My name is Charles Anderson, although most people call me Chuck. How I got here is–like all stories–kind of complicated.
I spent about 20 years in the technology industry, first as a “Dilbert” engineer, and then as a “pointy-haired boss” (see www.dilbert.com if you don’t know what I’m talking about). Through that experience, I got credit (but no money) for a half-dozen patents and a monstrous addiction to work. I am a recovering workaholic
As a part of my recovery, I decided it was time to do something different, so I went back to school – Mars Hill Graduate School (Now known as The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology www.theseattleschool.edu) to be precise – and earned 2 graduate degrees: Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology, and Master of Divinity.
As a counselor, I enjoy working with individuals and couples who are struggling with relational issues, particularly those that show up as non-substance addictions like work, religion, and relationships, and with the struggles associated with mid-life “re-alignments”. I am also interested in working with survivors of childhood sexual abuse and those who love them; and with men who are really serious about getting violence out of their lives, especially violence towards members of their own families.
After opening and running my counseling practice for a while, life took some more detours. I went through the pain of divorce, ended up back in the tech industry for another 5 years, found a new wife, and she and I decided to buy and run a lovely Bed and Breakfast (and Spa) – www.lucillesmountaintopinn.com, if you’re curious.
Now it’s time for something new again – we sold the Inn and we’ve moved 5 times since the beginning of 2020, but (for now at least) we’re settling in to a new life and place in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.
My personal and professional callings are still evolving, but they are centered around a concept I call “story restoration”. This involves walking through stories (my own, my family’s, my friends’, my church’s, and my clients’) in the twin lights of the imago Dei (the Image of God) in which every human being is created and the cesspool of depravity that is also intrinsic to every human.
As a psychotherapist and spiritual director, my goal is to create a synergy between the two that shows the glory of being fully human, as each story is uniquely designed to do, while celebrating the mystery of what has not yet been revealed. While I hope for positive behavioral change as a revelation of this internal growth, that isn’t the main focus of therapy. Rather, my desire is to engage with the ongoing process of internal transformation into what each of us was created to be(come).
I am Licensed Professional Counselor by the state of Georgia (License # LPC006090, in the Prof. Coun./Soc. Work/Marriage category – click here to verify with my name and license number). This license requires a Master’s Degree in Counseling, which I earned from The Seattle School in 2007. Further, I carry professional liability insurance from HPSO.