This service is for clergy or anyone in ministry who wants to heal from their past and grow as a leader. You may be recently ordained and feel stretched thin by all the demands on your time. You may be decades into your ministry, battling congregational politics and spiritual exhaustion. You find yourself competent in some tasks and hopelessly lost in others, but are expected to be a jack of all trades. You just want to serve God but find yourself overwhelmed when it comes to leading people or executing events. You find a tension between who you are publicly and privately, and often feel like a hypocrite with no one to be fully yourself to. You may have doubts, problems, fears, or depression — but have no one to talk with who wouldn't complicate things within your church.

You feel isolated and lonely in a job built around people. You may find yourself going through the motions, serving God and people while your heart feels so distant from the work. You spend so much time and energy caring for others but feel neglected at the end of the day. The beliefs you held years ago have shifted, but you don't want anyone to think that you are deconstructing or abandoning your faith. You feel a constant pressure to be "on" — a pressure to perform, to lead, to know every answer, and to always say the right thing. The list of people you can confide in is slim and your family sees you inconsistently. Sleep doesn't come easy. Maybe your struggles become more and more private because you think that if you share them with your staff or friends, they will remove you from ministry.

At your worst, you feel hopeless and alone. You feel angry and threatened by the very people you are trying to serve. You might feel sad or afraid but don't want to deal with the stigmas of depression or anxiety. You wish you could reclaim some of the passion you used to have, but often find yourself jaded and cold. Sometimes you may even feel angry at God, or at least distant from God.

For many clergy in the DFW metroplex, the root causes of their overwhelm can come from a breakdown in one of these areas:

• Attachment Insecurity: How we were parented — or not parented — provides a foundational aspect of our personality, which contributes to how we interact in relationships and in the workplace.
• Burnout: Demanding and inconsistent schedules can disrupt any potential for healthy routines or meaningful relationships. This disruption can contribute to compassion fatigue, exhaustion, and a lack of care toward the very people they want to shepherd.
• Trauma: Unresolved wounding can perpetuate cycles of abuse and victimization, which keep us unable to develop and grow.
• Isolation and Loneliness: Without anyone to confide in, any leader will fail to thrive. The pressure of keeping all mistakes, issues, problems, and emotions bottled up will lead anyone to either implode on themselves or explode onto others.
• Loss of Purpose and Misalignment of Values: Often engaging in action driven by external factors — like power, status, or the expectations of others — can lead to emotional fatigue and a loss of identity or purpose.

I use a combination of Family Systems therapy, Attachment science, and Relational Psychodynamic therapy to help clergy heal from the past and become better leaders. Family Systems therapy values the context you were born into and the relational patterns you learned. Attachment science provides a foundational understanding for how you grew up, how it shaped your personality, and where the healing needs to occur. Relational Psychodynamic therapy guides us as we navigate your defenses, coping strategies, and your meaning for life.

This is not just an interest for me — I see it as a calling to help clergy in the DFW metroplex navigate issues of the soul in relation to their work. With a Doctorate in Professional Counseling, I have extensive training and years of experience helping with these specific issues. I also stay current in the field, consult, and train with other clinicians so you can experience long-lasting change.

People in ministry often tell us that they begin to:

• Sleep longer and more soundly at night
• Feel more connected to a sense of purpose in their daily lives
• Be more present with the ones they love
• Engage in a sense of calling and spiritual connectedness again
• Feel a sense of peace with their family history and their past
• Set boundaries between their vocation and home life with confidence
• Become the kind of person they are proud of

This kind of therapy will involve deep work in a collaborative and exploratory space. I'm here as a guide and expert on therapy, while you are an expert in your life and experience. You and I will work together in a confidential environment and unpack all that you are facing, both in the present and in the past — and you can set the pace.

In our first session I want to hear all of the stress you are experiencing, as well as get to know your history and background, which will provide context for our work together. Our first sessions are a place for you and me to get a sense of what treatment would look like and see if we are a good fit together.

Often the stress and patterns clergy find themselves in have been a lifetime in the making and will take extensive work. However, you will likely begin to feel a positive shift in your life within the first four to five months.

I recommend in-person therapy whenever possible to create a safe relational space. However, I do offer virtual options when necessary to accommodate my patients' busy schedules.