Our Staff
Practice Director -- David Holden, LPC, has been on staff with Wellspring Christian Counseling since 1996. Dave holds a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Counseling from Covenant Theological Seminary, and is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Missouri. Dave specializes in working with marriages, families, marital infidelity, divorce related issues, premarital counseling, depression, anxiety, stress, spiritual issues, anger, addictions, grief, and life transition issues. Having had extensive training in the area of biblical peacemaking, Dave also does mediation work in the areas of marriage, family and church interventions. Dave has a special interest in working with pastors and ministry leaders who may be struggling with burnout or other ministry related issues, as well as churches that have leaders or members in conflict.
With a passion to train others in developing counseling gifts and effectively reaching out to others, Dave has developed a Premarital Counseling Program, a Biblical Counseling Practicum, and a Marriage Counseling Practicum. Dave travels to other cities and churches to help church members, counselors, and others in the helping profession pursue counseling excellence. As a Certified Supervisor in the state of Missouri, Dave supervises counselors for state licensure. Dave attends the Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian Church where he serves as a Ruling Elder and a Kirk Day School Board member. Dave is married and has two children. Dave enjoys reading, running, traveling, playing guitar, coaching his daughter's soccer and softball teams, and hanging out with his family.
Jeanette Brown, PLPC, holds a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Counseling from Covenant Theological Seminary, is a Provisionally Licensed Professional Counselor (PLPC), and is a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. Additionally, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration and a M. A. in Management from Webster University. As a counselor, Jeanette has experience working with such issues as marriages and/or families in conflict, parenting, communication, depression, and anxiety. She also has a special heart for such concerns as grief, social fears, life cycle adjustments, and relocation transitions. Jeanette counsels out of several of the Wellspring Counseling sites and has been a speaker for several church sponsored events. Additionally. Jeanette is a facilitator with FirstLight Ministry and GriefShare support groups and was recently appointed to the Missouri Child Abuse and Neglect Review Board by Governor Matt Blunt.
Janet Burns, LPC, holds an M.S. in Professional Counseling from Georgia State University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a National Certified Counselor. Janet is a Visiting Instructor at Covenant Theological Seminary (CTS) where she supervises groups of counseling interns. She works with her husband in the CTS Center for Ministry Leadership to encourage pastors and their wives. Janet is most passionate when helping to strengthen marriages, repairing damaged relationships, or motivating men and women to find their voice after experiencing abuse. Other areas of expertise include grief, divorce, domestic oppression, developing emotional intelligence, parenting, and sexual concerns. Janet leads groups to help women process childhood abuse and trauma. She coordinates with pastors to offer pre-marital counseling. Janet co-authored a counseling article in By Faith magazine. She was a workshop panelist on the topic of church-based counseling at a Conference of the American Association of Christian Counselors. Janet has been married to Bob for 30 years, and has two grown sons and five grandchildren. She practices in Maplewood and St. Louis County.
Julia Cost, CIT, holds an M.S. in Counseling from Indiana University and a BS in Education. Within the past nineteen years of counseling, Julia has gained extensive experience working with both children and parents in the foster care system, with trauma and crisis intervention and with marriage and family. She also has experience working in the areas of grief and loss, individual life development and transition, divorce recovery and eating disorders. Julia is working toward completion of state licensure in Missouri (LPC) within the year. Also, she is pursuing professional certification in Crisis Response enabling her to serve on local and international response teams. Julia is a member of Grace and Peace Fellowship. She is a facilitator with GriefShare support groups and has experience leading women's retreats and speaking on the various areas mentioned above. Julia has been married to Brett, a recent seminary graduate, for seventeen years and has two sons, two cats and a snake!
