Our Counselors
Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
Ruth Whitley LPC-S, LMFT
The ability to counsel is a God-given gift that allows me to help hurting individuals or couples better themselves by developing healthy attitudes and perceptions. My goal is to see progress as they grow and work through their problems while providing hope in every situation.
Licensed Professional Counselor, National Board Certified Counselor
Ryan Dunlap LPC, NCC
Ryan earned a Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy from Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson Mississippi. He is married and has two beautiful daughters. His passion is working with Men, young and old in their life journey or pursuit to make the world their own. As a college minister on two campuses in Louisiana he gained experience training young men to be the spiritual leader of their home and of themselves. As a counselor he has walked with men through divorce, grief, strained relationships, affairs, depression, and anxiety. Trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) he uses these tools along with his Training in Marriage and Family Therapy to equip Men and Women to endure the many challenges of life; including, parenting, aging parents, overbearing in laws, and the many different forms of trauma we experience in life.
Licensed Professional Counselor
Louis Breland, PhD, LPC
PhD - Counseling Psychology
ThM - Theology
MA - Marriage and Family Counseling
Certified - Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI)
Certified - Yellow Belt in Robust Process Improvement
Over his career, Louis has worked in many clinical settings including acute inpatient psychiatric and dual diagnosis treatment, residential chemical dependency treatment, community mental health, school-based and home-based mental health treatment, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient treatment. However, his passion is working in private practice with individuals and families. Louis currently specializes in treating addiction, depression, anxiety, family and parenting issues, divorce, grief and loss, chronic illness and pain, spiritual guidance, and trauma intervention.
His counseling approach is based upon the foundation of Paul’s exhortation, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).
Licensed Professional Counselor
Gwen Wornall LPC
There are times in life when we face difficult or challenging circumstances. In Psalm 56:8, David expresses deep trust in God during a difficult time when he cries out to the Lord and says “You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book?” God knows what we are going through in life and we can know that He is there along the way. He is able to give us the strength to do the work to get through challenging times. With over a decade of experience working with individuals who are experiencing grief, you will find a compassionate therapeutic environment to gain support and find peace, comfort, and a renewed purpose. It is a privilege to help clients as they move through the journey of difficult and challenging circumstances and work to establish healing and personal growth.
Special Areas of Interest:
Grief & Loss
Depression
Anxiety/ Stress
Infertility & Pregnancy Loss
Women’s Issues
Senior Adult Issues
Education & Credentials:
Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Counseling, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with minor in Sociology, Mississippi College
Licensed Professional Counselor
Provisionally-Licensed Professional Counselor
John Kelly P-LPC
John is a Provisionally-Licensed Professional Counselor (PLPC) with a Master of Arts in Counseling from Midwestern Seminary. Through his own journey of growth through grief and loss, trauma, and the difficult journey of life, he desired to serve others like he has been served. His training includes a variety of techniques, but he values a client-centered approach engaging multiple modalities. He especially enjoys helping clients experience their way to a new way of living through experiential modalities (with training through Onsite Worskshops in Cumberland Furnace, TN).
He believes therapy is a collaborative process where he walks alongside clients to empower and guide them toward increased self-awareness, gaining new perspectives and advanced personal strength to experience a more meaningful life - the life of abundance that God intended.
Taking steps toward needed changes takes courage, and a welcoming and shame-free space aids clients in engaging the entirety of their story as they grow toward wholeness.
Special Areas of Interest:
High school & college students
Men’s & women’s issues
Marriage and family dynamics
Emotional regulation due to anxiety, stress, and depression
Family of origin concerns
Trauma
Grief and loss
Spiritual development and support
Religious trauma
John also holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication with a minor in Christian Studies and a Master of Science in Communication (with research in cross-cultural communication and religion) from Mississippi College.
Licensed Professional Counselor, National Board Certified Counselor
Denny Hydrick LPC, NCC
Denny earned a Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Counseling and a Master of Arts in Religion Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1995. In addition, he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Accounting) from Mississippi College in 1992. Denny has been a Licensed Professional Counselor in Mississippi since 2003 and has served in several ministry and professional positions serving families, children, and youth.
Denny and his wife have been married for over 30 years. They have four children and one grandchild.
Denny’s passion is working with:
adolescents, college students
engaged couples, married couples
men of all ages as they navigate life’s stages and challenges.
Provisionally Licensed Professional Counselor, National Board Certified Counselor
Elizabeth Hunt P-LPC, NCC
Everyone is a living work of art, impacting our world in powerful ways. As you create your masterpiece, I would like to assist you.
Although being wounded seems inevitable, there is always hope for healing when the right conditions are in place - when we are safe, seen, known, and loved. This is what I offer you – a therapeutic relationship built on trust, safety, and hope.
The counseling process can be uncomfortable and exposing. There is a chance you will feel broken and vulnerable. The process often requires understanding our minds, which can be tedious since “the mind is a powerful place and what you feed it can affect you in a powerful way,” to quote award-winning artist, NF. It also requires compassion and empathy for the wounds that need to be healed. Despite your past or present journey, I would be honored to provide you with a safe and open space to heal.
In my work, I'm passionate about empowering families, couples, and individuals struggling with anxiety, grief, trauma, relationships, and sexual dysfunction/concerns to find hope, freedom, and healing in their unique image.
My experience has allowed me to assist the poor, minorities, the LGBTQIA+ community, and children and parents who have suffered abuse, grief, abandonment, and trauma. These experiences inform my current services of therapy and psychoeducation including Cognitive Behavioral, Person-Centered, Mindfulness, and Multicultural approaches.
In addition to the master's degree I earned from Mississippi College, I continue to acquire more training and experience. I maintain an active membership with the American Counseling Association. I am currently studying to become a Certified Sex Therapist, and my goal is to provide healing and education both inside the counseling room and throughout the community.
I am a Gulf Coast native. In addition to reading, weightlifting, and kayaking with my husband and cat, I enjoy many other hobbies for self-care and fun.