header image

Counseling Center

Our Mission

Christ Church Counseling Center exists to provide professional and clinical counseling from a Christian perspective, to provide training and educational opportunities for both churches and the broader Berkeley and Oakland community, and to engage in meaningful dialogue with mental health professionals of all perspectives on matters of faith and psychological health.

Office Hours

Mondays, 10am - 8pm

Counseling Staff

Brian Kay

Dr. Brian Kay, Phd, MA

Counselor

Email: brian@christchurcheastbay.org
925-360-1802

Brian completed a Masters in Psychology at Chapman University College and holds a PhD in Theology from the University of Bristol (UK) and a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary near Boston.

Brian has served as a psychotherapist, as a pastor, and as a seminary and university lecturer in both theology and spirituality.  As a counselor, he draws from a Christian view of the nature of persons as well as contemporary insights on psychological and relational functioning. His Ph.D. thesis (Bristol) incorporated many of these interests, considering the devotional uses of trinitarian theology.

Brian and his wife, Sally, have two children: Willa and Henry.

Our Focus

Throughout our lives, many of us face difficult circumstances, inner conflict, and emotional pain. These can be barriers to fulfilling relationships with one another and with God. The Christ Church Counseling Center provides a safe and confidential setting to enable people to heal emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. We offer help to adults, adolescents, children and families who are struggling with:

  • Abuse and Neglect
  • Addiction
  • Anger and Rage
  • Attachment Issues
  • Career Issues
  • Codependency
  • Communication
  • Depression
  • Divorce
  • Eating Disorders
  • Family Issues
  • Fear and Anxiety
  • Gender Issues
  • Grief and Loss
  • Infidelity
  • Marriage Issues
  • Mental Illness
  • Marital or Premarital Issues
  • Parenting Challenges
  • Pornography
  • Personality Disorders
  • Relationships
  • Sexuality
  • Spiritual Issues
  • Step-Family Issues
  • Stress
  • And more

Our Philosophy

We believe it's important to be honest about our presuppositions, as we all - whether religious or irreligious - have some kind of guiding framework or grid for thinking through life's big questions.  Christ Church Counseling Center roots its perspective in the story of Scripture and the ancient wisdom of Christian spirituality, seeing wholeness and healing through its narrative of a world broken and in need of redemption.  Though we'll never impose our convictions or shove the Bible in your face, this larger narrative guides our work.  The prodigious 17th century mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal, describes the brokenness of the human condition through a Christian lens, writing in his Pensées:

What else does this craving and this helplessness proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.

Our conviction is that Pascal's words hit the mark - that humans are looking for satisfaction in substances and status, in religious ritual and financial portfolios, in politics and power.  And we've observed mass frustration in each attempt.  Thoreau observed, "The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation."

Into this, we join you not as experts who have figured out all of the answers, but as guides who have walked the path of suffering and who have tasted a bit of the redemption that comes through honest struggle.  We are professionals - committed to the highest standards of therapeutic practice, adhering to ethical codes of conduct, with training in top graduate and doctoral programs.  Yet, we are fellow travelers, committed to walking with you in your unique process.  We cannot fix problems, though we employ the tools of the clinical trade.  Growth and change is often a mysterious process, and too often the churches and Christian counselors prescribe simplistic remedies which are more condescending than helpful.  Our aim is to respect your unique process, and with your permission, to offer some of the unique ancient wisdom that represents the best of Christian faith.  You are always welcome to ask questions and to disagree.

Our Fees

$85 for individuals
$105 for couples or families

Each counseling session is 50 minutes.

We are building a clinical staff with a range of professional credentials and experience. Our rates are reflective of each counselor's experience, specialization, and education level.  In general, our rates are below the average for clinicians of similar education and experience in the Bay Area. We do not accept insurance, though we do provide receipts with diagnostic coding which, in limited cases, qualify for reimbursement (by self-submission only). Checks are made payable to Christ Church but are not tax-deductible because of services rendered.

Christ Church provides "pastoral care" to its members free of charge. Pastoral care usually involves 1-3 sessions with a pastor, and covers a wide range of issues from spiritual struggles to relational difficulties. However, since its inception, Christ Church has helped people needing more clinical expertise and longer term care find a local psychologist and counselor. It has been a desire from the beginning to start a professional, fee-for-service counseling center at Christ Church providing outstanding care from a distinctly Christian worldview. To this end, Christ Church Counseling Center will provide care at or below the standard rates of psychologists and counselors with similar credentials and experience. As Christ Church Counseling Center grows, so will its staff, providing counseling at a variety of rate scales, offering individual/marital/family therapy as well as an opportunity for therapy groups, seminars on a range of emotional/spiritual topics, and much more. The fees will go towards the development of Christ Church Counseling Center and its team of professional clinicians, as well as a dedicated space and staff for the center, all the while committed to providing the highest level of care for Christ Church and our surrounding community.