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GENERAL SESSION SPEAKERS
Ed Welch
General Session 1: When Death IntrudesGeneral Session 6: The Church as a Place of Healing
Ed Welch is a faculty member and counselor at CCEF, where he has served since 1981. He holds a doctor of philosophy in counseling (neuropsychology) from the University of Utah and a master of divinity from Biblical Theological Seminary. Ed is a licensed psychologist and has been active in local church ministry for decades. He has written numerous books, including When People Are Big and God Is Small (P&R Publishing, 1997), Shame Interrupted (New Growth Press, 2012), Side by Side (Crossway, 2015), and Created to Draw Near (Crossway, 2020).
Julie Lowe
General Session 2: The Experience of TraumaGeneral Session 5: Growing in Hope
Julie Lowe is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) and a registered play therapist supervisor. She holds a master of arts in counseling from Biblical Theological Seminary and served at CCEF for over 20 years in various capacities, including as a faculty member and counselor. Julie has extensive training and experience with marriage, women’s issues, sexual abuse, body image issues, parenting, and child maltreatment issues. She is trained in leading mandated reporter trainings and provides numerous trainings and consultations on child sexual abuse. She has published numerous books, including Child Proof (New Growth Press, 2018), Building Bridges (New Growth Press, 2020), and Safeguards (New Growth Press, 2022).
Mike Emlet
General Session 4: Trauma & the Body
Mike Emlet is the Dean of Faculty and a counselor at CCEF, where he has served since 2001. He holds a doctor of medicine from the University of Pennsylvania and a master of divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary. Prior to joining CCEF, Mike worked as a family physician for eleven years. He has particular interests in working with ministry leaders and with those who struggle with anxiety, depression, and OCD. He has published numerous books, including CrossTalk (New Growth Press, 2009), Descriptions and Prescriptions (New Growth Press, 2017), and Saints, Sufferers, and Sinners (New Growth Press, 2021).
Darby Strickland
General Session 2: The Experience of TraumaGeneral Session 3: Vigilance & the Invitation to Vulnerability
Darby Strickland is a faculty member and counselor at CCEF, where she has served since 2003. She has a master of divinity with a counseling emphasis from Westminster Theological Seminary. Darby brings particular passion and expertise in helping the vulnerable and oppressed, especially women in abusive marriages. She has contributed to Church Cares and the PCA Domestic Abuse & Sex Assault church training materials. She has counseled in a missionary church setting and has also held leadership roles in women’s ministry. She is the author of Is it Abuse? (P&R, 2020), has written a handful of minibooks, and has contributed to several other books.
Alasdair Groves
General Session 7: Trauma Will Not Have the Last Word
Alasdair Groves is the Executive Director of CCEF, as well as a faculty member and counselor. He has served at CCEF since 2009. He holds a master of divinity with an emphasis in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. Alasdair co-founded CCEF New England, where he served as director for ten years. He also served as the director of CCEF’s School of Biblical Counseling for three years. He is the host of CCEF’s podcast, Where Life & Scripture Meet, and is the co-author of Untangling Emotions (Crossway, 2019).
BREAKOUT SESSION SPEAKERS
Aaron Sironi
Betrayal Trauma II: Marriage Counseling in the Aftermath of Infidelity
Aaron Sironi is a faculty member and the counseling training coordinator at CCEF, where he has served since 2008. He holds a master of science in marital and family therapy from Fuller Theological Seminary and has earned counseling certificates from CCEF. Aaron is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) and has counseled in community mental health, psychiatric hospital, and outpatient settings. He has a passion for building strong relationships with local churches and coming alongside pastoral ministers through consultation, training, and counseling services. In addition to his work at CCEF, Aaron serves on the board of CCEF Montana, an affiliate counseling office in Billings, MT.
Cecelia Bernhardt
Breakout Session: The Importance of “Story” in the Healing of Childhood Sexual AbuseBreakout Session: Can We Forgive Someone after a Traumatic Encounter?
Cecelia Bernhardt is a faculty member and counselor at CCEF, where she has served since 2004. She holds a master of divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary and has earned the advanced counseling certificate from CCEF. Cecelia has counseled in the local church context and held leadership roles in women’s and singles ministries. She has a particular burden for counseling victims of childhood sexual abuse.
