Christian Counseling

Faith-based counseling at Riverwise means your Christian values, beliefs, and spiritual framework are welcomed into the therapy room as a resource and not treated as something to work through or set aside.

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It is not pastoral counseling or biblical instruction. Chanse is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, not a pastor, and sessions draw on clinical training in evidence-based approaches like Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and EMDR. What faith integration adds is a willingness to explore how your beliefs intersect with what you're working through while using the language, values, and framework that actually matters to you.

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Some clients want prayer incorporated into sessions. Some want to draw on Scripture when it's relevant. Others simply want the assurance that their faith won't be pathologized or treated as irrelevant. All of that is welcome here. The shape of that integration is guided by you.

Faith-based counseling at Riverwise is a good fit for:

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• Individuals navigating anxiety, depression, grief, shame, or life transitions who want their faith to be part of the healing process

• Couples who share a Christian faith and want their values to be respected and woven into couples work

• Men carrying burdens they haven't been able to bring to anyone. Not their pastor, not their family.  They need a safe, confidential space that honors their beliefs

• Teen boys and families grounded in Christian faith who want a therapist who understands that worldview

• People experiencing spiritual struggle like doubts, wounds from the church, a faith that feels dry or distant, or wrestling with how God fits into what they've been through

• Anyone who has avoided therapy because they worried their faith would be dismissed or treated as a problem​

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You don't need to belong to a specific denomination or have your theology figured out. You just need to want a space where your faith is treated with the same respect as everything else you bring to the table.

Anxiety and fear: For many Christians, anxiety coexists with a faith that says "do not be afraid". That tension itself becomes a source of shame. We work on both the anxiety and the weight of feeling like faith should be enough to fix it.

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Shame and identity: Shame is one of the most corrosive forces in human experience, and Christian communities can sometimes amplify it unintentionally. Therapy is a place to separate what's true about who you are from what you've been told or internalized.

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Grief and loss: Loss surfaces profound questions about faith, purpose, and God's presence. A therapist who takes those questions seriously can hold space for both the grief and the wrestling.

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Relationship and marriage struggles: For couples who have built their relationship around shared faith, a struggling marriage carries spiritual weight alongside emotional pain. Faith-based couples counseling honors both.

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Spiritual wounds: Church hurt is real. Spiritual abuse, legalism, shame-based theology, or religious trauma can do deep damage. If your relationship with faith has been wounded, there's space here to work through that honestly.

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Life purpose and direction: Questions about calling, vocation, and what God might be doing in a season of uncertainty are not separate from mental health. They're often at the center of it.

Sessions are 50 minutes, in-person in Littleton or via telehealth. The approach is collaborative. Chanse will take cues from you about how much you want faith explicitly integrated, what language feels right, and what role prayer or Scripture plays, if any.

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Clinical methods used at Riverwise, such as EFT, IFS, EMDR, and goal-focused approaches, are fully compatible with a Christian worldview and are not in conflict with faith. Many clients find that the emotional and relational insights from these approaches deepen their understanding of themselves in ways that feel spiritually meaningful.

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If you've had experiences with therapy that felt dismissive of your faith, or with church-based support that felt underpowered for what you were dealing with, this space is designed to hold both.

Do I have to be a Christian to receive faith-based counseling?

No. If you hold any faith or spiritual framework and want it respected in your therapy, that's welcome here. The page uses "Christian counseling" because that's the primary language people search for, but the underlying approach — honoring your beliefs as part of who you are — applies more broadly.

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Will you pray with me in sessions?

If you'd like to incorporate prayer, that conversation is welcome. It's guided entirely by what feels meaningful and appropriate to you, not a default part of every session.

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Is faith-based counseling less clinically rigorous than regular therapy?

No. Everything at Riverwise is grounded in evidence-based clinical training. Faith integration isn't a substitute for good therapy — it's an additional dimension of it. You'll receive the same level of clinical skill regardless of whether faith is explicitly part of your sessions.

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Can couples do faith-based counseling together?

Yes. Christian couples counseling is one of the most common forms of faith-integrated work at Riverwise. Shared values and spiritual framework can be a real asset in couples therapy when they're respected and incorporated well.

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What if I'm struggling with my faith and I have doubts, hurt from the church, or feeling distant from God?

That's exactly the kind of thing this space is built for. Spiritual struggle doesn't disqualify you from faith-based counseling. In many ways, it's the most important place to bring it. There's no pressure to have your faith sorted out before you walk in.

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Do you serve clients in South Denver, Highlands Ranch, or Englewood?

Yes. The office is in downtown Littleton, accessible from South Denver, Highlands Ranch, Centennial, Englewood, and Lakewood. Telehealth is also available.

If you're looking for a therapist who will respect your faith and work with it — not around it — a free 15-minute consultation is the place to start. No commitment, just a conversation.