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Mary
Belote, M.S., NCC  Life
might be likened to a dance. In the counseling relationship, the client meets
new dance partners - the counselor and God - that help facilitate the steps that
will help bring the “dance” into more effective and harmonious step with life’s
music. Through the lyrics of Lee Ann Womac’s song and book entitled “I hope you
dance”, one is invited to participate fully in the life one has been given. Human
beings do not effectively dance when they are “sleep-walking”; stuck in behaviors
and thought patterns that prevent their effective participation in life. In the
therapy process unconscious patterns are brought to awareness so that a conscious
choice of action can be made. This I believe is growth toward the abundant life
offered in the gospels. “The glory of God is man fully alive.” Saint Irenaeus.
Jesus
calls us to do two things: come and go. We are to COME into full relationship
with Him and then GO into the world to be messengers of the gospel. The Apostle
Paul, in Hebrews 12:1, mentions obstacles to our doing these two things. He calls
some of these impediments weights, and some sins. The counseling process is a
vehicle for examining these obstacles. As
you can see, my approach to therapy is very pastoral. I hold an MS in Pastoral
Counseling from Loyola College in MD. I am in the process of joining the science
of psychology with the art of spiritual concerns, and am working on final course
work toward Maryland licensure. My clinical work is currently supervised by June
Hutchison at Safe Harbor and William Clark PhD in Falls Church. I am a member
of the American Association of Christian Counselors. As
part of my training, separate one-year internships were completed with the chaplains
in the Family Life Center at Ft. Belvoir, VA and the Charles County Mental Health
Department. Being an educator has been part of my life’s experience. I have been
involved for a number of years to help train and supervise lay counselors through
my church and in conjunction with the Lay Counseling Institute in VA. Married
for 25 years in June, we have three children. Our oldest son (21) copes with severe
mental and physical challenges. We also have two daughters, 18 and 11 years of
age.
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