Middle Name
Finney
Barbara Benfield
Mental Health Coach, Personal/Life Coach
About
Helping you move from overwhelmed to clear, structured, and grounded in truth.
Barbara Finney Benfield is the Founder and Co-Director of Mourning Dove Discipleship Counseling, Inc., a Christ-centered nonprofit ministry devoted to biblical discipleship, spiritual formation, and personal restoration. She integrates Scripture-based guidance with structured coaching principles to help individuals move from confusion to clarity, and from feeling stuck to taking meaningful, forward steps.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, uncertain, or in need of direction, Barbara provides a space where biblical truth and thoughtful guidance come together with both care and clarity. Her approach is compassionate yet structured—helping individuals not only understand where they are, but also how to move forward with purpose.
Barbara’s walk with Christ has been marked by seasons of personal refinement, deep study of Scripture, and a growing conviction that true transformation flows from the Word of God applied faithfully to daily life. Her own journey of learning to surrender self-reliance and embrace biblical truth as the foundation for growth has shaped her passion for helping others move from confusion to clarity and from stagnation to forward movement. She believes discernment and disciplined obedience are essential companions in the Christian life.
Barbara became a counselor and coach out of a long-standing desire to see individuals strengthened spiritually and emotionally. Through years of ministry involvement, discipleship leadership, and structured coaching development, she recognized the need for biblically sound, ethically grounded, and practically structured support systems within churches and recovery environments. This led her to develop organized coaching frameworks that help individuals identify obstacles, clarify goals, and implement sustainable change.
She is a Board-Certified Life Coach and has completed the Foundations of Mental Health Coaching through Light University/American Association of Christian Counselors. Her work focuses on discipleship-based life coaching, leadership development, ministry alignment, emotional resilience, boundary formation, and strategic life transitions. She also assists ministry leaders and organizations in building structured discipleship and credentialing pathways that maintain both spiritual integrity and operational clarity.
Her specialties include faith-integrated coaching, executive and ministry leadership coaching, recovery ministry support structures, vision-to-action planning, and discernment in complex life decisions. She is particularly passionate about helping clients bridge the gap between spiritual conviction and disciplined execution.
Barbara serves individuals and ministry leaders in Western North Carolina and surrounding communities, and also provides structured coaching support through virtual sessions when appropriate. She and her husband, Heath, are active in ministry partnership and are committed to serving the local church with humility, biblical conviction, and practical wisdom.
Her approach is Scripture-centered, growth-oriented, and forward-focused—helping clients move toward alignment with both biblical truth and purposeful action.
She also incorporates strengths-based insight to help individuals better understand how they are uniquely wired and how to move forward effectively.
Provider details
Website
https://clearresolvecoaching.wordpress.com
Clinician's Sex/Gender
Female
Handicap Accessible
Yes
Cities
- Lenoir
- Morganton
- Hickory
- Boone
- Granite Falls
Counties
- Caldwell
- Catawba
- Burke
- Buncombe County
ZIPs
- 28645
- 28655
Teleheath
Yes
Psychosocial Evaluations (Non-psychologist psychotherapists)
- 60 min
Individual Sessions
- 50-60 min
Medication Management
- 20-30 min
Other Sessions
- Family Sessions
- Group Therapy
- Telehealth
Legal/Court Forensic Evaluations
- Disability
Psychological Testing
Yes
Ages
- Adult (18-70)
- Senior (70+)
Special Populations
- Pastors/Missionaries and their spouse/children
- Ministry Leaders
- Disabled
Talk Therapies
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT),
- Interventions for unhealthy patterns of decisions/behaviors
- Problem Focused Therapy
- Strength-Based
- Motivational Interviewing
Strengths
- Spiritual struggles
- Work Issues
- Self esteem
- Career counseling
Agree with the AACC Doctrinal Statement
Yes
Do you agree with the AACC Ethical Position
Yes
Do you utilize homework’s assignments for patients to do in between sessions?
Yes
What type of treatment approach do you utilize most frequently?
- Solution focused approach
How direct is your approach with patients?
