The Department of Counseling and Pastoral Care (CPC) is piloting a new counseling clinic on the Asbury Theological Seminary Wilmore campus starting Feb. 13. Services are provided free of charge to Seminary students and families. The clinic is located in room 408 of Stanger Hall and is open Tuesday thru Thursday from 5-8 p.m.

Counseling students at Asbury Seminary are trained to integrate psychology and theology in a thoughtful and practical approach to personal concerns. The clinic allows counseling students to learn to balance that integration in a professional environment, and provide the community the opportunity to see a counselor who is theologically mindful, while addressing mental health needs.

“It is our department’s opportunity to provide a ministry to the school,” Dr. Russell Hall, Director of Training for the Department of Counseling and Pastoral Care, said. “We’re not only about sending students into the world to help others. We want to practically and immediately impact the campus community, both in the students we are training and students’ mental health and career/calling needs in the larger community.”

Student counselors, ready for field placement, will provide direct services to the Seminary community. These student-counselors work under the supervision of a licensed mental health professional, as they would at any location, to complete professional training.

To protect confidentiality, students will not be assigned a counselor they know. Counselors and clients will discuss ways to keep the sessions safe, and any interactions outside the clinic will be as anonymous as the client chooses.

“This is a good opportunity for these students to practice the counseling ethics they have learned in class,” Hall said. “The clients define what safety looks like for them, and then it is up to the counselor to maintain those boundaries in accordance with professional standards, something that all professional counselors provide for their clients.”

Counseling students are trained in a variety of therapeutic interventions to meet these mental health needs:

  • Depression and anxiety
  • Grief
  • Stress management
  • Marriage and family relationships
  • Career and Calling
  • Spiritual issues in the context of mental health

The CPC Clinic will continue to work with the Office of Community Formation to address the needs of students who are currently enrolled at the Seminary. Students coming to Community Formation in need of counseling services will be referred to the CPC Clinic first. Students in need of formal prayer ministry or spiritual direction will be referred to the Office of Community Formation. Students also have the choice to be referred to off-campus counselors.

For more information, or to schedule an appointment, visit asbury.to/cpcclinic.