Hi, I’m Tim Courtois.

If you’re considering meeting with me—or passing my information on to someone you care about—you probably want to know a little bit about me first. If you’re interested in my resume-type stuff (degrees, credentials and experience) scroll to the bottom. But if you want to get a feel for what I’m really like and whether we’ll work well together, keep reading.

What am I like?

I have a hunger for things that are beautiful, meaningful and true. I love to feel deeply alive. And I consider it a great honor to also walk alongside others in their search for healing, freedom, and deep aliveness.

I have fought through my own share of deep suffering in my life. I’ve personally received care from several fantastic counselors who really changed my life. (Along the way I also stumbled into the offices of a few mediocre counselors, and one really bad one.) And I’ve wrestled personally with whether and when to turn to medication to help me get to a place of greater thriving.

All that to say, I have often known what it is like to find that my aliveness has taken a back seat to just surviving in a painful, dangerous, and busy world. But I have also known what it is to receive kindness, and to find LIFE reawakening inside of me. So I love to provide others with a taste of kindness: the experience of being seen, welcomed, and even a little disrupted, in a way that opens one up to goodness.

Being a Listener and a See-er

As I’ve gotten to know myself, I’ve found that I am a Listener and a See-er. I love to pay attention and to find unexpected beauty, goodness and truth in places that were previously discounted. And I love how powerful and transformative paying attention can be—especially with those who long to feel more alive and who want to find their own voice.

The Resume-type stuff

• Master of Arts in Counseling from Reformed Theological Seminary (Orlando) in 2007
• Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Michigan
• Specialized training in sexuality:
  • Certificate in Narrative-Focused Trauma Therapy from The Allender Center (training focused on counseling survivors of trauma and sexual abuse).
  • University of Michigan Sexual Health Certificate program, 2019-2020 cohort, with a focus in Sex Therapy and Sexuality Education.
• 14 years of experience as a Professional Counselor
  • Worked most frequently with those dealing with issues of sexuality, all forms of sexual harm, and compulsive sexual behaviors.
  • Worked also with clients dealing with depression, anxiety, trauma, and many kinds of personal and relational concerns.
• 17 years of full-time experience caring for people in a church setting
• Served in an advisory capacity to train people in full-time ministry in caring for those with mental health struggles.
• Participated in and led many conferences, retreats, and therapy groups focused on recovery and healing in general, and trauma and sexual abuse in particular.
• Worked with various healing & therapy-based organizations to train lay people in how to better care for those who have suffered childhood trauma.