Founder & Therapist Candice Czubernat

Hi, I’m Candice!

My name is Candice Czubernat, and I’m a Christian, wife, mother, therapist, writer, and speaker and I am the founder of Progressive Christian Counseling.

I pinch myself every day that I get to do this work of walking alongside others as they find wholeness, healing, and a renewed sense of hope.

I'm a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with the State of Washington and an MFTI in the state of California. I have my Masters in Counseling Psychology and have been working in the mental health field for over 15 years. I've counted it a privilege to have walked with countless people through the stories of their lives.

I grew up in a loving home, but the Christian roots did not provide any context or support for me to struggle with the notion of undoing any beliefs that weren’t based on a fundamentalist evangelical foundation — that included me being gay. It took time, prayer, study, process, and lots of support for me to come to the place I am today. 

I feel incredibly lucky to have Crystal as my wife along with oure 6-year-old twins, Deacon, and Dylan. We love to play and adventure so you can find us at the skatepark or doing science experiments in our backyard just about every weekend.

I’m also a speaker at conferences around the country and in 2013, The Advocate named me one of the "10 Pro-LGBT Religious Women You Should Know". Additionally, I’ve been given a book deal by Eerdmans Publishing Co and am in the process of writing a book about what churches mean when they say, “All are Welcome.”

In college, I had a deep desire to serve and connect with God while also learning the art of therapy. That's why for my undergraduate work, I attended The Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. This is the first formal educational space where I spent time studying the Bible and Counseling. This was not an easy place to struggle with an LGBTQI identity or really any question about identity and relationship with the divine. While there, I deepened my understanding of the fact that some Christian individuals and groups interpret scripture in a way that brings about confusion, homophobia, and a lack of love and self-acceptance for LGBTQI people along with others who don’t find themselves fitting on a narrow path. While it was very difficult, I'm grateful to have had this experience as it deepened my understanding of the “other’s” experience within a faith context.

For my graduate work, I went on to study at the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. I spent the first half of my graduate studies as a Masters of Divinity Student but decided to complete my degree in a Masters in Counseling Psychology, where I spent time studying, reading, and learning about the integration of theology (God) and psychology (humans). While studying theology, I made sure to spend time focusing on the different interpretations of what the Bible says about the role of women and queer people. I hold to a firm belief that being LGBTQI does not in any way separate me, or anyone else from God, or His/Her love. I also hold a firm belief that God’s table is much bigger than we all think and that the path of life and love is wide and full of love and acceptance for all.

My fee is $245 per session.