement allows for The Center to provide counseling within an established office at the church with all financial and clinical processes being managed by The Center.
- The church is able to promote the collaboration as support for the congregation and as a way to be a resource to the community.
- The Center carries the liability and the liability insurance for the services offered.
- Clients pay for their counseling either on their own or using their insurance.
- The church offers space comfortable for counseling with families and easily accessible within the church with signage directing the way to the office.
- The church commits to promote the work of The Center to the congregation consistently.
- An agreement signed by The Center President & CEO and a church official outlines all details of the collaboration.
Interested in Counseling Services for Your Church?
School and Education Collaborations
We believe education is power. The Center provides mental health education, faculty training, and parent education in schools, including schools in the Highland Park ISD and Dallas ISD. The Center provides leadership to the Social and Emotional Health Professional Learning Community for SMU's The School Zone, a collaboration of organizations and schools serving West Dallas.
Staff from the Center presented at Highland Park ISD’s winter professional development conference leading talks for teachers, administrators, support staff, and school counselors and psychologists.
We also participate on a mental health task force for the Park Cities made up of educators, mental health professionals, school administrators, and law enforcement.
Interested in Counseling Services for Your School?
Our team of counselors are always excited to help our community. Let us know if there is a subject your team would like to hear from an expert about and we’ll get something on the schedule!
Corporations and Nonprofits
The Center provides training and education, crisis intervention, and therapy to a wide variety of corporate and nonprofit agencies. From staff meetings to leadership and Board retreats, our expert team speaks to a wide range of applicable topics. Examples are nonprofit compassion fatigue, maintaining boundaries, and volunteer trainings to corporate burnout, mental health warning signs, self-care, and mindfulness practices.
From prevention to intervention, The Center is a trusted resource for education and therapy. We are humbled to serve as first responders to mental health emergencies; whether providing an immediate consultation, onsite counselor(s), or individual therapy sessions, responding to unexpected events is a privilege we take seriously.