SERVICES AT THE WARMING HUT

Couples Counseling:

This work repairs exhausting and negative communication cycles. It rebuilds emotional bonds and reaffirms the original attachment bonds in the relationship.

Read More About Couples Counseling

Men’s Issues:

An understanding, compassionate and nonjudgmental approach is the cornerstone of this work. Marriage and family reconciliation is the goal. In between is much emotional, cognitive and behavioral work. This service works best in conjunction with group therapy.

Family Counseling:

This work starts by determining the core issue in the family conflict. Using an understanding of the family’s losses, griefs, roles, rules, relationships, structure, secrets, power, cohesion and adaptation to change, this work identifies solutions and articulates a roadmap for change.

Substance Abuse Counseling:

The premise of substance abuse counseling at The Warming Hut is that the opposite of addiction is connection. Addictions, whether they be substances (such as pot, alcohol) or behaviors (such as pornography, internet), are an escape from true intimacy. Unfortunately, the escape becomes an attachment that has rewired the brain. This work uses the classic theory on stages of change to move the addicted person off of denial towards relationship.

Workplace Chaplain:

A workplace chaplain creates relationships in the workplace that provide a safe place for employees to seek help with personal, marital and family problems, issues that rob them of productivity on the job. Creating this role within the workplace communicates very loudly that management cares.

Faith Integration:

Integration of faith is always by the client’s choice and is always in service to treatment goals. Since faith can an extremely sensitive topic, it is helpful for clients to know that, as a chaplain, I am ethically obliged to be nonjudgmental and nondiscriminatory towards persons of any faith or no faith. If the client desires this service, together we seek to integrate the faith perspective into the treatment.

Christian Counseling:

For the client who needs an explicit Biblical foundation for counseling, I start with the treatment goal. Thinking Biblically about their life, marriage, family and community I frame therapy using Biblical concepts. The goal is to align the client’s  life with Biblical principles.

Methods of Counseling

The methods I use address problems in these areas: relationships, sexual addictions, substance abuse, addiction or dependency, depression, anxiety, anger, and other issues. I customize evidence-based practices to meet uniquely personal needs.

Change is a process with discernable stages. I help persons move from denial to thinking about change. Then talking about change. Then making plans for change, taking action and solidifying the gains. This is hard work but I can help you engage your own ambivalence and create solutions based on your strengths and values.

Results are more permanent if accomplished in the context of marriages and families. Some families are bent, others are broken. Together we repair, reconcile, forgive and heal so that therapy can end and families have take-home skills.

I focus on positive, future-oriented solutions based on strengths. While it is true that problems are often rooted in the past (and I honor that), it is also true that solutions can be brainstormed based on your strengths and what is already working in your life.

I believe every person, marriage and family has a purpose. This can be discerned by the values you cherish, your career or vocation, your philosophy of life or what faith animates your spirit. The work explores your purpose and aligns your behaviors, beliefs and emotions accordingly. If you can hitch your wagon to a purposeful star, you can avoid driving into the ditch!

In summary, my methods are a customized blend of working through change, family healing, strengths-based solutions, and purpose-driven work. As we work with these methods, and as the warmth and healing of the Warming Hut touches your heart, then we can write a new story for your life.

INTEGRATION OF FAITH AT THE WARMING HUT

Always the Client’s Choice

Integration of faith is always by the client’s choice and is always in service to treatment goals. Since faith can an extremely sensitive topic, it is helpful for clients to know that, as a chaplain, I am ethically obliged to be nonjudgmental and nondiscriminatory towards persons of any faith or no faith. If the client desires this service, together we seek to integrate the faith perspective into the treatment.

Christian Counseling at the Warming Hut

For a client who needs a more explicit Biblical foundation for counseling, I start with the treatment goal. Thinking Biblically about their life, marriage, family and community I frame therapy using Biblical concepts. The goal is to align the client’s  life with Biblical principles.

Here are some examples. For a man who struggled with sexual addictions, we framed therapy through a lens of grace, forgiveness and marital reconciliation. For a couple who struggled with multiple, complex problems, Biblical concepts of suffering helped them gain meaning and purpose. Concepts of mutual submission and servanthood helped redefine their marital cycle of criticism and withdrawal. Forgiveness helped them move forward from unhealed wounds. For another family who struggled with control and fear, the story of Jacob’s family, with its dysfunctional roles, helped frame a change process for family members to shift into new roles and allow the son to “leave and cleave” to his new family. Thus what the family members had meant for their own purposes, was redeemed by the Holy Spirit into something that benefited everyone.

Sample Interventions for Christian Counseling

Faith integration is not the same as a sermon, preaching or teaching. It is not a Bible study. Using a variety of theoretical interventions, the knowledge of faith is moved from the head to the heart. For some this may be experiential work involving the practice of meditations and prayer. For other clients, behavioral and mindfulness interventions using spiritual disciplines can awaken the heart and renew relationships. These might be quietude, fasting from media, observing the sacred or letting the Spirit teach through scriptures. For other clients, a solutions-focused approach might be better suited.

However the integration of faith works for you, the result can help you understand the spiritual nature of a problem, create a new narrative that aligns with Biblical principles, and focus on change in a manner congruent with your spiritual beliefs. The result is a more holistic life with integrity to your beliefs and values.

THE PROMISE OF THE WARMING HUT

Eighteen years in the private sector pounded into me the absolute necessity of making every customer my top priority, ensuring satisfaction of service and honoring each customer as a unique person. Thus, when you are my client, you are the boss. You are entitled to know what I am doing and why. All my work is transparent in the Warming Hut. You can terminate at any time. You are entitled, and encouraged, to get a second opinion at any time. You can change therapists at any time.

Since you are paying the bills and taking the time to drive out of your way to my office, I consider it my duty and privilege to provide the best possible service with the highest respect. I promise to you that I will never discriminate, pre-judge or waver in my hope for you based on anything—culture, race, sex, faith, no faith, orientation, or preference or anything. When you come to the Warming Hut, you can be always be assured of safety and be confident of these qualities in our relationship: honor, respect, and non-discrimination.

Ready for Positive Change?

Take the first step towards warmth, understanding, and positive change. Explore our services in detail and choose the path that aligns with your needs. Click below to begin your journey with The Warming Hut.

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