When asked what I “do for a living,” I often respond, “I’m a gospel improv artist.” I show up in relational spaces to listen and spontaneously respond authentically with an embodied presence of joyful love.  I firmly believe that love is often the most foundational answer to many of our questions, and it must be experienced in the context of a safe, vulnerable relationship.

Although I never set out to be a counselor, I was providentially “caught by my calling” (Dan Allender) through significant life-changing events while pastoring a church and finishing my Master of Divinity at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

After interning at a counseling and conciliation organization in 2009, I pursued a Master of Arts in Counseling from Covenant Theological Seminary to learn how to build upon my theological training with practical heart application skills. My goal was to help people in fragmented and broken relational systems, whether they be organizations, churches, families, or marriages, create healthy relational cultures of connection. My prior experience growing up in a cult of religious fundamentalism has shaped my desire to see a healthy culture developed in churches in particular.

In 2013, I became the Executive Director of that same counseling, conciliation, and training center until August 2023. In those years, I had the privilege to travel nationally and internationally, providing training and education on various topics related to crisis management, peacemaking and conflict resolution, mediation and conflict coaching, counseling training, power and abuse dynamics, and marital health. I have also provided Christian conciliation services since 2009 in various contexts worldwide.

One of my counseling distinctives is providing intensives for individuals and couples. These intensives are tailored to the situation's specific needs and are designed for an in-depth, slowed-down space to attend to matters of the soul deeply. Over the course of several days, we listen with compassionate curiosity and attend to your heart in a safe context.

On a personal level, I married in 2005, and I have been blessed with four children, have fostered seven children, and live in the city of St. Louis. I am a wild canoeist enthusiast at heart, a karaoke dabbler, an improv student and performer, and a weekend-only soccer and basketball player. If you meet me, you’ll know I love coffee, and you’ll probably see me with a mug in hand or at least see the one I left behind sitting somewhere.

If you are considering counseling, you can call 314.887.7706 or email me directly at danielteater@stl-ccc.org.