1. What kind of counseling do you provide?

At SCG, we provide professional counseling, psychotherapy, and evidence-based treatment modalities to persons struggling with a variety of issues including stress, self-esteem, guilt, anger, depression, anxiety, grief, marital and family conflict, domestic violence and child abuse, peer pressure and parenting, life changes, illness, spirituality and more.

2. Whom do you see?

We work with individuals, couples, families, and groups of all ages - adults, children, and adolescents (depending on counselor training and experience). Since families come in all shapes and sizes, we work with single-parent families and step-families along with nuclear families. Furthermore, SCG firmly believes that anyone who seeks mental health care is welcome at Sanctuary Counseling Group. All are welcome and all are accepted.

3. Do you have to be Christian to use your service?

Not at all. SCG therapists work with people of all faiths and those without any religious or spiritual traditions. Sometimes issues of faith may be important to the counseling process, while at other times it is not so. The focus of counseling is tailored to the unique needs of the client.

4. What approach do you take to the problems people come in with?

We take a holistic approach to personal and family problems. We are available to help with the emotional, relational, and spiritual dimensions of life's challenges. We use resources of the behavioral sciences in counseling. We draw upon a variety of psychotherapeutic theoretical models and methodologies including psychodynamic, cognitive, Gestalt, existential, family systems, and solution-focused. When a client feels it right, we will also use resources of faith.

5. What about your education, training, and credentials?

We are professionally educated and trained counselors and therapists who have completed master’s and/or doctoral level training programs in pastoral psychotherapy, marriage and family therapy, clinical social work, licensed pastoral counselors, and mental health counseling. We have undergone extensive post-master’s and post-doctoral clinical supervision of our work. SCG clinicians are licensed by the state of North Carolina (i.e. Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists, etc.) and certified by a variety of professional counseling associations (i.e. American Association of Pastoral Counselors, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, National Board of Certified Counselors, North Carolina Social Work Certification and Licensure Board, etc.). To learn more about the credentials of our staff therapists, click here for our Staff Directory.

6. How does your faith inform the counseling you provide?

We are men and women of faith committed to honoring each person's unique spiritual path and life process. We are trained to integrate the resources of faith and the behavioral sciences in counseling. This is what it means to take a holistic approach to personal and family problems. We accept people where they are and walk with them on a therapeutic journey to where they long to be. We recognize that while emotional and relational problems may have an underlying spiritual dimension to them, spiritual problems may also have underlying emotional and relational dimensions.

7. What organizations have endorsed your work?

SCG is an accredited service center of the Solihten Institute and the American Association of Pastoral Counselors.

8. What is the American Association of Pastoral Counselors?

Organized in 1963, AAPC represents over 80 faith groups. AAPC provides standards and several levels of credentialing in mental health care and counseling. AAPC requires pastoral counselors to earn five to nine years of post-college education, including extensive clinical training and supervision in settings such as hospitals, mental health facilities and counseling centers. AAPC supports advanced teaching and learning processes which integrate the enduring wisdom of religious traditions with emerging insights and methodologies in the behavioral sciences.

9. What is the Samaritan Institute?

The Denver-based Solihten Institute is an umbrella agency for faith-based counseling centers. These centers are in operation in more than 340 cities across the nation. Accreditation by the Solihten Institute provides assurance that the highest professional standards are maintained in all areas of operation from the physical facilities to the qualifications of the therapists. It guarantees commitment to the healing of mind, body, and spirit.

10. What are your fees?

While SCG therapists work off a standard fee which is comparable to other area counseling services, in compliance with the Solhiten Institute and the American Association of Pastoral Counselors guidelines. For clients who need financial assistance SCG can also offer a fee-adjusted scale based on household income as well as an annual individual scholarship from our Samaritan Scholarship Fund. Click here for more information on our fees.

11. Do you accept insurance?

SCG counselors are on a number of insurance panels. Therefore insurance may reimburse for our services and is determined on a case-by-case basis. Prior authorization by the insurance carrier may be necessary. Call the Central Office and speak to the Administrative Director (704-375-5354) about your eligibility. If we are out-of-network with your provider, the Administrative Director can provide you with a superbill which may allow you to file for reimbursement with your insurance provider.

12. How do you respond to people for whom insurance coverage is lacking, or who have insufficient financial resources to afford the "going rate" for professional counseling services?

The SCG Samaritan Scholarship Fund (SSF) is designed to respond to this need. The Samaritan Fund works along with the SCG fee-adjusted scale to offset the cost of counseling and psychotherapy services for individuals, couples, and families who are otherwise not able to be reimbursed for, or to afford, the desired services. The Samaritan Fund is designed to help persons who cannot afford the help they need, deserve and desire.

13. What can be done to insure that the Samaritan Scholarship Fund is adequately funded?

The Samaritan Scholarship Fund is sustained by the donations of churches, businesses, foundations, families, and individuals in the communities served by SCG. Donors may designate any donation to go to the general scholarship fund or to the counseling site of their choice. Donations to the Samaritan Scholarship Fund may be sent to our main office (please call for more information: 704-375-5354) or made through our donations page.

14. Do you provide workshops to churches or groups who are seeking enrichment or growth?

As consultants, we respond to educational needs within the church and community by presenting workshops and retreats designed to heal, inform, and empower. Contact a therapist in your area or our Central Office for more information. SCG therapists are also available to churches in times of transition and crisis.

15. Where are your offices located?

SCG has offices ranging across the western piedmont of North Carolina. For office sites or directions, click here for our Staff Directory or click here for our list of office locations.

16. How can I make an appointment?

You can make an appointment by calling the main office at (704) 375-5354. If you know which therapist you wish to see, you may, on the initial call, simply leave a message for that therapist on his or her private voice mail.