Counselors
Jimmy Adkins
Jimmy holds a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Liberty University. Jimmy has spent the past six years working in the communications department at CCEF. He is married and has two young boys and a daughter. Jimmy enjoys coffee and reading, long walks outside with his wife, and chasing his little ones through the house.
Laura Andrews
Laura has a Master of Divinity degree in Counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Missouri. She completed the CCEF internship prior to beginning her work as a counselor and has participated in various ministries through her church. She is the Counseling Intern Coordinator and teaches the Counseling Observation Intensive class at CCEF. She enjoys cooking with her husband, Joel, photography, singing, playing games with friends and listening to movie scores.
Joel Bassett
Joel holds an M. Div. degree in Counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary, as well as a B.S in Psychology from Belhaven University. In addition to serving as a Counselor, Joel also works as the Events Administrator at CCEF. He has served as a community group leader at his church for many years, and has additional experience in college ministry as well as extensive experience in music ministry. He loves playing the piano, cooking meals for friends, Sacred Harp singing, Marilynne Robinson’s fiction, and Wendell Berry’s poetry.
Cecelia Bernhardt
Cecelia is the director of counseling and is a faculty member at CCEF where she has served for more than 10 years. She holds an MDiv from Westminster Theological Seminary and has earned the advanced counseling certificate through CCEF. She has worked in various Christian ministries for many years, including women’s ministries at her church. She enjoys her large family, reading, music, and flowers—live and in watercolor.
Wendy Budnick
Wendy is a counselor at CCEF. She has a Masters of Arts in Counseling from Biblical Theological Seminary. She has been counseling at CCEF for over a decade. She has also worked in ministry with her church, including teaching, leading small groups, in addition to working with youth and young adults. Wendy is married to her husband David and they have four children. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, music, the beach, swimming, and spending time with friends and family.
Mike Emlet
Mike is a faculty member at CCEF where he has served for more than 15 years. He holds an MD from the University of Pennsylvania and an MDiv degree from Westminster Theological Seminary. He worked as a family physician for twelve years before joining CCEF. Mike has counseled for many years and is the author of CrossTalk: Where Life and Scripture Meet, which explores the use of Scripture in counseling. Mike is married to Jody, and they have two children. He is active in his urban church and enjoys gardening, camping, and creating wheel-thrown pottery.
Monica Kim
Monica teaches Essential Qualities of a Biblical Counselor at CCEF. She has worked in church ministry for more than fifteen years and is currently a part of the pastoral staff at her local church. As a part of the staff she speaks, teaches Bible studies, leads women's groups and counsels youth and families. Monica has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Toronto, Canada and a Master of Arts in Religion from Westminster Theological Seminary. She is married to Danny, an ordained Pastor, and they have three boys.
Katie Leander
Katie has a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts in French and Spanish from Dartmouth College. She completed an internship at CCEF and has counseled in partnership with CCEF and her church, New Life Philadelphia, in the northern Philadelphia community where she and her husband, Chris, live and work. Katie has lived and worked cross-culturally and has experience working with children and youth ministries both locally and in Honduras. She and her husband have three children and enjoy playing outside, exploring parks and cities, gardening and reading.
Esther Liu
Esther graduated from Westminster Theological Seminary with a M.A.R. in Biblical Studies and a M.A. in Counseling. She holds two B.A. degrees in Political Science and Chinese, with a minor in Psychology. Esther has been involved with campus ministry and youth group ministry in the past, and has also completed counseling internships with Philadelphia Renewal Network (PRN) and CCEF. In addition to serving as a counselor, Esther also works as the executive assistant and faculty administrator at CCEF. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family, reading, music, and being outside in nature.
Gregory F. Lowe
Greg has a depth of training with a Master of Divinity degree from Westminster Theological Seminary, a Master of Social Work from the University of South Florida and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Florida Institute of Technology. His many years of counseling experience include formal counseling and counseling the severely mentally ill. He also has work experience in hospice and end of life issues. Greg and his wife, Julie, have five children and serve as foster and adoptive parents. He enjoys hiking and outdoor activities, weight lifting and keeping up on health issues.
Julie Smith Lowe
Julie is a faculty member at CCEF where she has served for more than 15 years. She holds an MA in counseling from Biblical Theological Seminary. She is a licensed professional counselor with over fifteen years of counseling experience. She has extensive experience with women’s issues, sexual abuse, body image issues, parenting, and child maltreatment issues, and regularly speaks at events on these topics. Julie is also a registered play therapist and has developed a play therapy office at CCEF to better serve families, teens and children. Julie has trained a therapy dog that she works with both professionally and on a volunteer basis. Julie and her husband, Greg, have five children and serve as foster and adoptive parents.
Matthew Marshall
Matt has a Master of Arts in Counseling at Westminster Theological Seminary. He has four years of experience working with people with physical and mental disabilities, and has also served as a youth minister for two years with his wife Sarah. Matt loves to spend time with his wife and young son, and also likes to read, play board games, and to pretend that he’s a tea snob.
