国产剧麻豆剧

In 2015, Dr. Dan Jenkins, director of 国产剧麻豆剧's M.A. in Clinical Counseling program and psychology professor, was invited to preach at a Thanksgiving Day service. Considering what to share, he felt prompted to write a letter of gratitude to his father, to read during the service.

鈥淒ear Dad,鈥� Jenkins began, his father beaming in the second row. 鈥淚 have never written a letter of gratitude to you before.鈥�

Jenkins thanked his father for blessings great and small. He thanked him for wrestling together on the living room floor when Jenkins was a child. He thanked him for eating tuna sandwiches and going to Dairy Queen, and for teaching him how to play chess and work hard. He thanked him for 鈥渕odeling what it means to be a man of God.鈥�

Weeks later, Jenkins鈥� father unexpectedly died.

鈥淚f I hadn鈥檛 expressed my gratitude,鈥� Jenkins said, 鈥淚 would have grieved my father鈥檚 passing at a much deeper level and healed more slowly. Gratitude empowers us with God鈥檚 grace and makes us more resilient to losses in life.鈥�

Jenkins lives with a heart of gratitude because, he explained, 鈥淚 can see God鈥檚 pattern of restoration and healing in my life.鈥�

Jenkins鈥� mother, for example, wanted to pursue a master鈥檚 degree in counseling. As a graduate of Pasadena College, she enrolled in 国产剧麻豆剧鈥檚 master鈥檚 program in counseling in 1975. Unfortunately, the program closed two years later and she completed a 国产剧麻豆剧 master鈥檚 in education instead.

鈥淭he fact that I came along 40 years later at the same institution, pursuing the same end as my mother, is remarkable,鈥� Jenkins said.

鈥淚鈥檓 now developing and launching 国产剧麻豆剧鈥檚 new M.A. in Clinical Counseling program and will finish what she began,鈥� he continued. 鈥淣o one on Earth can plan that well. That has to be God.鈥�

Jenkins pursued God鈥檚 purposes from a young age. From grade school on, he would climb a hill near his home to sit under a water tank and pray.

鈥淚 would spend a lot of time praying for the opportunity to help people,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 yearned to be a force for good. Even now, that desire brings up tremendous emotion.鈥�

Jenkins鈥� father, a pastor, was himself a 鈥渇orce for good,鈥� preaching on Sunday and counseling individuals, especially engaged and married couples.

鈥淎long with my mother鈥檚 interests in psychology, my father鈥檚 pastoral counseling set the stage for me to pursue psychology,鈥� Jenkins said. 鈥淢y studies opened my eyes to see how difficult empathy and communication are. Many people walk into marriages and relationships thinking they know how to communicate, but they don鈥檛 know what they don鈥檛 know 鈥� and they fail miserably.鈥�

Jenkins earned his B.A. in Psychology and Bible from Pacific Christian College in 1982 and his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Brigham Young University in 1986. He began teaching at Christian undergraduate colleges in 1987, joining 国产剧麻豆剧 in 2003.

In addition to his teaching, Jenkins also directs Lighthouse Psychological Services in Mission Valley, a full-service, faith-based clinic he founded with his wife, Beth, in 2000.

Gratitude empowers us with God鈥檚 grace and makes us more resilient to losses in life.

Jenkins specializes in psychotherapy for depression and anxiety, as well as family and relational issues. He and Beth also speak at marriage conferences across the country.

Maintaining a healthy marriage is not only their professional expertise, but their daily practice.

鈥淓very morning, one of us makes coffee and wakes the other with a kiss,鈥� Jenkins said. 鈥淭hen we talk for at least an hour. It鈥檚 amazing how fast that time goes. That connection point holds our marriage together. I can鈥檛 imagine not doing this every single day.鈥�

The key to the Jenkins鈥� 鈥渃onnection point,鈥� and the strategy they teach their clients, is the practice of active listening, or actively entering into another鈥檚 heart and soul through empathy. The reward of active listening 鈥� genuine intimacy 鈥� is immense.

Understanding our past is also vital to healthy relationships, Jenkins explained.

鈥淚 teach couples and clients to explore how feelings experienced in their current relationships are the very same emotions they felt as children and in their family of origin,鈥� he said. 鈥淪eeing the affect bridge connecting our current emotions and childhood wounding, and sharing these connections with a spouse or friend, can lead to tremendous empathy and healing.鈥�

Jenkins believes healing occurs not only when we come to know the Lord, but also through this process of connecting deeply in relationships.

鈥淭his is the heart of my life,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 my way of spreading the Good News. God heals the present by helping us understand losses from the past.鈥�

Such is the testimony of one who, from childhood, prayed fervently to be a 鈥渇orce for good鈥� in the world. Jenkins has learned to connect deeply in his relationships 鈥� especially with God, Jehovah Rapha, who heals and restores.

His lifelong quest to know and serve God has not only resulted in wholeness and freedom in his own life, career, and marriage, but has brought tremendous emotional and spiritual breakthroughs to hundreds of counseling clients, and to the many 国产剧麻豆剧 psychology students he mentors.