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Counseling at CCEF

Our Counselors

our Counselors

Biblical counseling at CCEF

Due to a high volume of requests, we currently have a limited capacity for counseling. We give priority to those local to Glenside, PA. We will do our best to accommodate you; if we are unable, we will provide you with some outside counseling options.

Explore our counselor map below for an ever-growing list of biblical counselors in an area near you.

Our Counselors

Aaron Sironi

Aaron is a faculty member and counselor at CCEF, where he has served since 2008. He holds a master of science in marital and family therapy from Fuller Theological Seminary and has earned counseling certificates from CCEF. Aaron is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) and has counseled in community mental health, psychiatric hospital, and outpatient settings. He has a passion for building strong relationships with local churches and coming alongside pastoral ministers through consultation, training, and counseling services. In addition to his work at CCEF, Aaron serves on the board of CCEF Montana, an affiliate counseling office in Billings, MT. He lives in Big Sky Country and enjoys all its outdoor activities with his wife and five children.

Alasdair Groves

Alasdair is the Executive Director of CCEF, as well as a faculty member and counselor. He has served at CCEF since 2009. He holds a master of divinity with an emphasis in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. Alasdair co-founded CCEF New England, where he served as director for ten years. He also served as the director of CCEF’s School of Biblical Counseling for three years. He is the host of CCEF’s podcast and is the co-author of Untangling Emotions (Crossway, 2019). Alasdair lives in New England with his wife and three children. He is a fiction enthusiast, plays ultimate frisbee, and loves to produce and enjoy good food and good music.

Brandon Peterson

Brandon has a master of divinity with an emphasis in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. He has ten years of ministry experience in counseling addictions, leading group counseling, and teaching in the local church context. He completed the CCEF counseling internship under Todd Stryd. Brandon and his wife welcomed their daughter in August 2023. He enjoys spending time with family, music, reading, exercise, camping, and spending time outdoors. 

Carly Robinson

Carly is the Director of CCEF's School of Biblical Counseling and has served at CCEF since 2013. She holds a master of arts in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary and has many years of ministry experience teaching, speaking, and counseling in the local church context. Her counseling interests include difficult breakups, developmental disabilities, and maternal health issues. Carly is married and has two active boys. In her limited free time, she can be found hunting for great picture books, enjoying music, writing, and discovering the outdoors with her family.

Cecelia Bernhardt

Cecelia is a senior counselor at CCEF, where she has served since 2004. She holds a master of divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary and has earned the advanced counseling certificate from CCEF. Cecelia has counseled in the local church context and held leadership roles in women’s and singles ministries. She has a particular burden for counseling victims of childhood sexual abuse. She enjoys reading, flower arranging, and spending time with friends and her large family.

Darby Strickland

Darby is a faculty member and counselor at CCEF, where she has served since 2003. She has a master of divinity with a counseling emphasis from Westminster Theological Seminary. Darby brings particular passion and expertise in helping the vulnerable and oppressed, especially women in abusive marriages. She has contributed to Church Cares and the PCA Domestic Abuse & Sex Assault church training materials. She has counseled in a missionary church setting and has also held leadership roles in women’s ministry. She is the author of Is it Abuse? (P&R, 2020), has written a handful of minibooks, and has contributed to several other books. Darby is married with three children. She enjoys playing strategy games with her family, kayaking, and swimming.

Ed Welch

Ed is a faculty member and counselor at CCEF, where he has served since 1981. He holds a doctor of philosophy in counseling (neuropsychology) from the University of Utah and a master of divinity from Biblical Theological Seminary. Ed is a licensed psychologist and has been active in local church ministry for decades. He has written numerous books, including When People Are Big and God Is Small (P&R Publishing, 1997), Shame Interrupted (New Growth Press, 2012), Side by Side (Crossway, 2015), and Created to Draw Near (Crossway, 2020). Ed is married with two adult daughters and eight grandchildren. He enjoys spending time with his wife and extended family and playing a few of his musical instruments.

