FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                           

IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY COUNSELING CENTER TO CELEBRATE LAUNCH
 AS NEBRASKA’S NEWEST NONPROFIT WITH FRESH LOOK AND AUGUST 4th OPEN HOUSE
 IN HONOR OF INTERNSHIP PROGRAM’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY

Counseling Center boasts ONLY Catholic internship program in the country
 accredited by the American Psychology Association.

LINCOLN, NEBRASKA (July 12, 2023) – Immaculate Heart of Mary Counseling Center is celebrating its launch as one of Nebraska’s newest non-profit organizations. Festivities include the unveiling of a new logo, refreshed website, visit from Bishop Conley, and an open house commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Counseling Center’s Internship Program. The public is invited to the open house on Friday, August 4th from 1:30-3:30 PM at its offices in the John XXIII Diocesan Center at 3700 Sheridan Blvd. Suite #1 in Lincoln. Refreshments will be provided. Guests can tour the facility, meet the counselors and staff, and learn how IHMCC serves the community.

Immaculate Heart of Mary Counseling Center, which used to operate as part of Catholic Social Services, is now an independent non-profit organization. As a non-profit, the Immaculate Heart of Mary Counseling Center will continue to be able to provide support services and counseling to the entire Diocese of Lincoln. For over twenty-five years, Immaculate Heart of Mary Counseling Center has provided high-quality, professional, faith-integrated counseling to our priests, religious, school staff, and individuals within the community. Over 5,000 sessions were conducted in 2023 as the fiscal year ended in June.

The idea of providing Catholic faith-integrated mental healthcare in the Diocese of Lincoln began with Fr. Joseph Walsh who quickly involved Dr. Kathryn Benes, the only Catholic mental health professional he knew. Dr. Kathryn Benes surrendered her private practice in July of 1994 to oversee a diocesan-wide feasibility study and become the founding Director of Clinical Services for what would become the Immaculate Heart of Mary Counseling Center.

The internship program at Immaculate Heart of Mary Counseling Center was formed to train new professionals in the developing concept of Catholic faith-integrated counseling This new concept in counseling recognizes the individual person as both body and soul and utilizes Catholic teaching and prayer where it is beneficial to heal the whole person. The internship program, accredited in 2003 through a membership extended by the Nebraska Internship Consortium in Professional Psychology, also helps provide additional professionals to cover the 24,000 square miles of the Diocese of Lincoln. It is the only Catholic internship program accredited by the American Psychology Association in the United States. In its twenty years of existence, 33 pre-doctoral interns have completed training through IHMCC.

The Open House on August 4th will kick-off a year of transition for the Immaculate Heart of Mary Counseling Center which includes a fresh new look and plans for increased community outreach. A new logo design incorporates a strong, clean font that symbolize the strength of hope founded in the Immaculate Heart of Mary with a scripted font for “Counseling Center” providing reassurance of care and healing. The logo is made complete with an image of Mary and the color blue, considered calming and representative of Mary. There will also be a refreshed and easy to navigate website for anyone seeking to donate to the new non-profit, learn more about IHMCC staff and services, seek care, apply to an internship program, and more. Future posts from IHMCC on Facebook and Instagram will increase community awareness of mental health topics and upcoming events.

The Board of Directors for the new non-profit held its inaugural meeting on May 24, 2023 on the feast of Mary Help of Christians. Members of the board include Fr. Joseph Walsh, Jan Frayser, Dr. Arthur Grinstead, Dr. Peter Martin, Dr. Courtney Miller. Election of Officers was conducted naming Dr. Courtney Miller as President, Jan Frayser as Secretary, and Fr. Joseph Walsh as Treasurer. In September, Bishop James Conley will visit to have lunch with staff and bestow his blessing on the facility and the new non-profit corporation that is the Immaculate Heart of Mary Counseling Center.

About Immaculate Heart of Mary Counseling Center

In 1995, Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska began a clinical program in response to a comprehensive diocese-wide assessment. Information gathered during the assessment strongly indicated that psychological services within the Catholic structure were necessary.  For nearly 25 years, the Immaculate Heart of Mary Counseling Center (IHMCC) has provided such services, and as of July 1, 2023, will be doing so as its own non-profit organization. Our coverage area spans 24,500 square miles, from east to west all of Nebraska south of the Platte River.  We at the IHMCC believe in a comprehensive community-based mental health service delivery system. This unique service delivery system is grounded in Christian anthropology that views man as both immaterial (soul) and material (body). With this framework, a faith-integrated approach to understanding and responding to psychological needs guides our practice. Learn more at www.immaculateheartcounseling.org.

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