Christian counseling center opens its doors to public

TUSCALOOSA | The Rev. David Meginniss walked through the halls of the new Counseling Ministry Professionals center reciting Psalm 51 and sprinkling water into each of the rooms as he passed.

Meginniss, pastor of Christ Episcopal Church and one of the founding board members of the new counseling group, selected the prayer for cleansing and other readings from several different services that focus on opening new churches and care for the sick.

The new center at 1788 McFarland Blvd. N. is now open for business. It seeks to provide an integrated counseling service that addresses both mental and spiritual health.

The Rev. Margaret Scalise, the center’s director, said she will begin seeing clients next week, and hopes to hire additional counselors soon.

Scalise said she is searching for people who, like herself, are trained in theology and in providing clinical mental health services. Scalise was a psychiatrist in Birmingham for nearly two decades before graduating from seminary in 2002. She has been the assistant rector at Christ Episcopal Church in Tuscaloosa for five years and will continue her duties there for now as she also tries to grow the center.

“We are going to start by just getting a feel for what the demand is going to be,” she said. “But already I have had numerous phone calls from people in the community.”

Counseling Ministry Professionals is a joint effort of Christ Episcopal, First United Methodist and First Presbyterian churches that arose out of a need to help religious leaders assist people who needed counseling beyond what they were capable of providing. It is modeled after a Colorado-based organization called the Samaritan Institute, which has established 500 offices in 365 cities since 1972.

Board members, church leaders, clergy and financial backers gathered with Meginniss and Scalise for the blessing of the building and open house Thursday evening. The renovations for the building cost about $30,000, Scalise said, and two of the rooms were named for the donors.

The lobby was named the Debbie and Bo Hillard room in memory of Dr. Edward Dowling “Bo” Hillard, an orthopedic surgeon who died a year ago. A framed picture hangs in the room, and furniture from his offices is now being used by the center.

“The churches in this town take care of the needs of the community and parishioners and this is a place where they faith will be honored,” Debbie Hillard said. “It’s for healing and caring.”

The group therapy room was named in memory of Britni Leigh Wilhite who died at age 20 in 2006.

“In the days after my daughter passed away, I had to rely on my faith in God, but I also went to a wonderful Christian counselor who helped me tremendously,” said Darlene Ellis, Britni’s mother. “The Christian aspect to it was so important, because I couldn’t have made it through without my faith in God.”

For information about Counseling Ministry Professionals, call 205-345-5885.