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Bethesda Counselling Centre
The Bethesda Counselling Centre (BCC) of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands (UCJCI) is a therapeutic Centre for restoration and renewal, founded on the belief that providing affordable, advanced counselling for people with a wide range of needs is a necessary ministry of the Christian community. The Centre was started in late 2007 in response to the growing need for counselling in a rapidly changing Cayman, where it was felt that an emphasis on Christian values and perspectives in professional, therapeutic healing and strengthening of the whole person would better address the core problems being experienced by many in our modern society.
BCC provides professional, curative and preventive counselling/therapeutic intervention to facilitate healing and wholeness of individuals, couples, families and groups within a caring and understanding environment, thereby fostering their emotional and psychological growth. The Centre has remained faithful to its mission and ministry, modelled on Christ’s view of the inherent worth and potential of each individual. The counsellor ensures that clients receive treatment in a safe and secured environment. The maintenance of a non-judgmental approach and a yet deep sense of pastoral care coupled with the ease of bureaucracy augur well for the Centre as several clients have made positive comments on these aspects of our service.
The Centre is located in its own separate office in George Town, Grand Cayman, to provide privacy and convenience of access for the many persons working and attending schools in George Town. The Centre offers strict confidentiality and privacy which is vital in this very small community.
The first Director and Counsellor employed for the Centre was the Rev. Joseph Crawford. In October 2011 Rev. Dr Yvette Noble Bloomfield succeeded the Rev. Crawford and she served until December 2015. The Reverend Dr Dave Hazle served as Director and Counsellor from January to August 2016. Ms April Lewis is a Masters level Licensed Mental Health Clinician and has been serving as the Director and Counsellor since November 1, 2016. Ms Cathy Gomez chairs the Board of Management of the Centre and the members represent a broad spectrum of practitioners from the legal, medical, educational, accounting, counselling, and social work professions.
Staff and Services
Ms April Lewis
Rev Joseph Crawford
The BCC is staffed by a clinically qualified and experienced Counsellor/Therapist, offering professional and confidential services. It welcomes all those seeking counselling, regardless of faith tradition, gender, sexual orientation, income, social status etc. Each Client is treated with respect and their core value as a human being is honoured.
The following services are offered at the Centre:
Marriage Counselling Pre-marital Counselling Couples Counselling Group Counselling (Workplace/ Social Context) Families and Children Counselling Individual Counselling-Spiritual Direction/ Resolving inner struggles Bereavement Counselling Relationship Counselling
An Intake Form is completed by each client and signed by the client and the counsellor. A confidential file is maintained for each client. Notes taken by the counsellor are confidential. Information on a client is released only in accordance with the indications by the client on the Covenant which accompanies the Intake Form and on the signing of the Release of Information Form.
Our intake has increased significantly over the years, with issues presented have been varied, including and mostly issues of depression/anxiety as well as relationship issues.
Through the years we have also provided services to various entities such as the Cayman Islands Government, hospital staff, local non-United Churches, Scotiabank Cayman, Cayman Cancer Society, and DHL International. The Director has also offered prayers at the Crime Prevention Seminar hosted by the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIP), The Guest Speaker was the Hon. William Shagoury, Custos Rotulorum (Principal Justice of the Peace) and Chairman of the Clarendon Crime Prevention Committee (Jamaica) and he is a frequent presenter on the Radio program ‘Worship the Lord’.
During the government shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, many encountered with issues related to anxiety, stress and depression related including relationship issues. With our physical offices closed from 25 March 2020, we began to provide online counselling sessions and tele mental health services including on weekends and evenings. The COVID-19 Mission Initiative grant from the Council for World Mission (CWM) enabled us to provide 48 such counselling sessions free of charge for persons affected by the pandemic, with all administration work and counselling done by the Director from residence.
Several sessions were conducted daily. Over 100+ session hours were completed quarterly. Workshops and training were conducted on stress and anxiety-related issues. We now see 50 to 100+ clients quarterly, a number that we expect will grow further. Increase in presenting issues of anxiety, depression and relational. Increase in client’s inability to pay for sessions due to loss of employment.
Pandemic response
Statistics and projection
The Bethesda Counselling Centre has been acknowledged for ‘pastoral counselling and support’ in the book ‘I Then Shall Live With A Grateful Heart’ – written by Deborah Elizabeth Webb-Sibblies ©2014.
The Cayman Islands Regional Mission is grateful to Ms Carol Pearson (2007- 2017), Mrs Mary Bowerman (2017-2018) and Mrs Leoany Williams (2018-present) who have served as the Administrators at the BCC over its life-span. The Rev. Donovan Myers, Rev Tara Tyme and the Rev. Euthman Wray have assisted in the provision of counselling support for clients during the years.