Carol Gasser, LPC, holds a Master of Arts in Counseling from Covenant Theological Seminary. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Missouri and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. She serves on the Missouri Child Abuse and Neglect Review Board as a Governor appointed member. Carol has over five years professional experience working with conflicted marriages, individuals, and teens. She specializes in working with domestic violence/controlling/codependent relationships and survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Other areas of interest in counseling include: recovering from infidelity, spiritual struggles, post-abortion, and working with teens. Carol is a member of Harvester Christian Church where she leads a support group for women dealing with domestic violence/controlling/codependent relationships. She enjoys the role of speaker/trainer for local women's groups (she is a former MOPs mentor), St. Louis Christian college classes, and area churches on a variety of topics including: depression, conflict resolution and forgiveness, adolescence, boundaries, and domestic violence. Carol has been married 25 years to Richard with two sons. She loves to quilt and still meets with her "playgroup" mom friends of twenty years. She practices primarily in the St. Charles County area.
Jane Henke, LPC, holds a Master of Education in Counseling from Missouri Baptist University. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Missouri State University. Jane joined the staff of Wellspring in May of 2005 after completing her degree. In addition to her formal counseling training, Jane has received specialized training to assist those in conflict through the use of mediation. Jane has been married for fourteen years and has two children. She attends a non-denominational church in the St. Louis area where she serves in various leadership roles. Her areas of special interest in counseling include a wide variety of women's issues as well as sexual abuse, addictions, grief, codependency, spiritual struggles, eating disorders, and marital conflict. She has experience and enjoys opportunities to speak to groups on a wide range of topics including conflict resolution, parenting, marital issues, teen pregnancy, and spiritual issues. Jane was recently appointed by Governor Matt Blunt to serve on Missouri's Child Abuse and Neglect Review Board.
Peggy Hughes, LPC, holds a Master of Education in Counseling from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Certified Christian Conciliator and a Counseling Supervisor. She earned two Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Business Administration from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. Peggy specializes in marriage, family and parenting issues and has field and training experience in abuse, depression, anxiety, eating disorders and conflict resolution. Previous experience includes counseling birth parents in the adoption process as well as working in law enforcement. Peggy travels teaching and speaking in a variety of venues and is available for seminars, workshops, classes and retreats. Previous speaking includes parenting, biblical peacemaking, depression and marriage. She is a member of the Missouri Mental Health Counseling Association, the American Association of Christian Counselors and serves on the board for Joy FM radio in St. Louis. Peggy has been married for 31 years and has 2 grown children. She practices out of the main office as well as several sites in Missouri.
Lisa Lessing, PLPC, holds a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Counseling from Covenant Theological Seminary, is a Provisionally Licensed Professional Counselor, and is a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. Additionally, she holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from St. John's College. She joined the Wellspring staff in 2005. Lisa is married and has two daughters and a son. She attends The Lutheran Church of Webster Gardens in St. Louis. As a pastor's wife, Lisa has a heart for men and women who serve in the ministry and their families. She works with individuals, couples, families and groups. Her experience includes working with depression, anxiety, adjustment and life transition issues. Lisa is specifically focused on matters related to women including codependency, mid-life transitions, abuse (sexual, emotional, spiritual and/or physical), self-esteem, sexuality, and self-destructive behaviors. In addition, Lisa has written and led retreats for pastors' wives, congregational women, and seminary women. She speaks and teaches on a variety of scriptural and heart-centered themes. These themes are aimed at helping women integrate the Gospel and God's love into how they understand and explore their internal world.
Ken Morris, LPC, holds both a Master of Arts in Counseling and a Master of Arts in General Theological Studies, both from Covenant Theological Seminary. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Missouri and has been a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors for ten years. Ken is passionate about helping hurting people grow, heal and change through God's work within the counseling relationship. Although he has a special heart for teens and men's issues, Ken is also experienced with other types of concerns, including depression, marriage conflict, infidelity, divorce recovery, communication, anxiety, abuse and grief. He is trained and experienced as a Qualified administrator/interpreter of the Myers-Briggs personality inventory. Ken and his wife Linda have been married for sixteen years. Two of their shared passions are domestic missions and dog training; they hope to eventually parlay their love for dogs into both a useful tool for Ken's counseling practice as well as a ministry to underprivileged kids.
