Guiding Light Pastoral Care, a new counseling service operated out of the First Baptist Church by Bonnylee Witt, for both one-on-one and group sessions. The sessions are low-cost and allow all members of the community access to Witt’s pastoral services. Guiding Light focuses on grief, life events, transitions, and stress management.
The cost for both one-on-one and group sessions with Guide Light is $10 per session. Services for First Baptist Church members are offered for free.
Group sessions are regularly held on Tuesdays and Thursdays and are themed around understanding and coping with grief in a group setting. Not only do participants talk through their trauma, but they do activities such as filling a bucket with their feelings to help visualize what emotions are troubling them. Stress management classes with a similar curriculum are held on Tuesdays.
One-on-one classes can be scheduled throughout the week, and healthcare workers can take part in compassion burnout classes on the second and fourth Mondays of the month.
“I’m a little different. I’m not a certified counselor, but I’m trained in counseling techniques,” said Witt, a professionally trained chaplain.
The counseling service doesn’t focus on traditional therapy techniques, like cognitive behavioral therapy, but Witt is familiar with them. She has learned about the DSM-5 and worked in a psychiatric hospital as part of her pastoral training. Witt is trained in the style of the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education
“I can assess when someone comes to me what may be going on and I can refer that client. What I offer is a compliment to therapy services,” said Witt of her business.
Witt said that learning pastoral care is an introspective journey.
“We have to look at our own wounds, our physical wounds, our spiritual wounds, our emotional wounds,” she said. “We have to become familiar with those and take the course of healing with them.” The theory revolves around the practice of becoming familiar with your wounds to be more familiar with those of your clients. This style is a blend of clinical, spiritual care, and behavioral sciences.
“It seems like my whole life journey has been people coming to me,” said Witt, who added that she is an introvert who began in pastoral care after visiting her brother. Afterward, she finished her BA degree in religion at Averett University and started her first internship at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, N.C. She went on to work at several hospitals, including Memorial Hospital of Martinsville, for 12 years before it became SOVAH Health. Later, she worked with area churches to provide community services before founding Guiding Light.
Witt said all are welcome, regardless of their religious beliefs.
“You find that many world religions parallel a lot,” Witt said, adding that she currently has slots available for new clients.
For more information, visit the Guiding Light Pastoral Care section on First Baptist Church’s website or to reach Witt directly, call (276) 806-1514.
