Welcome to our series that spotlights NC Conference pastors serving in extension ministries. Read about other extension ministers as these stories are published weekly.
Rev. Luise Weinrich
Rev. Luise Weinrich is an ordained minister, Clinical Social worker, and Psychoanalyst who works one-on-one with adult individuals in New York City. She serves as Psychotherapist and Instructor in the Clinical Journeys Program at the Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Study Center. She loves nature and the beauty of God’s creation and is grateful to live in the hills of Massachusetts with her husband and two cats. She loves travel, theater, being with friends, art, music, cooking, and gardening.
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Study Center
Rev. Weinrich’s ministry setting is now online on Zoom, rooted in New York City through the Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Study Center (PPSC). PPSC is a low-fee and sliding-scale clinic and training institute that has been in existence in Greenwich Village for 40 years. PPSC provides affordable, high-quality counseling, psychotherapy, training, and education to a wide variety of people in the New York Metropolitan area, reaching individuals who hail from all walks of life: artists, professionals, seniors, college students, newcomers to the city, and students training in the mental health fields. It is a collegial, welcoming place and allows a diverse population of people, many of whom would not otherwise be able to afford quality mental health counseling, to receive short and long-term support, psychotherapy, and psychoanalysis. People come for help with issues like grief and loss, life transition, healing childhood wounds, managing work and family stress, or help coping with illness. It is a great privilege to serve there and to learn from the people she has the privilege to walk alongside and support. She also teaches or leads trainings for clinicians at various times, and those clinicians are from all over the world.
A Disciple Making, Leader Forming, Peace Building Ministry
Rev. Weinrich says her ministry relates to all three of these areas, although PPSC, the organization, is a non-profit and is not explicitly Christian or religious. People who work with her are all seeking help because they are in one way or another deeply aware of their need to heal, and as she understands it, to grow in their capacity to love and to be loved; because they want help, guidance and support to grow more fully into the people they were created to be.
People who come for counseling tend to become more peaceful, healthy, and happy over time, and often take on roles as leaders in their families and communities as they recover and heal. Whether they know she is a minister or not, the people who come to PPSC for help are, from her point of view, growing in their capacity to be good and faithful stewards of their lives. As John Wesley noted, we are all going on to perfection as we heal and grow in the image of God. It is a great privilege to accompany individuals on this journey.
She also occasionally teaches clinicians at PPSC or offers presentations to help resource and support social workers, psychologists, pastoral counselors, and psychotherapists (for which they receive required continuing education credit). She also engages in peer support with colleagues and mentors and supervises new clinicians as they grow in their clinical knowledge and skills.