CrossRoads has a vision to transform individuals and families so that self-protection gives way to love, connection fosters flourishing, and healing unlocks the door to generations of change. 

Families Flourishing

A woman who has been managing bipolar disorder for many years and living on a fixed income shared her story with us. She had started with many counselors over the years, but every time she found someone she could really connect to, she’d unpack her story, share with them the details of some of the most painful experiences in her life, and a few months later they would move on to a counseling position elsewhere, always somewhere she couldn’t afford or couldn’t get to. She recounted how painful that was for her, how it actually made her attachment wounds and trauma not better, but worse. In the field of mental health, those with the least financial resources are often placed with the least experienced counselors, even though we know that those living in poverty often have more complex needs- generational trauma, co-occuring disorders, higher stress index, and nutritional deficiencies. They often receive inconsistent care by inexperienced providers because they are matched based on ability to pay, not on clinical need.

Obstacles to Care

ACCESS

St. Louis has many areas that are considered “mental health deserts” where access to innovative, experienced mental health care is scarce.

CONSISTENCY

Affordable counselors are often just starting out and rarely stay at the same place - leaving clients with the decision to pay more or find a new counselor. A low income client may have 3 counselors in less than a year.

COST

The market rates for mental health services range from $180-$250 and are unaffordable for many people.

INNOVATION

New therapies and treatments are often expensive, siloed and not accessible to communities that need them most. Furthermore, health insurance and government funded plans limit access to innovative therapies.

Creative, Collaborative, Community-Based Solutions

  • Provide in-person, faith-informed, evidence-based, mental wellness care to people living in mental health deserts 

  • Partner with community organizations to offer mental wellness care at a familiar location within each community. 

  • Listen and learn from clients, community members and trusted organizations within the community.

  • Hire skilled counselors who reflect the cultural experience of the community, and invest in their training to meet the needs identified by the community.  

  • Provide access to collaborative care - innovative adjunct services that support mental wellness, like neurofeedback, nutritional consultation, spiritual direction and somatic release at each community location

Locations

Samaritan Groups

At CrossRoads, we foster a Christian community where those who care for a loved one with mental illness are supported, accepted, and connected.

The Samaritan Group is designed to be a supportive, educational community where members meet monthly to share, care, and pray for one another. Guest speakers come in several times a year to inform caregivers about community resources and cutting edge treatments. This group is free and open to the public. Click here to view past devotionals for the Samaritan Support Group.

Locations

Central Presbyterian Church

GreenTree Community Church

Mission 2 Families

Missionary Care & Counseling

CrossRoads has been helping field workers meeting needs in other countries since 2010.  We’ve had the privilege to walk with medical missionaries, micro-entrepreneurs, and those spreading the Gospel all over the world.

CrossRoads has a team of clinically excellent Christian therapists with a broad range of training, expertise, and experience. A number of our counselors have served on the mission field, experiencing firsthand the joys and challenges of long term mission work.  In addition, we have received specific training in the unique circumstances that impact the emotional life of individuals and families in the field.

Utilizing video conferencing, we have conducted hundreds of sessions with missionaries and their families throughout the world to help them process secondary trauma, loneliness, depression, and the marriage and family problems that emerge while living under stress.

While our goal is to provide care that allows them to stay in the field long term, we are also able to help families in times of crisis and connect them with resources needed to re-stabilize.

Getting Started

Initial contact for counseling services is made with our missionary care coordinator, who responds within 1 – 4 hours to the inquiry.  She then connects the missionary with a counselor who is the best fit, taking into consideration their clinical need, life experience, and problem focus.

Some of the services we provide include:

  • Counseling using a HIPAA compliant secure video platform

  • On-site counseling at company conferences for field workers

  • Psychological assessment for missionary candidates

  • Family Resilience Analysis and preparedness recommendations for missionary or field candidates with children

If you are a mission sending organization that would like more information about how CrossRoads can help support your field workers, please email Emilie Land at emilieland@stl-ccc.org.

Missionaries directly seeking counseling can visit our New Client Information page to get more information and get placed with a counselor.

Congregation & Community Support

Community Connections Breakfasts

At CrossRoads we believe that our best posture for helping is one of listening, learning and lending care where it is needed. Twice yearly, we host a breakfast in one of the communities we serve. The purpose of this time is to connect community leaders from across our region, generate reciprocal sharing and learning, and to hear from those who know their community best about how we can support them. This not only provides a time for us to hear from our community partners, it also gives them a chance to learn more about ways to support mental wellness in themselves and their spheres of influence.

If you’d like to be notified of future events, email Abby Mather at abbymather@stl-ccc.org.

Made for More Workshops

Our counselors are available to equip your community to foster mental wellness and support those who struggle emotionally, spiritually and relationally. You can request more information about one of the workshops below, or share more about what your community needs so we can customize a workshop that meets your needs.

For more information, email Jeanette Brown at jeanettebrown@stl-ccc.org