A 13-year effort to make professional Christian counseling accessible to everyone in Alabama has resulted in the establishment of 31 counseling sites, with more to come. Currently Pathways Professional Counseling — a ministry of the Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries (ABCH) — is working toward its 32nd site, which will open this year, said Rod Marshall, ABCH’s director of counseling.
The goal is to open four sites in 2008, he said.
The vision is 38 sites by 2010 that place professional Christian counseling within 30 minutes of every Alabamian. Four of the present sites — Brewton, Mobile, Dothan and Birmingham — are freestanding.
The others, however, have come about through partnerships with local Baptist associations, Marshall explained. In most cases, the Pathways counseling sites are at association offices. In Butler Baptist Association, the space for the Pathways counseling site is provided by First Baptist Church, Greenville.
These partnerships with associations minimize the amount of overhead for operating a counseling site and allow the counselors to be situated where the need is.
Marshall noted in some areas, the Pathways counselor is the only presence of professional Christian counseling.
“We’re glad that they saw our need,” said David Patty, director of missions (DOM) for Sand Mountain Baptist Association in northeast Alabama. “It has really been a blessing to our association and to our community in general.”
He explained there are times when people have needs or face situations that pastors do not have the counseling expertise to handle. Before the association’s partnership with Pathways, residents had to travel to Huntsville or Chattanooga, Tenn. — both considerable distances — to receive professional Christian counseling. But now it is available locally at a certain time each week.
Patty said some churches in Sand Mountain Association see this as a ministry opportunity, contributing funds so that those who cannot afford to pay the counseling fee may get the service anyway.
Marshall explained that while there is a fee, no one is turned away and scholarships are available. In addition, counseling is provided to anyone, not just those who attend Alabama Baptist churches, he added.
In fact, Michelle Stiefel, ministry assistant at Sand Mountain Association, estimated that 25 percent of the people who seek counseling through that Pathways site do not attend an Alabama Baptist church.
Marshall said though referrals are not necessary for receiving counseling through Pathways, they tend to come from various sources, such as clergy, schools, pediatricians, the court system and previous clients.
For eight years, Pathways has partnered with Washington Baptist Association. Before the collaboration, people in that southwestern part of the state had to travel elsewhere to get professional Christian counseling. Counting driving and counseling time, that meant the individuals were losing as much as half a day of work, according to Paul Kendrick, recently retired DOM for Washington Association.
With a counseling site so convenient, people are able to go on their lunch hour or after work, he stated.
Kendrick also pointed out that “the Christian element of counseling is very strong and has been very effective.”
Marshall said all of the counselors are Christians and integrate matters of faith into their work.
Pathways began in 1995 with one site and one part-time counselor. It now has 14 counselors, most of whom work two or three sites a week, Marshall said.
In 2007, Pathways counselors gave 8,730.5 hours of service to 2,269 clients seen 11,334 times across the state, he noted. The freestanding center in Birmingham sees more clients than any other site and is looking to expand its services to respond more adequately to inner-city needs.
For more information about Pathways or to find the nearest location, go to www.abchome.org and click on the “professional counseling” tab or call 1-888-720-8805.
Share with others: