Christ-Centered Counseling
When people in our Christian community turn to professional counselors for help, it is essential that such help provide biblical solutions that promote godly change. Well-meaning counselors often seek to alleviate symptoms rather than deal with root causes, or they unwittingly encourage superficial change that is inconsistent with deeper dependence on Christ.
Efforts to promote change should do more than simply avoid obvious inconsistency with Christian teaching. Effective, God-honoring counsel should emerge from a biblical view of people, problems, and solutions. An adequate understanding of the human person is not possible without the aid of Christian theology. In our practice, Christian theology is a basic, guiding commitment rather than an afterthought to be integrated. All men are made in the image of God and should be compassionately encouraged to live according to God’s original design.
Our practice is based, very intentionally, on a Christian foundation. Many well-meaning Christian counselors start with psychology as their primary authority and then, in effect, garnish that approach with Christian language. While that may sound preferable to a purely secular method, it is not the same as employing a therapeutic model informed throughout by Christian theology.
Meet the Owners
George Kelly
With over thirty years of counseling experience in hospital and private-practice settings, George Kelly has long been committed to providing lasting solutions to a wide variety of the real-life problems people face. He recognizes the vital link between theology and psychology, and over the years his ongoing study of theology has enriched his understanding as a counselor and as a Christian. Through a lifelong commitment to reading, he has cultivated a deep appreciation for the insights that good literature provides into the human story. The resulting perspective brings more depth to the counseling process than a merely clinical approach.
Mr. Kelly holds a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from Grace Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Michigan State University. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor. He, along with his wife and son, are members of Providence Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Southfield, Michigan, where he serves as an elder.
Tamara Kelly
One of Tamara’s greatest joys is encouraging women in their femininity by offering them the hope found only in Christ during difficult seasons of life. She understands the importance of compassionately listening to their stories in order to guide them wisely through their particular situations. Her education and training as a counselor have provided the necessary Christian foundation from which to address the problems we encounter, and her ongoing study and ordinary life experiences have greatly enriched this understanding. An avid reader, she sees a significant connection between the enjoyment of good stories and the gaining of insight; to this end, her reading list ranges from John Erickson’s Hank the Cowdog series to Augustine’s Confessions. She finds her family and home most enjoyable and can often be found pulling pesky weeds in her gardens or walking her son’s dog while he is away at college.
Tamara is a Licensed Professional Counselor with over thirty years of counseling experience. She has a Master of Arts degree in Biblical Counseling from Grace Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carson-Newman University. She worked in a psychiatric hospital and at a Christian counseling agency before joining her husband, George, in private practice. In addition to providing counseling, she leads women’s groups and occasionally speaks at women’s events on topics relating to the life of a Christian woman. She resides with her husband and their son in Michigan, where they are members of Providence Orthodox Presbyterian Church.