Ellie Brooks has a Master's Degree in Pastoral Counseling from Ashland Theological Seminary. She has been a licensed social worker for 30 years and has experience working with children, teens and adults of all ages from various backgrounds in a variety of settings. Ellie believes that Christian counseling can be a model of the way that healthy, safe and connected relationships are to function, and she puts the therapeutic relationship with her clients first and foremost. Creating a safe environment, a fertile soil, where people can simply be themselves and create in themselves the right conditions for growth is so important. Ellie appreciates the opportunities she has had to weave themes of faith into treatment and to witness how healing occurs throughout the whole person – emotionally, relationally, mentally and spiritually. One client summarized her growth journey: "I knew I had destructive relationships, people I had to please and make happy, but I didn't know why. I now understand why I feel the way I do - I know what I do that perpetuates this. I understand how I respond in my hurt in an unloving way and now I am trying to change me. Me being good enough is never going to change them.”