Carolyn Asher’s Journey to Becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor

Carolyn Asher’s Journey to Becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor

“Passing my Missouri Licensing Exam opened up a world of opportunity in my counseling career.” 

In addition to earning her Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling from Calvary in 2023, Carolyn Asher recently passed her Missouri Licensing Examination (NCE)—making her the first graduate from Calvary’s updated program to receive licensure!

Carolyn grew up in church her whole life but did not believe in Christ until she was in her late teens, after which she felt God was leading her to go to Criswell College in Dallas, Texas, where she studied Bible and counseling. Two years later, she moved to Missouri to earn her BA in Biblical Counseling at Calvary University. When she became a wife and mother, Carolyn took a break from her studies to focus on her family. In 2019, she returned to Calvary to finish her bachelor’s degree and earn her MA in Biblical Counseling.

“What I love about the professors at Calvary is that they take the Word of God as their cornerstone as well as explore man’s theories and observations.” 

Carolyn said she chose Calvary because she appreciated the Biblical Counseling Department’s mission to raise counselors with a holistic view that accounts for the four pillars of God’s creation: the spiritual, the physical, the emotional, and relational connections. She also stated that getting hours in for hands-on experience was made easy through Calvary’s connections to Abundant Life Counseling Center, and while earning her master’s degree, she was able to participate in a suicide-prevention ministry called Choose to Live.

When Carolyn took her exam, she felt well prepared to pass it because of the comprehensive experience, classes, and materials Calvary had supplied her with.

When Carolyn passed her NCE exam, she felt both elated and relieved to have reached this milestone in her career. Since then, she has used therapy tools from her classes with several of her counselees. As she has counseled young girls, Carolyn has taken note of the need for better communication within parent-child relationships, which has inspired her to write a devotional on the issue:

“I have found that there is a huge gap between parents and their children that needs to be filled with better communication, listening skills, and having a better understanding of each other’s emotions.”  

Her devotional will have short devotions and exercises based on the Word of God that parents can complete in just five to ten minutes. Carolyn’s goal with her simple devotional is for parents to have a closer relationship with their children by becoming more aware of their emotions and how they work.

Carolyn’s greatest joy as a counselor thus far has been witnessing the personal growth and progress of her counselees.

Helping people cope with their trauma through developing skills and understanding why they think and feel the way they do has been a very rewarding experience for Carolyn. Ultimately, she desires to use the biblical and practical knowledge she has gained to help her counselees find lasting peace.