Chris Moles
Rev. Chris Moles is an ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and Senior Pastor of The Chapel (Winfield, WV). Chris is a Certified Biblical Counselor (ACBC and IABC) and a trained group facilitator in domestic violence intervention and prevention. Chris holds a bachelor of arts in Bible from Cedarville College and a master of arts in biblical counseling from Faith Bible Seminary (Lafayette, IN).
Curtis Solomon
Breakout Sessions: Unique Factors of Military-Related Trauma
Curtis Solomon is the Executive Director of the Biblical Counseling Coalition and Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of Biblical Counseling at Boyce College. He was introduced to biblical counseling at The Master’s College in 1999 and graduated from there with a bachelor of arts in biblical studies in 2002. He holds several advanced degrees from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, including a master of divinity, Christian ministries (2007), a master of theology in Christian philosophy (2020), and a doctor of philosophy in biblical counseling (2020). Curtis is an Air Force veteran and former employee of the US Department of Veterans Affairs. His military background inspired his doctoral research on post-traumatic stress. He is the author of Redeem Your Marriage: Hope for Husbands Who Have Hurt through Pornography and I Have PTSD: Reorienting After Trauma.
Eamon Wilson
Breakout Session: A Biblical Framing of the DSM-5 Criteria for TraumaBreakout Session: Intergenerational Trauma & the Renewal of Family
Eamon Wilson is a licensed clinical psychologist in Ontario, Canada. He holds a master of divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary and a doctor of psychology (clinical psychology) from Widener University. After counseling at CCEF for six years, Eamon now works in several rural communities in Northern Ontario, where he both counsels and evaluates children and adolescents for learning disabilities and developmental delays. Other contexts in which he has counseled include a psychiatric hospital, university campus counseling center, and assessment of diaconal candidates. Eamon has taught biblical counseling courses at Heritage Seminary in Ontario and Fondation due Counseling Biblique in Quebec.
Ellen Dykas
Breakout Session: Betrayal Trauma: Understanding the Impact of Marital Sexual Infidelity
Ellen Dykas is the Director of Equipping for Ministry to Women for Harvest USA. She joined Harvest USA in 2007 and has authored several Harvest USA mini-books, a women’s curriculum, a devotional, and, most recently, Jesus and Your Unwanted Journey: Wives Finding Comfort After Sexual Betrayal. Her focus is on producing new content and developing training for churches. Ellen received her master’s degree from Covenant Theological Seminary and a graduate certificate in biblical counseling from the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF).
Esther Liu
Breakout Session: Shame in the Aftermath of Trauma
Esther Liu is a counselor and faculty member at CCEF. She has a master of arts in religion with an emphasis in biblical studies from Westminster Theological Seminary, as well as a master of arts in counseling. Since joining CCEF in 2015, Esther has served various roles, including as a counseling intern, the executive and faculty assistant, and a content editor. Esther has a passion for bringing biblical reframing to a person’s struggles and also holds deep concern for the importance of attending to multicultural aspects of counseling. She is the author of Shame: Being Known & Loved (P&R Publishing, 2022).
Greg Wilson
Greg Wilson holds a doctor of educational ministry and is a licensed professional counselor and board-approved counselor supervisor in the state of Texas. He leads Soul Care Associates, a counseling and consulting practice in Flower Mound, Texas. He sees couples, families, and individual adolescents and adults. His practice areas include marriage and family, adolescent issues, domestic abuse, addiction, and trauma. As a consultant, Dr. Wilson works with leaders of churches and other organizations on adopting best practices and standards for care. He is the coauthor, with Jeremy Pierre, of When Home Hurts: A Guide for Responding Wisely to Domestic Abuse in Your Church.
Jill Butler
Breakout Session: Adoption: The Brokenness of Family & the Mercy of Christ
Jill Butler is the Director of Operations and a counselor at CCEF, where she has served since 2021. She is also an online instructor for the School of Biblical Counseling. She has a master of arts in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. Jill has counseled for over twelve years in the local church as well as over four years in a biblical counseling center. She enjoys being with friends, reading, cooking, and anywhere with a tide.
