Threshold - Winter 2004

All Faith Counseling Center Adds to Staff

“Whatever our differences of faith or language or culture, we’re basically alike. We all have needs and hopes and joys and fears and disappointments. We all desire love and belonging and human community and fulfillment in life.” This is the way Sister Mary Palarino (pictured below) sees the world and her ministry. So a place with the name of All Faith Counseling Center is a perfect place for her to begin her counseling career.

Sister Mary graduated this past spring from Barry University in Miami, Florida, with a master of social work degree. She returned to Atchison and has begun working towards becoming a licensed clinical social worker. Although many counseling professionals get degrees in psychology, the clinical social worker is also an important type of counselor. She explains, “We don’t focus as much on the internal psyche as on the person’s relationship to their environment and the social systems in which they live. We help them work on coping skills so they can function their best in their life situations.”

This may seem quite a career jump for someone who had been a clinical nutritionist and registered dietitian. She explains that it is more of an expansion than a change. “I always loved how food and lifestyle affect health. I also knew how important other dimensions of the person are to wellness.” Besides doing nutrition education, she taught other classes at Donnelly College. “I’ve always been curious about understanding people, their situations and the dynamics of their personalities. The human being is so complex. Now I’m working more wholistically. I can say that I have some skills for working with body, mind and spirit.”

She was particularly challenged to make the move because of the community’s recent self-study. The thrust of the “Vision 2010” statement, and the future planning it created, inspired her to think about new possibilities. The two years away from her monastic community were difficult but rewarding. “Barry has a very good reputation and Florida is a wonderful place to learn because there is so much cultural diversity,” she explains. In her internship, she worked at a major medical center in employee assistance. The workers there had a broad range of needs and crises. She notes that it also caused her to have a greater sense of the effects of the current economy on working class people.

Although Atchison may not be as cosmopolitan and diverse as Miami, Sister Mary will still encounter a broad range of clients. With its sliding fee scale, All Faith Counseling Center is one of the few agencies available for the emotional needs of working class people here.

Twenty-one years ago, Sister Janelle Maes, a pastoral counselor who is a licensed marriage and family therapist, began offering counseling services locally. “I was already involved in the ecumenical movement and wanted faith to be a part of my counseling practice,” she recalls. This type of approach integrates faith and human development because both contribute to a person’s ability to cope with life.

Together with pastor John Muncy of the Disciples of Christ, they presented their idea to the members of the local ministerial alliance and began seeking support for a pastoral counseling center that would be for all Christians and beyond. The ministers endorsed the program and the center began with a donated space and no salary for the director. Its goal was “to help all people under stress who come to the center.” It promised to “provide quality mental health services, including individual, marital and family counseling, to the people of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri regardless of race, religious affiliation or lack of it, status or ability to pay.”

Over time, the support of the civic community has grown, as has the outstanding reputation of the center. Grants and support from congregations, client fees and assistance from Mount St. Scholastica have allowed the center to continue and flourish. In addition to Sister Janelle and Sister Mary, there are two other certified counselors. Sister Sharon Murray is the receptionist and administrative assistant. In the past year, approximately 400 people had over 1000 hours of counseling.

"We are especially happy to help those who otherwise would not be served,” says Sister Janelle. “There are many who don’t qualify for Medicaid but can’t afford the fees for someone in private practice. Struggling families, young couples just starting out, the low income and the uninsured have few resources to turn to.”

The center is also highly regarded for its educational efforts. Prevention is a very important component of mental health and it is especially important in helping young people become healthy adults. “Project Launch” works through the local schools to help junior high and high school girls make good choices for their futures. Sister Janelle is particularly committed to this program and describes its concerns. “Peer pressure, drugs and sexual conduct are issues which we need to address. The high school dropout rate here is around 20%.”

Sister Janelle sees much to be done and is happy to welcome Sister Mary to the staff. “I thought this would allow me to cut back, but it’s ironic how I always find more to do administratively if I don’t see as many clients.” She is also happy to have more collaboration, another set of ideas. “Mary knows her work and she’s already been successful with clients here.” Sister Mary is enthusiastic about her work and her future. “It is so in keeping with our community and its mission. I want to help people, especially women, use their voice. I want them to realize their best potential. Educating and empowering is a way to help heal not just individual lives but society. I want everyone to grow in self-knowledge and compassion.”

Photo: Sister Sharon Murray (seated) goes over the day’s agenda with Sister Janelle Maes