September 18, 2017

For the last 11 years I have had the privilege of serving Pastor Jim Garlow as Skyline’s Counseling Pastor.  But I also run a non-profit professional counseling organization, Center for Enriching Relationships, (CER), whose mission will greatly benefit you, your congregation, and your community.  CER places Christian Masters-degreed interns (working toward licensure under supervision) and licensed therapists in churches just like yours all over San Diego County with over 20 sites (check out the map here!).  I have seen a huge benefit in these churches by offloading the senior pastors and freeing them up to lead their flocks. 

Our vision is to have over 100 sites in San Diego County and you can help.  Two things we ask from you:
1. An office space—a room not needed for your staff at select time intervals you designate—suitable for private counseling for         your members.
2. Promote the therapists’ availability to your congregation.  

We give you CER’s phone # for them to call to explain our services and make the one hour appointment with the therapist.  We can also provide flyers for your bulletins, sharable media for your social channels (Instagram, Facebook).  You simply provide the space and we take care of the rest!

Since CER’s founding nine years ago we have perfected the implementation of our mission: to actively enrich and support personal, relational and family healing within the church and community.  Our 20 contracted sites, most of them churches like yours, are providing professional Christian therapy at a substantially reduced fee.  We use a sliding scale based upon income and family size, and further assist our registered interns with the availability of a co-pay/ scholarship fund.  For example, your member might be asked to pay just $35/session, 25% of the going rate for licensed therapists in this area.  Across all of CER, 60% of clients receive up to a 75% reduction in fee, making this counseling truly affordable for all.  One of our tag lines is:  YOU HURT. WE HELP. YOU HEAL!  

Along with offering low income therapy with our interns we are also partnering with Point Loma Nazarene University’s Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling program where we offer a graduate student in training for $10 per counseling hour.  We are not only seeking to help those that desperately need help, we are also helping to train the next generation of Christian counselors.

I know you may have many questions about our therapeutic protocol, qualifications of our therapists, how they might work with you even to counsel your own staff.  In fact, if you or your family is in need of professional counseling, I am setting aside five hours per week in my personal practice here at CER to better serve San Diego's pastoral families.  We have references, a solid track record and reputation in San Diego County, and, of course, could connect you directly with one or more pastors already using a CER therapist at their church if you wanted their perspective.  Please feel free to explore our website for biographical information and qualifications on our staff, our board, and our therapists.  

Please consider taking advantage of this opportunity for you, your church and your community to be ministered to.  We especially want to reach those who are socio-economically underserved or in any way believing professional therapy is beyond their reach.  These resources are intended to make your church healthy emotionally, a key to their being more open to receiving the Good News that you preach. 

Call our CER main office in Mission Valley at 619-858-3105 or contact our Office Manager, Denise Ammann, with the form below to indicate your further interest in our ministry.  We’ll shortly get in touch with you.  We’re truly eager to make you more effective at leading your church by decreasing your workload, ministering to your community, and we can do this by placing more therapists in more sites throughout San Diego County.  Are you ready to let us help you change your community for the better?

Sincerely,

Donald W. Welch, Ph.D., LMFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
License #LMFT 50129
Founder & Executive Director
Center for Enriching Relationships, Inc.
P:  619.865.4447