John Perritt
John Perritt is the Director of Resources for Reformed Youth Ministries (www.rym.org) and serves as the host for RYM’s podcast, The Local Youth Worker. He holds a master of divinity and a doctor of ministry. He has published several books: Your Days Are Numbered (2016), What Would Judas Do? (2017), Time Out! (2018), Insecure (2019), The Gospel-Centered Life in Mark for Students (2019), Not If, But When (2019) and Social Media Pressure (2023). He also serves as the series editor for the Track series, which is a collection of booklets used to disciple students. He has served in youth ministry for over 20 years.
Jonathan Holmes
Breakout Session: Adoption: The Brokenness of Family & the Mercy of ChristBreakout Session: Cross-Cultural Counseling & Trauma: Embodying Sensitivity, Awareness & Christ’s Mercy
Jonathan Holmes is the founder and Executive Director of Fieldstone Counseling. Jonathan graduated from The Master’s University with degrees in biblical counseling and history and earned his master’s from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is the author and contributor to a number of books including The Company We Keep, Counsel for Couples, Rescue Skills, and Rescue Plan. Jonathan serves on the Board of Directors for CCEF and the Council Board for the Biblical Counseling Coalition (BCC). Additionally, Jonathan is an instructor at Westminster Theological Seminary in the Master of Arts in Counseling program, and he speaks frequently at conferences and retreats.
Joy Forrest
Breakout Session: A Holistic Approach to Helping Families Impacted by Domestic Abuse
Joy Forrest is the founder and Executive Director of Called to Peace Ministries. She is author of Called to Peace: A Survivor’s Guide to Finding Peace & Healing After Domestic Abuse and the Called to Peace Companion Workbook. Joy holds a master of arts in biblical counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and has been active in counseling ministry since 2005. She has been an advocate for victims of abuse since 1997 and is a certified advocate with the NC Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Joy is a contributor to DivorceCare’s recovery support group curriculum, the Institute for Biblical Counseling and Discipleship’s Counseling Care for Domestic Abuse videos, and Caring for Families Caught in Domestic Abuse (Chris Moles, ed.).
Kristin Silva Linder
Kristin Silva Linder works as a biblical counselor in Portland, OR. She counsels full time and leads a counseling internship for students completing their training in biblical counseling. In addition to counseling, she is a speaker and an author, contributing to the Journal of Biblical Counseling as well as writing on her own blog. Prior to moving to Portland, she completed a master’s degree in theological studies from Westminster Seminary California and her counseling training and internship with CCEF. For over ten years, she has continued her work with CCEF from a distance working for the School of Biblical Counseling in a variety of capacities as well as serving as a distance counselor for a season.
Lauren Whitman
Breakout Session: “Lord, See My Anguish! My Heart Is Broken”: Grieving with Faith after a Major Loss
Lauren Whitman is a faculty member and counselor at CCEF, where she has served since 2010. She holds a master of arts in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary and a certificate in advanced professional counseling from Missio Seminary. Lauren also serves as the developmental editor for the Journal of Biblical Counseling. Through her work with the Journal, she brings experience and skill for developing authors and their writing. She also has a particular interest in biblical counseling methodology and in marriage counseling. Lauren has published multiple books, including A Painful Past (P&R Publishing, 2020) and A Biblical Counseling Process (New Growth Press, 2021).
Michael Gembola
Breakout Session: Impaired or Empowered? Trauma in the Lives of Christian Workers
Michael Gembola is an adjunct faculty member at CCEF and consulting editor for the Journal of Biblical Counseling. He is an ordained minister and a licensed professional counselor (LPC) and serves as Executive Director of Blue Ridge Christian Counseling in VA. He holds master’s degrees in biblical studies and in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary and has done continuing education in trauma recovery. He teaches counseling courses at Westminster, the Blue Ridge Institute for Theological Education, and Santiago Seminary. He is the author of After an Affair: Pursuing Restoration (P&R Publishing, 2018) and Anxious about Decisions: Finding Freedom in the Peace of God (New Growth Press, 2022).
Todd Stryd
Breakout Session: Psalms 129, 130 & 131: A Framework for Considering Trauma & Caring for the TraumatizedBreakout Session: Trauma, Recovery & the Beauty of God