Esther Liu

Esther is a faculty member and counselor at CCEF. She has a master of arts in religion with an emphasis in biblical studies from Westminster Theological Seminary, as well as a master of arts in counseling. Since joining CCEF in 2015, Esther has served various roles, including as a counseling intern, the executive and faculty assistant, and a content editor. Esther has a passion for bringing biblical reframing to a person’s struggles and also holds deep concern for the importance of attending to multicultural aspects of counseling. She is the author of Shame: Being Known & Loved (P&R Publishing, 2022). She enjoys enjoys hiking, beach trips, and reading.

Greg Lowe

Greg holds a master of divinity with an emphasis in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary and a master of social work from the University of South Florida. He currently works as a hospice social worker and has additional experience working with youth in alternative school settings and with the severely mentally ill. Greg and his wife have five children and serve as foster and adoptive parents.

Janet Nygren

Janet has counseled at CCEF since 2016 and served as an online instructor for the School of Biblical Counseling for 10 years. She has a master of arts in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. Janet has many years of experience in ministry, including cross-cultural counseling both in the U.S. and in Malaysia, working with women and small groups in the local church, and counseling at a crisis pregnancy center. She has published a number of Bible study guides and has written for the Journal of Biblical Counseling. Janet is married with two adult children and three grandchildren. She enjoys reading to her grandchildren, watching birds with her husband, and exploring the Great Outdoors, especially when she can do it from a kayak.

Jill Butler

Jill is the Director of Operations and a counselor at CCEF, where she has served since 2021. She is also an online instructor for the School of Biblical Counseling. She has a master of arts in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. Jill has counseled for over twelve years in the local church as well as over four years in a biblical counseling center. She enjoys being with friends, reading, cooking, and anywhere with a tide.

Kathie Donaldson

Kathie has counseled at CCEF since 2019 and serves as an online instructor for the School of Biblical Counseling. She holds a master of arts in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary and a master of arts in counseling from Western Kentucky University. At Missio Seminary, Kathie earned a certificate in advanced professional counseling. She is a trained trauma healing facilitator and has counseled for over twelve years in private practice, as well as in the local church context and through women’s ministry. She is married with five adult children, one with special needs, and three grandchildren. She enjoys reading, being with family, walking outdoors, off-roading, beach driving, and traveling.

Lauren Whitman

Lauren is a faculty member and counselor at CCEF, where she has served since 2010. She holds a master of arts in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary and a certificate in advanced professional counseling from Missio Seminary. Lauren also serves as the developmental editor for the Journal of Biblical Counseling. Through her work with the Journal, she brings experience and skill for developing authors and their writing. She also has a particular interest in biblical counseling methodology and in marriage counseling. Lauren has published multiple books, including A Painful Past(P&R Publishing, 2020) and A Biblical Counseling Process (New Growth Press, 2021). Lauren is married with two children. She enjoys exploring Pennsylvania’s creeks with her kids and exploring Philadelphia's restaurant scene with her husband.

Mike Emlet

Mike is a faculty member and counselor at CCEF, where he has served since 2001. He holds a doctor of medicine from the University of Pennsylvania and a master of divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary. Prior to joining CCEF, Mike worked as a family physician for eleven years. He has particular interests in working with ministry leaders and with those who struggle with anxiety, depression, and OCD. He has published numerous books, including CrossTalk (New Growth Press, 2009), Descriptions and Prescriptions (New Growth Press, 2017), and Saints, Sufferers, and Sinners (New Growth Press, 2021). Mike is married with two adult children. He enjoys gardening, camping, and various artistic endeavors.

Paige Comer

Paige has counseled at CCEF since 2018. She has a master of arts in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. She has taught counseling and led group counseling and discipleship in the local church context, and she plays a mentoring role with young people in both counseling and ministry contexts. Paige is married and enjoys cooking, flower arranging, and singing in the car with her husband, Jeff.

Todd Stryd

Todd is a faculty member and the counseling coordinator at CCEF, where he has served since 2005. He holds a doctor of psychology from Immaculata University and a master of divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary. He has experience as a hospital chaplain, crisis worker, and university counselor. He has written a minibook entitled Schizophrenia: A Compassionate Approach. Todd is married with three children. He enjoys spending time with his family, landscaping, staying active, and visiting his home state of Michigan in the summer.