Barrington faith-based counseling center set to open

Mary Tudela had to make many choices in life. One of the decisions the 54-year-old made was to start a second career as an ordained priest at St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Barrington.

Shortly thereafter, based on her own experience and in talking with other clergy, she came to realize that to completely fulfill the needs of their congregations, a new method for counseling church members on personal matters was required. This led her to establish the nonprofit Samaritan Counseling Center of the Northwest Suburbs in Barrington.

"I and other Barrington pastors did not always have the time or skills for long-term therapy," said the Rev. Mary E. Tudela, executive director of the center. "We wanted to offer more complete counseling and one that was faith based."

Tudela started working on the project three years ago. She worked with, and was supported by, the Barrington Area Ministerial Association. The association is made up of 14 churches of various denominations in the Barrington area. After several meetings and research, the group decided to go with the Samaritan Institute model.

"They are very successful," said Tudela. "In 35 years, they have opened 107 centers and only 10 have been closed. That rate of success is very impressive."

The Denver-based Samaritan Institute has more than 500 center offices in 365 cities throughout the United States and Japan. Locally, there are centers in Winnetka and Naperville. The center Tudela is opening will be on Hart Road in Barrington. The 3,000-square-foot office space includes five individual offices and will house a staff of 10 therapists. While the building itself is up and running, pastoral counseling services will not be available until sometime later this month. "The opening is very exciting because there is a need with so many people struggling with meaning issues," said the Rev. Dr. Scott Mitchell, executive director of the Samaritan Interfaith Counseling Center in Naperville. "Even before the problems with the economy started, the statistics around depression and anxiety disorders were significant. The trouble with the economy has exasperated the situation for those dealing with depression, and spiked it."

As with any therapeutic facility, insurance will be accepted as payment for services. However, there will be a fee scale evaluation for those who cannot afford to pay for needed assistance.

Along with pay scale adjustments, the main difference in this treatment involves faith. Counselors will intertwine the faith of a client, including Hindu, Muslim and Jewish, to support and assist their healing process.

"Research shows integrating faith with psychotherapy is very effective," said Mitchell. "Faith is the constant and it provides a sense of hope and wholeness when one is struggling with issues."

The Samaritan Counseling Center of the Northwest Suburbs is located at 800 Hart Road, Ste 250, Barrington. For more info call (847) 382-HOPE (4673).