Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center earns accreditation renewal

certificate-framed-page-001(Des Moines, Iowa) September 13, 2016 – The Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center has been awarded Full Accreditation renewal for June 2016 – June 2020, from The Samaritan Institute, located in Denver, Colorado.

“Accreditation is a major accomplishment and demonstrates a Center’s commitment to excellence,” according to Robert Johnson, L.D.S.W., President/CEO for the Samaritan Institute, the headquarters for an international network of Samaritan Centers. “The accreditation process indicates that Centers offer professional services within a framework of quality organizational, administrative, and financial practices,” Johnson said.

The accreditation process is a rigorous four-month self-study to evaluate the quality of clinical services, community support, management processes, educational programs, administrative functioning, financial accountability, marketing and communication efforts, and overall Center effectiveness.

The Samaritan Ministry advocates the concept of interfaith, team-oriented, and cost-efficient counseling, emphasizing the inter-relatedness of mind, body, spirit and community.

“I am so proud of our clinicians and staff for their excellence that makes it possible for us to earn this accreditation, and to serve the community through quality counseling and education,” said Ellery Duke, executive director of the Des Moines Pastoral Counseling. “I am also grateful to our capable board of directors, generous base of support and clients who entrust us with their concerns. This is a team effort.”

Through its affiliation with the Samaritan Institute, the Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center is part of an international network of 62 Samaritan Centers with 481 offices in 25 states and Japan.

The Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center was established in 1972 by the First United Methodist Church. Community support has expanded to include a broad band of individual donors and generous corporate and foundation support, including the Dean and Sandra Carlson Foundation, the Fred Maytag Foundation, BWA Foundation, the Gannett Foundation/The Des Moines Register, Polk County Board of Supervisors, the Principal Financial Group Foundation, Westbancorporation Foundation and more.

More about the Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center:

The Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center is a nonprofit, nonsectarian organization serving more than 4,000 individuals annually including up to 800 children and adolescents, through 26 licensed clinicians. In 2015, the Center operated with a $2.9 million budget. Although best known for its 44 years of providing professional mental health therapy, the Center is a multi-faceted organization providing a range of services:

  • Counseling, including specialized services for children and adolescents
  • Psychiatric consultation and care
  • Psychological testing and assessment
  • Training for clinical professionals
  • Leadership and spiritual life programming
  • Career Coaching
  • Conflict transformation and strategic planning services for congregations, nonprofits and businesses