Having surrendered my life to Christ at 17, from the get-go I have been intrigued with possible intersections of mental health treatment theory and treatment with biblical faith in God through Christ Jesus.  Having served for over 20 years in the pastorate, for three years as a pastoral counselor in an international biblical counseling ministry (whose founder stressed the importance of a biblically balanced and psychologically informed approach), and for 9 years as a Licensed Professional Counselor and mental health provider,  I remain convinced that Jesus Christ is the quintessential safe attachment necessary for the healing journey, One Who keeps His promise to never leave us or forsake us, to be with us, “even until the end of the age”.  I have also experienced (many times in the school of suffering) that God desires a personal relationship with us, that as we begin to give up our self-reliance and lower our self-defense mechanisms, God in Christ can be trusted to empower, lead and guide us in our healing journey as our closest friend and most trusted confidant, as the One who always sees us, always hears us, and is always tender toward our vulnerability; as the One Who is always eager to be with us, always ready to help us find our way home where we can finally rest in our God bestowed, blood bought, grace-based identity as His cherished children; where we can finally experience freedom in Christ, deeper intimacy with God, ourselves, and others; and deep integrative healing and wholeness in the context of God’s unbounding love, grace, mercy, and truth. By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone!  Indeed, there is work to be done to progress in our healing, but we never do it alone, and it is not according to our own strength or resources.  And it is not just Jesus and us in sweet communion.  By God’s design, a substantial provision for our healing journey is to be found in and through His church, the company of the committed.  It is here among God’s people, that God intends for the hurting to unashamedly and courageously face their pain and distress, confess their brokenness and confusion, and receive Christ-centered encouragement and hope with Christ, the Good Shepherd, leading the way.  It has been by God’s grace and mercy that Ellen (my wife) and I have been able to share over 48 years together as a part of God’s redemptive family called to join Christ Jesus as He binds up broken hearts, sets captives free, and proclaims “the favorable year of the Lord”.  As such, both of us share a passion to help the Church, as the body of Christ, to learn how to more redemptively come alongside of our brothers and sisters in Christ, who many times suffer alone and often feel misjudged or misunderstood – all the while still longing for the love, hope, and encouragement that can only be truly realized in and through the body of Christ. With this burden in our hearts, Ellen and I founded Christ at Centerpoint in 2025, as a non-profit ministry of discipleship, equipping, and encouragement.  Having developed specializations in Christ-centered trauma therapy and sex therapy while earning my degree in professional counseling, my heart continues to go out to followers of Christ who, despite their sincere devotion to Christ, continue to report feeling stuck and unable to enjoy a reasonable level of relief in the aftermath of past interpersonal injuries and losses suffered.  Precious brothers and sisters in Christ who continue to suffer with emotional pain and distress, even spiritual oppression, anger, fear, distrust, isolation, guilt, and shame, despite determined efforts to forgive their offenders, continue to risk relationships, and put their past in the past. Based on biblically sound and psychologically informed research and reflections, my desire and passion is to guide the hurting to capitalize upon the findings of interpersonal neurobiology, especially for them to realize in Christ Jesus the quintessential safe and qualified attachment, Who promises to anchor us all as we press forward.  What I have observed, time and time again, is that as clients learn to rest in Christ as their primary safe attachment, they are able to remain within their window of tolerance more often, lessen the likelihood of overwhelm or re-traumatization, and enjoy more of “the rest of grace”.  While I am working with clients, as they are learning to find in Christ a safe attachment, I do encourage clients to establish a working relationship with a psychiatrist or medical care provider, to manage potential hyperarousal and lower the likelihood of overwhelm during treatment so that they can more readily engage in the hard work of reprocessing incompletely processed traumatic content, a necessary component of effective trauma treatment.  I also encourage Christ-followers to enter more deeply into a Psalm 139 way of life, where they can begin to form the habit of inviting Christ, through the ministry of His Holy Spirit, to uncover any “anxious ways” within them, places in the heart where they, like we, have inadvertently adopted faulty thinking and entertained unhelpful and inaccurate meaning-making that may have contributed to the unnecessary perpetuation of our suffering.  What I have observed and experienced is that Christ is fully capable and eager to help us replace those anxious and inaccurate thought patterns with solid life-giving truth that can and does set us free.  My observation is that God did not design our hearts to accommodate unhealthy and detrimental thinking and that our hearts just cannot heal until those faulty patterns of thinking are challenged and replaced with truth.  If you would like to explore the possibility of us working together, with a focus on your trauma treatment, I would be honored to provide you with a free 30-40 minute, no-obligation, telehealth consultation to get to know you, answer any questions you may have, and help you explore the treatment approach I have found helpful. All my sessions are by telehealth and you must be in the State of Tennessee to receive mental health treatment, the state where I am licensed.  If clients are struggling with suicidal ideations, as many with complex trauma histories do, I ask that you maintain a working relationship with a psychiatrist to help regulate your affect and provide more immediate care, should you require a higher level of care. All treatment sessions are scheduled as two back-to-back 50 minute sessions.  This provides for better traction and an optimal model for trauma treatment for most.  Also, know that I have retired from full-time service in the mental health field to advance the ministry of Christ at Centerpoint, so my availability is limited to Tuesdays and Wednesdays. For those who live in other states, you are welcome to access helpful resources for the journey, by visiting us at christatcenterpoint.org or to listen to our podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or other podcast platforms. Though Christ at Centerpoint is a discipleship, equipping, and encouragement ministry, many of the topics covered can be of help to all followers of Christ, whether they are on their own journey toward healing, or are seeking to offer informed and compassionate care to another. Blessings for the journey!  Stuart Coleman, LPC