Help me earn my M.A. in Marriage & Family Therapy

Hi, my name is Bobbie Jo. Starting this fall, I will be pursuing an M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) with a Trauma Certificate at Wheaton College Graduate School. The program is a 2-year full-time, residential program on Wheaton's campus in Wheaton, IL. This program will impact my professional, personal, and spiritual life. Through my coursework and internship experiences, I will be investigating marriage and family dynamics, and trauma and healing, while simultaneously learning how to convert my newly acquired knowledge into clinical skills. Wheaton’s unique residential program is a cohort model, which allows for more intimate relationships with others in my program. We will have a beautiful opportunity to support, encourage, and challenge each other. Finally, there are great benefits to doing this program at a distinctly Christian college; I will be learning about marriage, family, and mental health care through a Christian lens with Biblical application.

I deeply believe that God has uniquely called me both to clinical therapy and service to the church (already have an M.A. in Christian Formation). I want to provide therapy in both settings, facilitate premarital counseling (certified with Prepare & Enrich), and teach about Christian dating, singleness, covenant marriage, and sex. The church doesn’t talk about these things, and oftentimes when they do, it is extremely legalistic. God is equipping me to play a part in changing our discipleship culture around relationships and human sexuality. Our culture needs to reexamine how we discuss relationships, healthy sexual expression and sexual sin. We need to think through who has been harmed by how we have gone about these discussions and who has been left out of these conversations.

Due to the rigorous nature of the program, the costs out scale what John & I can come up with on our own. With both tuition, time spent in practicum settings, and the full-time student requirements of the program, I am hoping to raise $10,000 for the 2023-2024 school year while only being able to work on a part-time basis. The money so graciously given through this Go Fund Me will be used to buy textbooks and pay tuition. Your gift can be given once, each semester, or once a school year gift.

Would you please prayerfully consider partnering with me as I pursue my M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy with a Trauma Certificate? I’d love to bring you along with me on this journey! I will send at least one newsletter each semester to share what I am learning, how God is moving, and how your generous gift blessed me.

Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, and thank you in advance!

With Gratitude,

Bobbie Jo Barclay