Meet Our Counselors
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Currently unable to accept new clients at this time.
Stephanie Baker
Clinical Pastoral Counselor
Stephanie Baker is the Founder and Executive Director of Life In Abundance, a non-profit Christian Counseling Ministry. Additionally, she is a Clinical Pastoral Counselor (NCCA), Licensed Ecclesiastical Holistic Practitioner (GEHA), Certified Functional Nutrition Counselor (FNA), Board Certified Functional Health Coach (AANWC), Certified Professional Coach (FWI), Certified Temperament Counselor (NCCA), Speaker, and co-author of Organizing from the Heart: Change Your Mindset, Conquer Your Challenges. [View Full Bio]
Currently unable to accept new clients at this time.
Aimee Culp
Licensed Professional Counselor/ Associate
Aimee achieved her Masters of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Denver Seminary after completing her Bachelor of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology. While in Colorado she worked with a court-mandated counseling center as a graduate-level intern and a Colorado Registered Psychotherapist. She is currently licensed by the state of South Carolina as a Licensed Professional Counselor/ Associate, and is under the supervision of Cathy Sparks, MA, LPC-S. She is a Level 1 Facilitator certified in a child and adolescent resiliency program called “Why Try”. Aimee is a good-standing member of the American Counselors Association, and she is Certified by the National Board of Clinical Counselors.
Aimee’s preferred counseling approaches are Strength-Based CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), Motivational Interviewing, DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) and Existential Therapy. She specializes in assisting those with anxiety, depression, substance abuse, grief, PTSD, identity development, relational conflict, domestic violence, and life transitions. She has led resiliency programs for adolescents facing a variety of emotional and cognitive challenges, as well as led parenting classes that focused on child development and communication. Aimee is educated on spiritual integration in clinical counseling settings.
Aimee believes that each individual has an innate value and a drive to grow. Through patient listening and empowerment, Aimee understands that her role as a counselor is to encourage that growth which allows each individual to move from surviving to thriving. She creates a space for authenticity and self-awareness to empower her clients to look at themselves in their context and hold difficult realities with a sense of freedom and hope.
Jonathan Helms
Board Certified Pastoral Counselor
Jonathan is a BCPPC credentialed Pastoral Counselor with the American Association of Christian Counselors. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Beeson Divinity School at Samford University and has served as a counselor in church settings and in homeless and recovery settings. Jonathan spent the last 3+ years as the Soul Care pastor at Bridgeway Church where he spent a majority of his time counseling and leading groups to help people find spiritual freedom. Before that, he was at Miracle Hill Ministries Greenville Rescue Mission. There he counseled the homeless and addicted toward a life of freedom and health. Ordained as a Pastor by Bridgeway Church.
Jonathan’s passion is to help people find themselves free from being stuck in repetitive patterns and thinking. He loves the journey of unpacking and discovering truth that brings life. He loves to utilize spiritual rhythms and patterns that break us away from the distractions of society to discover our intimate connection and friendship with our Heavenly Father. This can happen with individuals and well as couples looking for spiritual breakthrough as a family. He also loves helping people in addiction. He has a passion to lead groups that help people find freedom in community.
One of Jonathan’s biggest passions and joys is working with pastors, ministers and other Christian ministry workers. Over the years God has used Jonathan to help these find a safe place to process and discuss the weight and traps of serving in a ministry capacity. He has served in a ministry environment (churches, addiction and recovery, rescue shelters and parachurch outreaches) for over 25 years. Helping leaders lead is one of the primary calls on his life.
Jonathan is married to Leslie and they have 2 children. In his off time, he loves playing with his children, fishing and cooking.
Stephanie Laserna
Pastoral Counselor
Stephanie is commissioned as a Minister of Counseling by Grace Christian Church in Greenville and is an active Professional Clinical member of the National Christian Counselors Association (NCCA). She is an NCCA Pastoral Counselor and Temperament Counselor, as well as a Dave Ramsey Certified Financial Coach, and is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Clinical Pastoral Counseling. She also serves in various administrative roles at LIA and facilitates our Shelter from the Storm sexual abuse recovery groups.
Stephanie graduated from UNC Charlotte in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science in Business and majored in Finance. Her career began in accounting with a large bank in Charlotte but she quickly realized the corporate world was not where she wanted to be when she and her husband were ready to start a family. This led to a 13-year career with a successful home-based business, where she was called upon often to teach money management classes and write training materials for the sales force. This was instrumental in her developing a passion to lead others out of financial bondage, as she watched very talented women repeatedly “borrow themselves out of business”.
