Dr. Fred and Mrs. Connie Van Tatenhove celebrate the dedication of the Van Tatenhove Center for Counseling on the Asbury Seminary campus.

Asbury Seminary celebrated the dedication of the Van Tatenhove Center for Counseling on November 15 and 16.  For the last two years, this counseling and training service has been available for limited hours on the fourth floor of Stanger Hall.  Now in the newly renovated bottom floor of the Old Free Methodist Church/Cowen Building, the Van Tatenhove Center for Counseling (VCfC) will offer daytime appointments for currently enrolled students and their families. In the near future, the VCfC will offer extended hours and expanded services, not only reaching the Seminary community, but also individuals and families in the Bluegrass Region.

“I am so thankful for the fulfillment of this dream to provide affordable and professional counseling to those in need, not to mention an amazing center to help train future licensed counselors,” Dr. Timothy C. Tennent, President of Asbury Seminary, said.

The Van Tatenhove Center for Counseling is named in honor of Dr. Fred Van Tatenhove, Professor of Counseling at Asbury Seminary for over 30 years. Building on that legacy, his son and daughter-in-law, Gregory and Christine Trout Van Tatenhove, continued his vision with the expansion of the counseling program to include this center at Asbury Seminary.

“We are so grateful to our generous friends who made this new space possible,” said Dr. Steve Stratton, Professor of Counseling and Pastoral Care at Asbury Seminary. “We believe the Van Tatenhove Center for Counseling is becoming an integral part of the Seminary community, offering confidential and professional care to students and their families, while also training our advanced counseling students to provide service that integrates faith and formative practices for the whole person. We are excited to have a dedicated area that highlights the long term impact our dear friend and visionary colleague, Fred Van Tatenhove, has had on counseling and pastoral care here at the Seminary.”

The Van Tatenhove Center for Counseling provides an important environment for student-counselors to go beyond the classroom — to practice this integration of behavioral science, Christian theology, and spiritual formation that they will take into the professional world. The VCfC offers discreet and convenient access for the campus community to receive mental health and career counseling and consultation. Advanced student-counselors, trained to do field-placement and just months away from full-time jobs, provide professional counseling services free of charge to currently enrolled Asbury Seminary students and their immediate families. Student counselors are supervised by licensed mental health professionals.

The following areas are commonly addressed in counseling sessions:

  • Depression and anxiety
  • Stress management
  • Relationship struggles
  • Grief and loss
  • Marriage/Family struggles
  • Prepare-Enrich assessment
  • Calling and Career discernment
  • Spiritual issues in the context of mental health

“I hope the Center for Counseling grows beyond the Asbury Seminary community to serve the greater Jessamine and Fayette County communities,” Dr. Fred Van Tatenhove said. “There’s a real need for families and individuals to have access to affordable, professional counseling to help them unravel their issues, process and find a resolution.”

To learn more visit Asbury.to/counseling.