Our therapists offer christian counseling in Tempe, AZ

I am a licensed associate counselor (LAC) dedicated to providing a supportive, nonjudgmental space where clients feel seen, heard, and understood. I have experience working with individuals across the lifespan and from diverse backgrounds, supporting them through a wide range of concerns including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, grief, trauma, stress, life transitions, and women's issues. I also have a strong passion for working with neurodiverse individuals. I help individuals understand their emotions, build confidence and skills to navigate the world around them better. 

My approach is collaborative, compassionate, and tailored to each client's unique needs. I draw from evidence-based modalities such as CBT, DBT, Solution-Focused Therapy, and Person-Centered Therapy to help clients understand the root of their challenges, develop coping strategies, improve emotional regulation, and create meaningful goals for change. 

I strive to create a space where clients feel safe to explore. Many come in feeling overwhelmed, stuck, or disconnected from themselves. Together, we work on building self-awareness, strengthening self-esteem, and fostering resilience—finding their voice, setting healthy boundaries, and moving toward a balanced and fulfilling life. I'd love to work with you!

Michelle MacIlvaine is a Licensed Professional Counselor with 10 years of experience in mental health. She works with diverse populations who face a range of concerns including anxiety, adjustment to life’s issues, grief, trauma, parenting, and family issues. Michelle has experience with all ages from children to adults to seniors.

Michelle utilizes an empathetic, strengths-based approach to find unique solutions and help clients achieve their goals. She draws from person-centered therapy, solution-focused therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and play therapy.

Michelle partners with clients to help them achieve their goals in ways that fit their unique situations. She believes that true collaboration and being understood bring out the strength that we need to face life’s challenges.

Debra Konecni is a Licensed Professional Counselor who specializes in working with clients who have experienced a traumatic event — especially anyone who has experienced any type of child abuse or any type of sexual abuse. These are often individuals who have been hiding their hurts because they have been afraid to address the trauma, or do not know how to address the situation. Debra's goal is to assist each individual with working through the trauma and help them find their true self by believing in their story, giving them the opportunity to share their story sometimes for the first time. Everyone should have the option to work through hurts and not stay stuck in them — everyone should be given the opportunity to work all way to the other side and become a survivor instead of a victim.

Debra uses active listening, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). and schema therapy to help her clients. She also encourages journaling through their emotions to find their true selves. "Like the lotus flower, beauty coming out of the depth of mud; every individual could blossom out of a life of trauma, abuse, or just day-to-day frustrating moments that find them crippled or stuck in any way," says Debra. "Through the transforming and renewing of our minds, we do not have to repeat history or become the person someone tried to make us."

Through the process of addressing past hurts and trauma, it is Debra's goal and desire to empathize with individuals to reach their full potential in life. She has many years of experience rising out of the mud of her own lifelong trauma, which enables her to equip with hope and grace. "I welcome you into a safe haven to process through your hurts and struggles, to help you to strive and thrive," says Debra.

Debbie Bertoldo is a Certified Counselor, ready and willing to help you understand your feelings and behaviors, and why some issues in life, create stumbling blocks for us. Her clinical background includes working with individuals struggling with substance use, trauma, anxiety, and depression. She has helped many individuals understand the source of their difficult issues and separate the emotional response to help them move forward in their lives.

One of her specialties includes using a modality called accelerated resolution therapy which helps people understand and erase their emotional response to stressful situations. "If you are struggling with emotional or mental health difficulties, I invite you to seek out the experience of certified counselors, to assist you in overcoming these difficulties. Help is available," says Debbie