Jim understands the thoughts and feelings that occur when stress, depression, anxiety, and relationship challenges are inhibiting your decision-making and ability to take charge of your day. He will provide you with effective strategies from a Christian perspective to manage your concerns. He can assist you with understanding your relationship conflicts and provide techniques for you to create better communication and connection with those important to you. Jim can help you by listening to your story and evaluating which strategies and techniques may most benefit you. He uses recent, research-based methods to quickly move you on your path to meaning, purpose, and success at home, work, and play. Jim is an experienced licensed professional counselor (LPC) in Georgia and a nationally board-certified counselor with the National Board of Certified Counselors. He founded and currently directs Advent Counseling and Training Services, Inc., established in the metro Atlanta, Georgia area. At the beginning of his career, Jim worked as patient care coordinator, program therapist, and partial hospital director in area hospitals treating adolescents and their families.

Brent is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Play Therapist in Cumming GA. Since 2010, he’s been helping couples, children, teens, and individual adults improve their relationships, navigate change, and learn new ways of coping with the challenges of life. Brent works with a wide range of client populations, but a common thread through all sessions is a deep passion for enhancing relationships and communication. No matter whether a client is 3 years old or 83 years old, being able to sustain healthy relationships and communicate about needs and wants is central for happiness, success, and well-being in life. This applies in relationships with others, but also in the relationship people have with themselves. Though he considers his formal training in the mental health field to be valuable, it is his experience as a client in therapy that has best prepared him to be of help to others. Brent has experienced tremendous growth and healing through the therapy process, and it motivated him to make a midlife career change to become a therapist. Brent has been happily married since 2010 and has two children.

I am a licensed clinical psychologist and certified psychoanalyst. I received my doctorate in clinical psychology from Rosemead School of Psychology (2010). I then went on to get my post-doctoral certificate in psychoanalysis from the Brookhaven Institute (2017). I specialize in working with mood disorders (anxiety, depression, bipolar), OCD and more complex personality and relational issues.

Jessica Slovensky is a highly qualified mental health professional with over 20 years of experience. Holding licenses as a Professional Counselor and a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, along with being a Nationally Certified Counselor, Jessica is dedicated to providing top-notch care to her clients. She is also recognized as a Board Certified TeleMental Health Provider, offering convenient video or telephone sessions to clients throughout Georgia. Jessica's educational background includes a bachelor of science degree in psychology and sociology from Charleston Southern University and a master of education degree in counseling from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. She is licensed as a Professional Counselor in Georgia and was previously certified as a Nationally Certified Addiction Counselor, Level II. Her commitment to her field is further evidenced by her former membership in the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC). Passionate about facilitating each client’s journey toward relief and insight, Jessica employs a solution-focused approach. Her goal is to empower clients to overcome challenges efficiently, always striving to deliver the highest quality service tailored to the individual's needs. She firmly believes in working herself out of a job by addressing issues effectively and promptly.

A native of Atlanta, Rebecca has been counseling for more than six years. She has a wide range of experience that led her to counseling, including serving in a college ministry, studying overseas, working in human resources, and helping with leadership development. She believes it is a privilege to be a part of someone’s journey toward healing. “You will be secure because there is hope,”(Job 11:18) has been a significant verse in her life and healing. As a therapist, Rebecca has a heart to help people regain that sense of hope. She wants to walk alongside her clients to provide support and encouragement as they explore more about God, themselves, others, and the world so they are able to thrive.  Rebecca has a specialization and experience working with many clients with all levels of trauma. She believes that all kinds of trauma deserve recognition and healing… from “little” to “big.” A strong believer that relationships and connection, both past and present, have a huge impact on our lives, Rebecca strives to build a strong therapeutic relationship with each client in order to partner with them. This partnership will enable an individual to feel secure enough to be able to explore different aspects and issues in their lives.