In 2004, Stephanie and her husband experienced a life-changing Dave Ramsey “Total Money Makeover”, which resulted in her facilitating a number of Financial Peace University classes in the community. Consequently, the Lord prompted her to resign from a lucrative leadership position in order to provide financial planning & accounting services for struggling small business owners and ministries. She was later invited to join the team of one of Dave Ramsey’s Endorsed Local Providers, where she served for over 10 years. Shortly after joining their team, she completed Dave Ramsey’s Certified Financial Coach Training and has since been on a mission to teach God’s people to manage their money according to Biblical principles and live a fulfilling, debt-free life.
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In the early years of financial coaching, Stephanie came to realize that money problems are typically a symptom of wrong mindsets and behaviors that must be addressed before someone can successfully follow a sound financial plan and enjoy true financial freedom. Regrettably, she was not legally qualified at the time to counsel beyond her client’s finances, although the Lord had helped her overcome many of the same mindsets and behaviors. This resulted in her referring many of her clients to pastoral counselors.
After being introduced to the Director of Life in Abundance as a counseling resource for her financial coaching clients, Stephanie began to sense a calling to go beyond financial coaching and pursue her education as a Pastoral Counselor, in order to help people work through these root issues. Her prayer is that this will not only lead to financial freedom in her clients’ lives but will ultimately lead to true freedom in the depths of their souls, because if the Son sets them free, they will be free indeed! (John 8:36)
Bethany Nemeth
LMSW
Bethany is a Licensed Master Social Worker and obtained her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from Limestone University. During her time at Limestone, she served as a student editor of a career counseling textbook that was published in 2021.
Bethany enjoys spending time encouraging, mentoring, and building relationships with others, especially young people, and other women. While completing the MSW program and becoming licensed has given Bethany more opportunities to pursue helping others in her career, helping others realize and walk in their identity in Christ is also her personal mission. She believes this realization is crucial during the formative years and has thus spent many years providing services for young people from middle school to college age through several organizations and programs. This work has included mentorships, support groups, addiction prevention and recovery services, student counseling services, and the development of a student internship program and student health and wellness program. Additionally, she has provided many of the same services for adults and leads a Family Integration Support Group for Miracle Hill Renewal Center, which she co-developed.
Bethany is the Western Unit Representative for the South Carolina chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and is a member of the Sarasota Academy of Christian Counseling.
Bethany leads worship at a local recovery church and resides in Simpsonville, SC.
Cindy Van Wingerden, PhD
Clinical Pastoral Counselor
Cindy is a Clinical Pastoral Counselor and Temperament Counselor through the NCCA. She is also a Certified Life Coach. Cindy is certified in the Prepare/Enrich premarital assessment coaching program as well as the SYMBIS premarital assessment coaching program. Cindy holds a PhD in Clinical Counseling from Cornerstone University and is a former RN and nurse educator.
She is an active member of the American Association of Christian Counselors, the National Christian Counseling Association, the International Christian Coaching Association, and the Association of Biblical Counselors. Cindy is commissioned by GracePoint Church.
Cindy has been married to Nick for over 40 years. They now live in Greenville SC. They are blessed to have a son and daughter in law who live and serve on the mission field in France, and 4 lovely grandchildren. Cindy and her husband Nick attend Grace church.
Meredith Yoder
Clinical Pastoral Counselor
Meredith received her Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and is a Temperament Counselor through NCCA. She is a NCCA Clinical Pastoral Counselor, a member of the American Association of Christian Counselor (AACC), the National Christian Counselors Association (NCCA) and a Certified SYMBIS Facilitator. She also serves on staff at Boiling Springs First Baptist Church, where she is commissioned as a Biblical Counselor.
Meredith and her husband, Buddy have been married for 20 years and together have three children. Originally from Florida, she has resided in South Carolina since 2014. She feels blessed to call South Carolina home and loves filling her days with ministry; serving both the church and her home.
Meredith is passionate about women and discipleship. She believes that spiritually and emotionally healthy women have the ability to have an eternal impact not only on their families but their community as well. She is excited to walk alongside women as they strive to live their lives for their good and God’s glory.