A diverse array of practitioners who share a deep commitment to clinically wise and trauma-informed care
Our Team
Chuck DeGroat
Chuck DeGroat is a professor and the founding executive director of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, MI. A licensed therapist, spiritual director, ordained minister, and author of seven books—including When Narcissism Comes to Church, Healing What’s Within, and Who You’re Becoming—he has decades of experience pastoring in Orlando and San Francisco, founding two counseling centers and a missional training center (Newbigin House of Studies), and engaging in therapeutic work—notably, five-day intensive work. He is a nationally respected leader but is known for his tender heart and deeply relational approach. He and his wife Sara have been married for over 30 years and are grateful parents of two married daughters.
You can learn more about Chuck at www.chuckdegroat.net, follow him @chuckdegroat at most social media sites, or read his latest reflections on Substack.
Founder and Executive Director, PhD, LPC
Rachel Blackston
Rachel approaches soul care as sacred work, creating space where people can bring their whole stories—especially places marked by pain, disappointment, or longing. She has a particular heart for women navigating the effects of trauma and abuse, as well as those walking through infertility, relational betrayal, and other deeply personal struggles.
Rachel offers a compassionate and attentive presence, helping people listen more deeply to their own stories and to the ways healing, courage, and hope may be unfolding within them. Her work is shaped by years of training in trauma-informed care and by a deep commitment to spiritual formation and relational wholeness.
Rachel is a writer, adjunct professor, and speaker. Rachel and her husband Michael are the co-founders of Redeemer Counseling, a multi-site counseling practice serving communities throughout Central Florida. And they are grateful parents of three daughters—precious gifts after several years of infertility. Rachel delights in time with family, conversations over dark roast coffee, and exploring the beauty of the North Carolina mountains.
LMHC | Soul Care Intensives
Michael Blackston
Michael offers trauma-informed soul care for individuals seeking greater emotional and spiritual wholeness. His work is grounded in the belief that healing unfolds within safe, attentive relationships and that the stories that shape our lives—especially the painful ones—can become pathways toward restoration, courage, and renewed purpose.
With more than twenty years of experience walking alongside individuals and couples, Michael brings a steady and compassionate presence to those he serves. He draws on insights from attachment, story work, and Christian spiritual formation to help people explore their histories, understand the patterns shaping their lives, and move toward deeper connection with God and others.
Michael holds a Master of Arts in Counseling and has received advanced training in trauma-informed approaches to care. He and his wife, Rachel, are the co-founders of Redeemer Counseling, a multi-site counseling practice serving communities throughout Central Florida.
LMHC | Soul Care Intensives
LPC | Intensives + Soul Care + Spiritual DirectionRyan Kuja
Ryan’s work in soul care is shaped by both extensive training and his own lived journey through trauma, depression, anxiety, and profound seasons of spiritual darkness.
For more than twenty-five years—beginning with a formative spiritual experience in his late teens—he has explored the intersection of emotional healing, spirituality, and human flourishing. Ryan offers soul care, spiritual direction, coaching, intensives, and retreats that help people move toward greater steadiness, integration, and renewed purpose.
Ryan holds graduate degrees in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Theology & Culture and serves as an adjunct professor of counseling at Western Theological Seminary, teaching courses in addiction and psychopathology. Before entering the helping professions, he spent years in international relief and development, living in fifteen cities across five continents. He now lives in Holland, Michigan with his wife and their young triplets.
Monica Ayers
Monica offers compassionate, trauma-informed soul care for individuals and couples seeking greater clarity, steadiness, and connection in their lives. With a warm and attentive presence, she creates a space where people can explore their stories with honesty and courage, especially in seasons marked by stress, anxiety, relational challenges, or spiritual questions. Monica believes that when people are met with empathy and curiosity, new possibilities for healing and growth begin to emerge.
For more than twenty years, Monica has walked alongside individuals, families, and communities in roles that include leadership coaching, community organizing, nonprofit leadership, and counseling in university and school settings. She offers both ongoing soul care sessions and Renewal Retreats designed to create space for deeper reflection and renewal.
Monica holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Palm Beach Atlantic University. After a season of church planting with her husband of 20 years in the northeast, she now lives in South Florida with their three teenagers, and a spirited silver lab. A Philadelphian at heart, Monica enjoys connecting with people from many backgrounds and faith traditions.
RMHCI | Intensives + Soul Care 
Preston Hill
PhD | Intensives + Soul CarePreston is both a compassionate caregiver and a scholar, authoring the recent book Christ and Trauma: Theology East of Eden. He serves on staff of Mission Chattanooga, an Anglican Church. And he is Assistant Professor of Integrative Theology and Director of DMin Program at Richmont Graduate University.
