About the Therapist

As a Licensed Professional Counselor, I can help clients from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. I am a graduate of Eastern Mennonite University and I hold both a Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Counseling degree. In addition, I have a wealth of life experience and am very familiar with the challenges of life in a variety of contexts.

As a pastoral psychotherapist, I recognize that spiritual issues are often present during a life struggle. Since pastoral counseling is a combination of psychotherapy and spiritual direction, the practice provides me with the opportunity to help patients work through both aspects of their experience. However, regardless of a patient’s faith orientation, healing the wounds of life is always the goal.

In my work, I combine the knowledge that has been gained through several related fields of study to understand the human experience. We now understand that our way of being in the world is a result of genetics and the environment in which we developed; consequently, our wounds affect a variety of aspects of life. Healing comes through our understanding of how those wounds influence us in life, integrating the events into our life experience, and being accepted unconditionally that provides us with the opportunity for change. The work is often life changing for those who undertake it and to see patients become more joyful and stronger is very rewarding for the client and therapist.

In the field of medicine, psychotherapy is a relatively new field of study. We live in a time of rapidly increasing technology that has provided us with the opportunity to understand how the brain functions and how the body’s various systems are interrelated. I find this work to be very exciting because it provides us with opportunity to eventually track changes in the brain as we do therapy. We know that talk therapy works; there have been many studies that have validated that fact. Now as practitioners, we understand how psychotherapy works and improves the process of healing.

My Approach to Psychotherapy

Telling your story is the most important part of the early stage of therapy and is significant in the formulation of treatment plan that will eventually provide healing and wholeness. Also, telling your story begins the healing process. So, how does your story help me?

Your story gives me insight into who you are; your level of pain, distress and most importantly, how you became who you are and how you view yourself. I also listen to the meaning that you give to the events of your life so that I can understand the way you view the world, those around you, your relationships, your life, and your future. As we move through this stage of therapy, I work very hard at building a trusting relationship in a warm and nonjudgmental environment with the client that will allow us to work together in a way that will be beneficial. Establishing emotional stability early in therapy by introducing a variety of coping techniques for anxiety and depression will also be beneficial. Once this phase of therapy has been accomplished, we’ll look more fully into the formative experiences of your life.

Potential clients with a variety of different issues can benefit from my approach to therapy. Psychotherapy that integrates a variety of approaches tailored to each client holds the greatest promise for success. My areas of specialization include relationship issues, family and couples, anxiety, depression, parenting skills for children with attention deficit disorder and have been diagnosed as Oppositional Defiant, various compulsive and addictive behaviors, parent-child relational problems, issues of adolescence, aging, grief and loss, and a variety of faith issues.

I am experienced in using psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, mindfulness, emotional focused, and narrative psychotherapy. Several of these techniques have been scientifically validated as effective. I am currently investigating energy work as a means of healing as well.

To schedule and appointment please contact me, Bill Huffman at Trinity Counseling Service by calling (540) 943-4222 or emailing me at billhuffman@trinitycounselingservice.org.