Wendy’s journey to becoming a therapist began as a desire to help others through encouragement when she was very young. As an educator, mother, and minister's wife, she has been learning how to create and sustain a spiritually and emotionally healthy life, marriage, and family for more than 28 years. Her family spent more than 12 years living in a cross-cultural environment. Wendy knows what it feels like to be an outsider and misunderstood, facing circumstances beyond her control. Her compassion for others has grown as she has faced trials that have taught her to let go of fear and judgment. She strives to live daily in a spirit of grace toward herself and others, remembering the grace that she has been given throughout her lifetime. Wendy earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Valdosta State University in 1993. After returning from three separate tours as a cross-cultural worker in Central Asia, she attended Richmont Graduate University, earning a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling and a certificate in marriage and family therapy. She worked with children, adolescents, and families under board-certified art therapist Teresa Woodruff's direction at Art It Out Therapy in East Cobb. There she learned to incorporate creative expression into various therapy modalities, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and person-centered and group therapy. Wendy also worked with individual adults and couples at Hope Counseling Center in Marietta. To further her work with couples and families and gain a better understanding of the role of attachment in relationships, she studied emotionally focused therapy (EFT) under James Hawk, PhD., LPC. Wendy is in the certification process for EFT. Wendy receives strength and encouragement from her faith in Christ and believes it informs every area of her life. As a follower of Christ, she is compelled to love others as she has been loved. To Wendy, that includes respecting the personal beliefs of others, even if they differ from her own. She hopes that every person she is with experiences compassion and a nonjudgmental spirit from her. If incorporating your personal faith into therapy is something you want, Wendy will gladly do so. However, she will not force her beliefs on you. Wendy welcomes clients from any faith or with no faith background at all. Wendy loves working with school-aged children, adolescents, individual adults, couples, and families. She believes that play is the primary language of children and incorporates creative expression, play therapy, and games into her work with them. She also uses media and art therapy with adolescents—and adults! Wendy believes everyone can benefit from creative expression. She has a passion for working with couples and families and has chosen EFT as her primary therapy model. According to authors Candice C. Beasley and Richard Ager (2019), EFT is one of the most effective, researched-based, relational therapies for couples. Having experienced EFT as both a client and therapist, Wendy can vouch for its effectiveness. At Family Renewal Counseling in Woodstock, she is now under the direction and supervision of Christie Poole, MS, LMFT, and board-certified supervisor Erin Holcomb, MS, LPC.

Children and young adults have such unique issues to navigate in today’s world. As a Licensed Associate Professional Counselor, Ashleigh creates a space for them to process where they are, no matter what that looks like. Ashleigh specializes in working with clients who struggle with anxiety, depression, life changes, and adjusting to different phases and stages of life. Young people are constantly growing and changing. She works with clients to process their growing pains through self-expression. As a former school counselor, Ashleigh has a heart for helping young people overcome challenges and realize their strengths. Expressive arts and creativity are often at the core of sessions. Whether it’s writing, drawing, or other forms of art, these can be used to help clients process and externalize even the most challenging emotions. Ashleigh’s biggest goal is for people to be able to utilize their passions in the healing process. She guides clients in taking ownership of their story and experiences.  When she’s not with clients, Ashleigh spends time supporting her alma mater, the University of Georgia! Go Dawgs! She is currently under the supervision of Catherine Baxter, CPCS 2069.

I take seriously the privilege of journeying with clients through the process of healing. My desire is to create a safe place to heal and grow in an environment where you feel honored and respected, have space to process life issues and relationships, and can determine and work toward your goals. I specialize in neurobiological treatments such as brainspotting and EMDR, which provide deeper healing for trauma and areas where you might feel stuck. I love working with those who feel voiceless and struggle with codependency, as well as helping individuals find greater meaning and purpose in life. I work with couples at all stages (dating, preengagement, engagement, marriage, divorce, and remarriage) develop greater intimacy in all aspects of their relationships. My life motto is: "Don't waste your pain." In life, pain is inevitable. The many ways we try to push it away, anesthetize it, or avoid it can further wound us and cause damage to us and our relationships. But when we allow it, pain can be a powerful tool in the father’s hand for change and growth. I am a member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT) and the Southeastern Brainspotting Institute. I am a certified Brainspotter and will complete Level 1 IFS (Internal Family Systems) in December 2023. I’m trained in EMDR and certified in PREPARE/ENRICH for premarital couples.

As a therapist, Michael is a compassionate pastor who is not afraid to encourage you to grow. He believes God gives each of us the strength we need to become all he desires us to become and to grow our marriages into the intimate unions God designed. His workshops and seminars have touched many couples in the Southeast. He is a regular speaker at national AACC (American Association of Christian Counselors) and CAPS (Christian Association for Psychological Studies) conferences and works with other pastors, counselors, and therapists in the Christian community. Michael has been working with couples in a variety of capacities since 1987. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Georgia, a Certified Sex Therapist, and an ordained minister with The Wesleyan Church. Michael received his M.S. in Community Counseling from Georgia State University and a diploma in Christian counseling from Psychological Studies Institute. He also has a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia in Child and Family Development/Marriage and Family Therapy. He specialized in marital sexual therapy. His dissertation was on “Discrepancy in Married Couples.”

Jennifer is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) specializing in child, adolescent, adult, and couples counseling. Her office is located on Sandy Plains Road in Marietta, Georgia. Jennifer received a Bachelor of Science with an honor of summa cum laude in social sciences from Mercer University and a Master of Science in clinical mental health counseling also from Mercer University. She has specialized training in marriage and family therapy, play therapy, faith-based counseling, and narrative therapy. Jennifer has experience working with children, adolescents, adults, and couples with a variety of concerns such as behavior problems, past trauma, self-esteem issues, anxiety, depression, and relationship issues. Her therapeutic perspective is existential and integrative. She draws a great deal of inspiration from some of the original innovators in therapeutic processes, such as Alfred Adler, Virginia Satir, Viktor Frankl, and Milton Erickson. Jennifer provides support and practical feedback to help clients effectively address personal life challenges while offering a highly personalized approach that is tailored to each client.