- I share my insights, opinions, views and expertise with the patient
Cost Per Session
Individual Sessions
60 min 75
Payment Methods Accepted
- Credit Card
Do you accept payment plans
No
Do you provide or work with an organization that provides loans for treatment
No
Educational History
- School:Liberty University
- Degree:Graduate School
- School:Laurel University
- Degree:Undergrad
Years In Practice
15
Professional Associations
- AACC
Calendly Embed Code
Do you agree that counseling is not fully Christian if a counselor’s faith shapes their posture but not their methods?
Yes
Why?
I believe that while a counselor’s personal faith should certainly shape their posture—informing their compassion, humility, and ethical integrity—counseling cannot be considered fully Christian if faith remains only an internal influence and does not meaningfully inform the methods used. A truly Christian approach to counseling integrates both heart and framework: the counselor’s character reflects Christ, and the guiding principles, goals, and interventions are rooted in biblical truth. When faith shapes only demeanor but not methodology, the practice may be morally informed by Christianity but not distinctly Christian in substance. For counseling to be fully Christian, Scripture must influence not only how we relate to people, but how we understand the human condition, define growth, and pursue transformation.
Do you agree that the deepest personal help a person needs cannot be fully received apart from faith in Christ, even through counseling?
Yes
Why?
Yes, I believe that the deepest personal help a person ultimately needs cannot be fully received apart from faith in Christ. Counseling can offer insight, coping strategies, emotional stabilization, and meaningful behavioral growth, and these are valuable gifts of common grace. However, the most profound human needs—reconciliation with God, transformation of the heart, freedom from the dominion of sin, and restoration of identity—are spiritual realities that Scripture teaches are accomplished through Christ alone. While counseling may address symptoms and patterns, the deepest healing involves regeneration, renewed affections, and alignment with God’s design, which come through a living faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, counseling can support and guide, but the fullness of lasting transformation is ultimately rooted in faith in Him.
Do you agree that Scripture speaks authoritatively to the deepest roots of human problems?
Yes
Why?
Yes, I believe Scripture speaks authoritatively to the deepest roots of human problems. The Bible does not merely address behavior or surface struggles; it speaks to the condition of the human heart, the reality of sin, the effects of brokenness, and the need for redemption and renewal. While psychology and counseling disciplines may offer helpful observations about patterns and processes, Scripture uniquely reveals the spiritual foundations of human struggle and God’s design for restoration. It provides not only diagnosis but hope—pointing to Christ as the source of forgiveness, transformation, and lasting change. For these reasons, I hold that Scripture is sufficient and authoritative in addressing the deepest issues of the human soul.
Do you agree that it is not appropriate to support or affirm a client’s chosen course of action when it conflicts with Scripture, even in the name of autonomy?
Yes
Why?
Yes, I believe it is not appropriate to support or affirm a client’s chosen course of action when it clearly conflicts with Scripture, even in the name of autonomy. While I deeply respect personal agency and recognize that individuals are responsible for their own decisions, a distinctly Christian counselor is also accountable to God’s revealed truth. To affirm what Scripture identifies as harmful or sinful would compromise both biblical integrity and genuine care for the person. Love, in a Christian framework, does not mean uncritical approval but faithful guidance rooted in truth. Therefore, while I seek to listen with compassion, preserve dignity, and avoid coercion, I cannot ethically endorse choices that stand in direct contradiction to God’s Word. My role is to counsel with grace and clarity, allowing the client to choose their path while remaining anchored to biblical conviction.
Do you agree that people do not possess all the internal resources needed for truth and healing apart from God, regardless of insight, support, or time?
Yes
Why?
Yes, I believe that people do not possess all the internal resources necessary for ultimate truth and healing apart from God, regardless of insight, support, or time. Human beings are created in God’s image and therefore possess remarkable capacities for reflection, resilience, and relational growth; however, Scripture teaches that our deepest need is spiritual renewal, not merely increased self-awareness or external support. While counseling can foster insight, coping skills, and meaningful progress, the fullness of truth about the human condition and the deepest healing of the heart come through God’s revelation and transforming grace. Apart from Him, growth may occur at behavioral or emotional levels, but the restoration of identity, reconciliation with God, and enduring spiritual renewal are rooted in His work. Therefore, I affirm both the value of counseling tools and the necessity of dependence upon God for ultimate healing and truth.
Which state(s) do you offer Telehealth
- NC