Janet Nygren
Janet has a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary and a BA in Anthropology from Stanford University. She has many years of experience in ministry through the local church, particularly with women’s ministry and small groups. Besides completing the CCEF internship, she has counseled at a crisis pregnancy center, and through referrals by local pastors, both in the US and in Malaysia, where she served for a number of years with her husband, Tom. She is the mother of two adult children, whom she loves to visit. She also loves learning about other cultures (and their food), enjoying the outdoors, watching movies, and playing Scrabble.
Raja Paulraj
Raja Paulraj has a Master of Divinity degree in Counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. He is trained and certified as a Medical Doctor and Psychiatrist in India. After graduating medical school, Raja worked in rural medical mission hospitals throughout India to promote community based health care programs. He is a non-resident scholar at the Center for Spirituality, Theology, and Health, Duke School of Medicine, NC. His special interests are spirituality and mental health research and church and mental health with the special focus of encouraging church to be a healing community. Raja and his wife, Jessica, have 4 sons who fill their days with joy and endless energy. When Raja is not studying, he enjoys exploring new places with his family, cricket matches with sons, and always has a cup of chai or coffee in hand.
Aaron Sironi
Aaron Sironi is a faculty member at CCEF and the counseling training coordinator. He holds an MS in marital and family therapy from Fuller Theological Seminary. Aaron is a licensed clinical professional counselor in the state of Montana and has counseled in biblical counseling ministry, community mental health, psychiatric hospital, and outpatient settings. He has a passion for building strong relationships with local churches and loves to come alongside pastoral ministers through consultation, training, and counseling services. He moved from Montana to Pennsylvania but continues to enjoy many of Big Sky Country’s outdoor activities with his wife, Kellie, and their five energetic children.
Darby Strickland
Darby has a Master of Divinity degree in Counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bio-psychology from the University of Chicago. She has been doing formal counseling for over a decade. In addition to serving as a missionary to Northern Ireland for two years, she has also supported the ministry of the church as a speaker at women's retreats, bible study teacher, and support group leader. While focused on marriage and family counseling, Darby has a special interest in working with abused and developmentally delayed children. She and her husband, John, have three young children. Her hobbies include photography, swimming, reading, and word games.
Todd Stryd
Todd is the counseling coordinator and a faculty member at CCEF where he has served for more than 10 years. He holds a PsyD from Immaculata University and an MDiv from Westminster Theological Seminary. His dissertation work explored the relationship between a reformed Christian narrative and the experience of schizophrenia. He has experience as a hospital chaplain, crisis worker, and university counselor. Todd is married with three children. He considers himself a coffee connoisseur and fills his off days with reading Winnie the Pooh and making Lego creations.
Ed Welch
Ed, M.Div., Ph.D. is a counselor and faculty member at CCEF where he has served for more than 35 years. He earned a Ph.D. in counseling (neuropsychology) from the University of Utah and has a Master of Divinity degree from Biblical Theological Seminary. Ed has been counseling for over thirty years and has written many books and articles on biblical counseling, including When People Are Big and God Is Small; Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave; Blame It on the Brain?; Depression; Running Scared; Shame, Interrupted; and Side by Side: Walking with Others in Wisdom and Love. He and his wife, Sheri, have two married daughters and eight grandchildren. In his spare time, Ed enjoys spending time with his wife and extended family and playing his guitar.
Lauren Whitman
Lauren holds a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. Before beginning her work as a counselor, Lauren was a high school English teacher. In addition to serving as a counselor, Lauren also works as an editor for the Journal of Biblical Counseling. Lauren is married and has two children. She enjoys reading and writing, book clubs, cooking, and big cities.
Jamie Yoo
Jamie has a Master of Divinity degree from Westminster Theological Seminary, with training in East Asian Studies and Spanish language and culture from Colombia University. She is returning as a counselor to CCEF, having worked here before leaving to plant a church overseas with her husband. She has worked as a pastoral counselor in a church setting and currently has a private counseling practice in NYC. Jamie is also a recitation instructor in our school of biblical counseling. She has worked in children and youth ministry, discipleship, leadership training, and prayer ministries. She has been married for over 10 years.
Counselors in Training
Counselors-in-training are counselors at CCEF who have graduated from our intern program and are now operating in the capacity of first year counselor.
Paige Poole
Paige has a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of North Texas in International Studies, focusing in Peace Studies. She has taught counseling, and led group counseling and discipleship in the local church context. Paige plays a mentoring role with young people both in counseling and ministry contexts.
Interns
Samuel Alex
Sam has a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary, with a BA in Biblical and Theological Studies from Biola University. He is currently pursuing a PsyD in Clinical Psychology at Immaculata University and through that program has worked with children, families, and groups on trauma and a variety of other issues, with social services, and with sexual offenders. Sam is working with Dr. Todd Stryd as his supervisor while he interns at CCEF. He has also ministered to children and youth, the homeless, and through missions in the church context. Sam is married.
Jacqueline Mize
Jacqueline has a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. She is working with Cecelia Bernhardt as her supervisor while she interns at CCEF. Jacqueline has her own counseling practice in a local church. She has counseled in a church context in various capacities for over 15 years. Jacqueline is also a recitation instructor for our school of biblical counseling. She is married and has four children.