Therese Cirner MA, LPC, NCC
Therese Cirner is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Michigan and is also licensed in the states of Ohio and Florida. She is a member of the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC).
She received both her B.A. in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Counseling from Franciscan University of Steubenville. Mrs. Cirner taught courses on Human and Spiritual Integration and Marriage and Family Counseling as an adjunct professor in the graduate program. Her current work as a clinical counselor allows her to bring an integrative perspective on the human and spiritual dynamics of life in Christ.
Therese has used her skills in many clinical venues. She has practiced in outpatient, inpatient and partial hospitalization programs for both children and adults. She was a counselor at a University and a crisis intervention specialist. Mrs. Cirner has been in private practice for 15 years working with marriages, families, children and individuals. She specializes in relationships, mood disorders of anxiety and depression, life transitions and assisting clients in coping with complex life issues, including trauma recovery and the unique challenges of sorting through childhood relationships.
Therese Cirner is the author of several books, The Facts about your Feelings, The Catholic Challenge and co-authored Ten Weeks to a Better Marriage. Therese has presented seminars, workshops and retreats in the United States, Asia, Europe and Central America.
Therese Cirner is married to Randall Cirner, also a counselor, and they have 5 adult children and two grandsons.
Family Counseling Center
2301 Platt Rd. Suite 10
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Excerpts from an Interview
Q. Therese Cirner, how do you find meaning in your work as a psychotherapist?
I consider my work part of my life, not separate from it. I consider it a privilege to walk alongside a client for a period of time listening, reflecting, encouraging, providing education and skills that they can utilize to live a more successful and balanced life. My goal is to help clients have a clearer understanding of the challenges of their lives, facing them without fear and to be able to deal with them more successfully. Counseling, to me, is to participate in the art of healing.
Q. Where do you find the strength to deal with other people's pain and suffering you encounter daily?
Pain and suffering deeply affect a person's experience of life. Since the art of counseling addresses the healing of emotional and spiritual pain and the behaviors associated with that pain, engaging in the suffering of another is a daily encounter. This has the potential to either harden your heart and emotions, losing the ability to empathize in a healing way or the pain may so effect your heart and emotions that you can no longer function due to losing yourself in others pain.
My choice is neither of the above. Balance is key to staying emotionally and spiritually fit in this profession. I rely on my relationship with Jesus, understanding that He is the only Savior and true healer - never me. I daily pray for my clients, for the grace and blessing the Lord is extending to them, and at the end of the day I give the burdens of others and myself back to the Lord.
I am also fortunate to have a great support group for my professional, spiritual and personal life. The Christian therapists at the Family Counseling Center provide the clinical and sometimes personal support for each other as well. I draw strength from my church, my husband and extended family members. I also try to keep emotional and physical fitness balanced in my life.
Q. How do you integrate the science of psychology with Christian values as a therapist at the Family Counseling Center?
I find the physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual aspects of a person naturally integrated. My understanding of God, as our Creator, accounts for this wonderful combination and complexity of humankind. As a science, Psychology gives us significant insights into the meaning of some aspects of human behavior and the biochemistry involved. At the same time, some emotions and our spiritual life are more difficult to measure and study scientifically. This is where faith engages life. I utilize the science of psychology, the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the experience of years of clinical work together and give my clients the best of this integrated therapy.
Q. What do you say to clients who are not Christian who seek services from you?
My practice has included clients who have diverse cultural and spiritual backgrounds. I have treated clients from a wide range of religious beliefs and backgrounds as well as atheists and agnostics. My Christian beliefs and worldview guide my respect and treatment of clients. If a client wants to bring their faith into counseling or wants to know my view on an issue, then it can become a part of treatment. My role as a therapist is not to evangelize my clients but to be the best disciple of Christ by providing excellence in counseling with a foundation of faith to anyone who requests it.