Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris O’Rear.
Hi Chris, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I had been working as an alcohol and drug counselor for a couple of years when I entered a training program in pastoral psychotherapy. I already had a Master of Divinity in Pastoral Care and Counseling and had also done some work as a hospital chaplain. I completed my residency at the Pastoral Counseling Centers of Tennessee, Inc. (PCCT) in 1999 and began working for PCCT. In 2004, I completed a Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy and completed the requirements for licensure in Tennessee. I continued working in a variety of roles at PCCT until 2016. At that time I was the Executive Director of the organization and the Board of Directors began pushing for changes in the organization that did not fit with my understanding of my role or the nature of the organization. I left what was then called, “Insight Counseling” and went to work briefly for a group counseling practice in town. Having spent most of my professional career in a nonprofit pastoral counseling center, the environment was culture shock to me that did not fit how I understood my work. I did learn much from that practice and in 2017, I opened my own practice in partnership with Belle Meade United Methodist Church. This arrangement of working in a church setting felt more comfortable to me. At that time, I was a solo practitioner, and my company was simply called, “The Counseling Center at Belle Meade United Methodist Church”. In 2018, I met a new therapist that had moved to Nashville from Georgia and was referred to me by a mutual friend about job possibilities. As we talked about her options for work, I had the epiphany, that I could share my office with her in an arrangement that would be mutually beneficial. In 2019 I was approached by two therapists who had interest in starting counseling offices in two different churches. Though 2020 was a difficult year to start something new, I opened two offices in two different churches. It no longer made sense for the company name to be tied to one location and so, I changed the name to “The Counseling Center, PLLC” and each location then became a DBA of it, “The Counseling Center at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Tullahoma, Tennessee and St. Philips Episcopal Church in Donelson. The location in Tullahoma closed when the counselor that worked with me there moved to another state. In 2023, I opened a new location at Springfield First United Methodist Church. Belle Meade United Methodist also allowed me to have additional space within their building. Currently, The Counseling Center, has six therapists working out of three locations in Middle Tennessee. I could not have imagined this expansion when I first opened the practice in 2017, but am grateful for those who work with me and the services we are providing to the community.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When I opened my practice in 2017, I brought a handful of clients with me to the new practice, but growth was slow. I got close to the place that I was not sure that I would make it, but at about six months, the calls began to come and have continued. As we have grown, I have not sought to open new offices, but others have sought me out about the possibility of putting an office in their church. Not all communities that have reached out to me have been able to work out the details of having a counselor in their building, but it has obviously worked for some. I have not faced the significant challenges that others face in starting a new business. Around the first anniversary of my opening the practice, a series of events led to my being interviewed for story in the Tennessean about pastors’ ability to offer help to those who struggle with mental health issues. I was featured in a picture on the front page. The timing of this article always felt like a divine affirmation that I was on the right path. A framed copy of that article now hangs in my office as a reminder of the encouragement that I expereinced in that moment.
We’ve been impressed with The Counseling Center, PLLC , but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Tennessee is one of a handful of states that has a license of pastoral couselors. There are currenlty about 30 “Clinical Pastoral Therapists” in the state. The requirements to become a pastoral therapist are currently being revised at the state level and in our professional organizations. The requirements that I had to meet when I was being trained included a Master of Divinity (or equivalent), a Master’s degree in counseling, a self-reflective ministry experience, like Clinical Pastoral Education (a training for chaplains), and completion of some form of training to integrate all of this learning into a meaningful clinical practice. Ordination and endorsement by a faith group were also required for those who were in tradtions that offered it. Though strenous enough that fewer and fewer people chose this path, this work has felt like my “home” since I first discovered it. I am an ordained minister and I am currently endorsed to the work of pastoral counseling by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Pastoral Counselors are generally rooted in their own faith tradition but are open to seeing clients who do not identify with that faith, or any faith for that matter. We don’t require our clients to talk about matters of faith or spirituality, but are open to do so when a client wants to. We are trained to listen for and utilize both implicit and explicit spiritual resources, we seek to help clients overcome traits and challenges that keep them from living into all that they were created to be and help them find a more meaningful connection with themselves and others.
In 2024 I had a book published by Smyth & Helwys publishers called, “Therapeutic Friendship: Cultivating Relationships that Heal” that was written to be a practical and accessible guide for relationships using principles and concepts that I have gained through my own training and experience both as a therapist and as a longtime client in therapy.
What matters most to you?
People have asked me why I am a pastoral counselor (as opposed to another type of counselor) and my response has often been, “Because I am”. I have learned a great deal about myself by being a client in therapy, but I have never been able to separate my therapy experiences from questions, reflections, and growth in my own spiritual life. I do not know how to separate those parts of myself, and I believe that good care of others does not seek to fragment them either. My understanding of my own faith is now rooted in a goal to love others well. I have had the experience of being loved when I did not feel loveable and it was transformational for me. I seek to be open to others and to learn from them. I have sought to offer this approach to life not just to my own family, but to others. It is easy to love others who love in return. I find it easy to find compassion for those who struggle with a variety of issues or conditions. It is the people that I do not find loving or that are intentionally cruel that challenge me. I fail regularly at offering love, grace, and kindness to others, but I think every encounter, whether confrontational, challenging, or compassionate, should flow from a place of love that sees another person as fellow human on a common journey.
Pricing:
- The regular fee charged by therapists in my practice varies by license and years of experience.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.TheCounselingCenterLLC.com
- Instagram: @CounselingCenterLLC
- Facebook: TheCounselingCenterLLC