Jeff Oberle, LPC, earned his Master of Arts in Counseling from Covenant Theological Seminary and a BS in Education from the University of Michigan. Before earning his Master's degree, Jeff owned and operated a successful small business in St Louis for 18 years. He is a licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the State of Missouri and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC). Areas of special interest and expertise include difficult problems and adjustments in first and second marriages; helping and guiding second marriages blend into caring, supportive, and unifying families; and helping parents and adolescents through this challenging transition in life. Issues commonly addressed include anger, intimacy, communication, conflict resolution, infidelity, pornography, addictions, finances, and depression. Jeff also has a passion for helping adults, adolescents, and children heal from the ravaging wounds of divorce. Additionally, he facilitates a grief support group (GriefShare), helping those who have lost significant relationships walk through their personal journey of grief. Jeff has been married for 28 years to his wife Heidi, has two grown children, and one grandchild.
Kathy L. Woods, CIT, holds an M.A. in Counseling from Covenant Theological Seminary and a B.S. in Biblical Studies. As a counselor, Kathy has experience working with such issues as anxiety, depression, grief, identity issues, life transitions, and sexual trauma. Kathy founded and has directed a successful support recovery ministry for sexual abuse victims at Grace Church – St. Louis since 1999: Hope for Women/Men. Kathy has worked in the Social Services field for over 20 years as an advocate for children and families in crisis. As a result of Kathy's Social Services experience, she has insight into child welfare issues, transitions associated with adoption and coordination of available community resources. Kathy has been married to Don for 22 years and has three children. Kathy practices at our main location in Chesterfield and at two of our satellite locations: Ferguson and St. Louis City.
Minister of Congregational Care -- Rev. Michael Kennison earned a B.A. degree from Geneva College in 1976. In 1981 he graduated from Westminster Seminary with his Master of Divinity degree. For seven years Mike served in various positions for Ministries in Action -- a mission agency to the Caribbean. In 1988 he became the Senior Pastor at Redlands Community Church in Homestead, Florida. He served that church for 11 years before moving to St. Louis in 1999 and joining the staff at the Kirk of the Hills. He oversees counseling and the Congregational Care Ministry. He also assists the church's Diaconate in coordinating their work. Mike is currently working toward a Doctor of Ministry degree at Covenant Theological Seminary. He and his wife Kelly along with their two children have actively participated in the Kirk's Missions Ministry, most recently having led a Kirk team to the Philippines.
Executive Administrator -- Phil VanValkenburg earned a B.S. degree in Economics from Michigan State University in 1972. In 1979 he graduated from the University of Colorado with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree. For five years, Phil served in administrative management at the headquarters of Campus Crusade for Christ. Additionally, he has 25 years business leadership experience in various management and consulting positions at Monsanto, Ernst & Young, Oracle, and E-Markets. Phil has been an officer, teacher and leader in Presbyterian churches for many years and has been a ruling elder at the Kirk of the Hills since 1994. In May 2004 Phil joined the Kirk staff as Director of Administration where he is responsible for overall operation of the church including finances, facility, systems, human resources, contracts, planning, and administrative and support staff. Phil and his wife Becky have two adult children.
Communications Coordinator -- Darla Ferguson has worked in office administration capacities for 26 years. On staff since 2005, Darla serves as a liaison between Wellspring and the community, promoting awareness of Wellspring's counseling services. She endeavors to help Wellspring fulfill its vision to meet the counseling needs of individuals as well as partnering with pastors and churches as a counseling resource. Darla additionally serves as Case Administrator for Wellspring's mediation cases, utilizing her specialized conciliation training through Peacemaker Ministries. Active in her home church, Faith Baptist-Festus, Darla's real ministry passion is for one-on-one ministry to teens and young adults. Darla has been married to Doug for 26 years and has two grown children.
Business Manager - Debra Powers has been on staff at Wellspring Christian Counseling since 2003, serving as Business Manager. Prior to service at Wellspring, she worked for a total of 21 years in financial and business administration roles. Debra has served the local body as a Sunday School teacher, Youth Ministry leader and board member for Haitian Islands Ministry. She has served her community as a board member and active volunteer for a youth camp that ministers to underprivileged children. Debra has been married for 27 years and has one daughter, whose adoption from Guatemala has led their family into passionate support of Team Guatemala, an evangelistic mission organization.
Healing Hearts • Restoring Relationships • Liberating Lives