Sharon Berndt, MSW and Minnesota State Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW), is now seeing clients at the LCC Brooklyn Parkoffice. Sharon will continue seeing clients in the Minneapolis office. In addition to working with individual, couple and family clients, Sharon will be forming a Dialectic Behavioral Therapy (DBT) group.

LCC is very pleased to welcome Sharon to its Brooklyn Park location. For more information on Sharon, please see her detailed information on the Staff page.

Lutheran Counseling Center (LCC) therapist and Minnesota State Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker Jerry Blume presented a workshop at the Help for the Helpers conference February 18, 2006 in Lakeville, MN. Help for the Helpers is a conference organized by Metro Hope Ministries to provide Clergy and professional church workers information to meet the needs of their congregation members struggling with addictions.

Jerry Blume holds a certificate in chemical dependency and has more than 30 years experience in helping to empower the human spiritual growth of individuals, couples, families and groups.

Jerry presented a workshop titled, “How to increase the odds a chemical dependency assessment will lead to a successful recovery”. The workshop helped attendees learn more about the art of meeting clients where they are on their lifelong journey, understanding their mental health and family story, using collateral resources in gathering information, and working with clients’ resistance to getting help.

LCC was one of the major sponsors of this year’s conference held at Hosanna Lutheran Church in Lakeville. For additional information about Metro Hope Ministries, visit their website at www.metrohope.org.

Lutheran Counseling Center (LCC) is pleased to announce the opening of its newest office in Edina, Minnesota. The office is located in the Cross ViewLutheran Church, 6645 McCauley Trail W, Edina,MN 55439 and is a cooperative effortbetween LCC and Cross View. Cross Viewis providing the facility and LCC is staffing and managing the counseling office.

"We are looking forward to having an LCC office located in our church campus," says Reverend Steven Wheeler, pastor of Cross View Lutheran Church. "Helping to provide truly Christian counseling to those in need, both in our church family and in the surrounding communities is something we're excited about."

Initial counseling sessions will be offered by Minnesota State licensed independent clinical social worker Suzanne Stoltenberg. For an appointment, contact the LCC Burnsville office at (952) 894-4828. The Edina office will begin with appointments every other Wednesday; expanding to more hours as quickly as possible.

Additional details including a location map is available in the Location pages.

Confidentiality prevents LCC from disclosing any specifics when serving individuals, groups and congregations in crisis.

Members of the Lutheran Counseling Center staff often respond to concerns and situations experienced by congregations. Having the opportunity to receive information from a Christian mental health care professional about difficult experiences and talking them through with a Christian perspective can be very beneficial and prevent difficulties from worsening.

Recently an LCC therapist assisted church members to openly discuss a significant problem that, if left unaddressed, would have intensified in hurtfulness and undermined trust. Rather, by enlisting one of LCC’s Christian counselors, the church workers were helped to pass through a difficult experience.

Church officials relayed to LCC that, “persons who were participants in the meetings found the experience to be excellent and positive, (we were) glad to be as open as we were”. The officials were pleased with and confirmed they would recommend the services of Lutheran Counseling Center to other congregations.

The professionals at LCC, your counseling center, welcome the opportunity to help with your needs.