His work lives at the intersection of faith, human suffering, and the search for wholeness. Drawing from both theological reflection and pastoral care, he is especially attentive to how experiences of abuse and trauma shape our understanding of God, ourselves, and the world.
Preston approaches soul care as sacred space—where honest questions, wounded places, and spiritual longing can be held with curiosity and compassion. He is particularly interested in the ways healing and transformation can emerge at the fragile intersection of faith and suffering.
His hope is to accompany people as they explore their stories, wrestle with life’s deepest questions, and discover new possibilities for flourishing, even in unexpected places.
Clint Clark
LPC | Intensives + Soul CareClint brings a deeply personal understanding to the work of soul care. His own journey through a difficult season of life—when his marriage, sense of self, and direction began to unravel—led him into the kind of honest reflection and relational support that opened the door to healing and renewed freedom. That experience reshaped his life and eventually led him to walk alongside others for the last two decades in their own journeys of growth and restoration.
Clint approaches this work with humility and compassion, knowing firsthand the courage it takes to face painful chapters of one’s story. He believes that when people are met with honesty, patience, and wise companionship, even the most difficult seasons can become places of transformation, deeper connection, and renewed hope.
Clint is a Licensed Professional Counselor who now lives in the Colorado mountains with his wife of more than thirty years, their dogs and cats, and a lively multi-generational household. He loves fly fishing, snowboarding, camping, exploring backroads on his adventure bike, and serving his community as a volunteer EMT and firefighter.
Kyle Small
Kyle’s work lives at the intersection of leadership, faith, theology, and the social sciences. He helps pastors, leaders and organizations slow down long enough to reflect on the deeper dynamics shaping their lives, teams, and systems. Through coaching, leadership intensives, and organizational consultation, Kyle creates space for thoughtful discernment, wise leadership, and healthier organizational cultures.
For more than twenty years Kyle has served as a researcher, pastor, educator, and coach. He currently serves as Dean of Graduate Studies at Calvin University. He previously served Professor of Leadership and the founding director of The Center for Leadership & Organizations at Anderson University (South Carolina). Prior to that, he spent more than a decade developing a pastoral formation program at Western Theological Seminary that engaged psychological assessment, spiritual formation, anti-racism training, conflict resolution, and addiction.
Kyle lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his wife, Lindsay—who serves as senior pastor of Eastern Ave Church. Together they have three children. He finds renewal on long walks—especially along the Camino—and spends his summers along the lakeshore in Southwest Michigan.
PhD | Coaching + Consulting 
Katy Kloosterman
Certified in Coaching and Enneagram With more than thirty years of experience in family-owned businesses, Katy brings a deep understanding of leadership, culture, and the complexities of generational systems. She currently serves as Executive Vice President of GVD Industries, where she focuses on cultivating healthy organizational culture and developing people within her family’s business holdings.
Katy’s work in soul care and coaching is shaped by a long-standing commitment to personal and spiritual formation. She holds a degree in business from Calvin College and a Graduate Certificate in Pastoral Care (Soul Care) from Western Theological Seminary, and she is currently completing her degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. As a certified strengths and Enneagram coach, she enjoys helping individuals and teams grow in self-awareness, discernment, and purposeful living.
Katy brings a relational and encouraging presence to her work, walking alongside others as they navigate leadership, transition, and personal growth with greater clarity and intention.
James Santos
MFT/AEDP | Intensives + Soul CareJames offers soul care rooted in the belief that healing often begins when we are no longer alone. He creates a space where people feel seen, known, and valued, helping them move toward greater self-understanding, emotional healing, relational integrity, and spiritual flourishing. With an attentive and integrative presence, James walks alongside others as they explore their stories and discover new possibilities for connection and wholeness.
James brings more than twenty-five years of experience in pastoral ministry, along with work in hospice care where he accompanied individuals and families through end-of-life journeys with compassion and dignity. He has received training in both marriage and family care and theology. In addition to his private practice work, James serves as a corporate chaplain and coach, offering emotionally attuned and spiritually grounded support.
Originally from the Philippines and raised in Florida, James enjoys reading, writing, playing piano, trail running, mountain biking, good pour-over coffee, and time with his wife, Terra, and their five children.
Sara DeGroat
BSN/MAC | Administrative CoordinatorSara serves as Administrative Coordinator for the Soul Care Collaborative, supporting the behind-the-scenes work that helps the collaborative run smoothly. She assists with billing, scheduling, and communication, helping create a welcoming and organized experience for both practitioners and clients.
Sara holds a Master of Arts in Counseling and, alongside Chuck, spent many years involved in church ministry, offering pastoral care, leading groups, and investing in the lives of others. She and Chuck are grateful parents of two married daughters and enjoy this season of life with their growing family.
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