Meet Steve

I grew up in a small Mennonite farming community in West Central Ohio, where I was the second of six children. I moved to Florida as a 19-year-old, where except for two years, I have lived ever since. I am a graduate of Florida Bible College (B.A. in Bible), Grace Theological Seminary (M.A. in Christian School Administration), and the University of Florida (M.Ed., Ed.S., and Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Counseling).

Counseling was a change of profession for me at the age of 40, although it seemed a natural extension of my earlier vocational roles as a city personnel administrator, a pastor, and a Christian school principal. Originally coming to the University of Florida to pursue a doctorate in education, I sensed a strong
internal nudge in a different direction during my first semester. Through a series of events, it became clear to me that I was more drawn to and better suited for a career in counseling than in school administration. How thankful I was during the ensuing years to be able to filter my university counseling studies through the grid of years of seeking to walk out a faith journey. Consequently, the integration of Scripture with counseling theory and practice became an area of great passion for me.

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I served my counseling internship in a private practice setting and have had my own private practice since becoming dual licensed in 1999 as a Marriage and Family Therapist and a Mental Health Counselor. I enjoy individual counseling but find myself devoting much of my practice to working with couples—as not all counselors feel comfortable with the lively dynamics and intensity that such work often entails. 

Because making sense of conflict-ridden marital dynamics is such an area of passion for me, my doctoral dissertation research study involved the recruitment of 132 married couples—with whom I analyzed the factors that affect a couple’s ability to give empathy and support to one another during times of distress.

I have the blessing of being married to a wonderful woman, Joanna—who directs Grace Encouragement Ministries: A not-for-profit Christian ministry, which includes the Deborah’s Daughters year-long mentoring program that well over a thousand women in this community and beyond have completed since the first group in 2005.

​Joanna makes our home a place of warmth and refuge from the rigors of counseling couples. Opposites as to personality type, our own marriage serves as a rather lively laboratory for putting to the test the kinds of
communication dynamics that I seek to teach others—so that marriage can be a source of growth and security and not a source of stagnation and heartache.   

An avenue of joy for us are our adult children and grandchildren—the latter of whom keep us on our toes and young at heart. My primary hobby is distance running at a rather plodding pace. After running four half-marathons and a Ragnar Relay (Miami to Key West) when I was in the 60-64 age bracket, I have
recently resumed training to see how my times will compare to those of my age-mates in my present 70-74 age bracket. Our yellow lab Puddin’ often accompanies me on shorter runs. The fact that I am a middle-of-the-pack runner seems not to dampen her enthusiasm anytime I ask the magic question: wanna go for a run?!?

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​God has given us the privilege of partnering closely with believers representing a broad cross-section of churches in Gainesville and the surrounding communities. These opportunities have come through
counseling, through the earlier-mentioned activities of Grace Encouragement Ministries, and through my partnership with Matt Kern in leading and further developing a 10-month men’s mentoring program—The Reinstatement Project.

While deeply shaped by my own faith, I recognize that God has many times seen fit to bring to me for counseling those who either do not share that faith or who have experienced disillusionment in earlier seasons of their faith journey. For these—and for all—I endeavor to provide a safe place and a judgment-free zone to explore my clients’ own goals for growth and change. I consider the opportunity to serve in such a role as a sacred privilege—no matter the world view of those seeking my help.
 

Affiliated with my counseling practice are two other licensed counselors—whom I intentionally sought out to join me in the practice because they are not only like-minded, but also exceptionally skilled with specific populations and in particular areas of counseling needs. There will be times when someone has sought me out for counseling because of my name recognition, that I will encourage them to consider another counselor within the practice who may have greater expertise in a specific area than do I. Examples include working with addictions, resolving sexual trauma, parenting teens, working with those with depression and anxiety, and others. I encourage you to read the information about the other counselors on this website to see who might provide the best fit for your counseling needs.

Affiliated with my counseling practice also are four interns under my supervision as they move toward licensure. Because I get far more requests to provide supervision than I have time and space to accommodate, I have the benefit of handpicking interns who are both likeminded and exceptionally
gifted as counselors. Not only does the utilization of an intern provide greater affordability for those where licensed counselor fees stretch their budget, I can honestly say that there are certain populations and counseling needs where I have an intern who is unquestionably a better fit than am I.

I welcome you to a community of counselors and interns who love one another and are passionate about helping others. May you find this to be a growing and healing experience!