Carole Posthuma, M.A., Licensed Professional Counselor, SIL Global Counseling Coordinator
Carole has been on staff since 1979, serving with the North America Branch as Completion Coordinator, Treasurer, Director of Office Operations, Project Funding Officer, and Office Manager. Prior to that she served as an IT specialist at the Wycliffe headquarters for 16 years as Director of IT, Project Manager, and Programmer/Analyst. She also volunteered with Stephen’s Ministries and as a Victim Advocate for the local Sheriff’s Department. Carole returned to school in 1998 and earned a Master’s degree in Counseling from Denver Seminary, graduating in 2002. Carole’s areas of specialization include depression, anxiety, mood disorders, trauma recovery, stress, relationships, transitions, grief and loss. She is a facilitator for Strengthening Your Interpersonal Skills and Healing the Wounds of Trauma workshops; and has training in PREPARE/ENRICH counseling for couples, Parenting with Love and Logic for families, and Critical Incident & Stress Management crisis response. Carole works with individuals, couples, children, and groups.
Richard Baggé, MD, Psychiatrist, SIL Global Counseling Consultant
Dick finished medical school anticipating a career in traditional medical missions. However, while working with Native American communities in the US, he became interested in the behavioral sciences and eventually completed a residency in psychiatry. He then held a teaching position in psychiatry at the Medical College of Georgia. During that time Dick learned that Wycliffe had pioneered in providing counseling to members and began volunteering on weekends at the JAARS center in North Carolina. He and Nancy joined Wycliffe in 1990 and moved to Nairobi in 1993 where Dick served as the SIL Africa Area Counseling Coordinator. He provided psychiatric and counseling services at Tumaini Counseling Center in Nairobi and traveled and consulted as needed. In 2015 he and Nancy returned to the US where he works at the counseling center at JAARS, and travels and consults for SIL. He co-authored the book, “Healing the Wounds of Trauma: How the Church Can Help” and facilitates training workshops based on the book. Dick has special interests in grief, trauma, conflict mediation, and the integration of Christianity and psychology.
Nancy Baggé, R.N., M.A., Licensed Professional Counselor, SIL Global Counseling Consultant
Nancy’s first missions experience was as a nurse in a hospital in Ecuador which helped to forge a commitment to cross-cultural ministry. She met Dick during graduate school and they were married in 1986. After a year in seminary and further training in Dallas, they moved to Nairobi in 1993. In 2009 Nancy completed an M.A. in Clinical Psychology at Wheaton and joined the staff at Tumaini Counseling Center as a counselor. She did further training in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) and is certified in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. Since 2016 she has been working at the Wycliffe US counseling office at JAARS. She facilitates Trauma Healing workshops, does consulting and travels for SIL Counseling. Nancy’s areas of specialization are adoption, attachment and trauma.
Mark Ventrella, M.A., Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Asia Area Counseling Coordinator
Mark has an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Wheaton College Graduate School (1985). He is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and an Approved Supervisor, as designated by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. After graduating from Wheaton, Mark worked as a counselor/administrator in several private, not-for-profit counseling agencies in both Illinois and South Dakota. In addition to his work as a counselor, Mark conducted psychological evaluations for the Court, Department of Social Services, Vocational Rehabilitation, Disability Determination Services, attorneys, physicians, and others. He and his wife Deb joined Wycliffe in 2008. He is currently assigned to SIL-Asia and seconded to The Well International, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he serves as the Clinical Director. Mark specializes in the treatment of anxiety, depression, mood disorders, anger/domestic violence, and stress disorders. He works with couples, families and individuals. He is a Master Facilitator for Healing the Wounds of Trauma and also conducts Crisis Debriefing Training workshops. He is a parenting educator and leads workshops on maintaining health on the field, transitions/adapting to change, managing anger and stress, effective communication, and cross-cultural team building.
Karen Degraaf, M.A., Licensed Professional Counselor, Africa Area Counseling Coordinator
Karen has been a member of Wycliffe since 1988, spending 11 years in Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa as a linguist/translator. In 2006 she received her MA in Counseling from Western Seminary in Portland, OR. She served as a counselor at the Wycliffe JAARS Center in North Carolina, then relocated to Cameroun, Africa to take the assignment of Africa Area Counseling Coordinator. She and her husband David have three mostly-adult children. Karen’s areas of specialization include depression, anxiety, trauma recovery, stress/burnout, relationships, transitions, grief and loss. She is a facilitator for Strengthening Your Interpersonal Skills workshops, Trauma Healing workshops, has training as a Life Coach and does Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. She works with adults, couples and adolescents. Karen LOVES to help both individuals and teams discover how to live and work well.
James Covey, M.A., Licensed Professional Counselor – Supervisor, Eurasia Area Counseling Coordinator
James has been a member of Wycliffe since July of 2011. He served at the Tumaini Counseling Centre in Nairobi, Kenya and is now based in Eurasia Area. He received his M.A. in Marriage and Family Counseling from Southwestern Seminary and is a Licensed Professional Counselor – Supervisor. James is trained as a Master Clinician in Cognitive Behavior Therapy with children, EMDR level 2, certified in Critical Incident Stress Management crisis debriefing and is a Master Facilitator for the Trauma Healing Institute and co-author of the THI Teen book. His counseling expertise includes counseling; children and adolescents, marriage and family therapy, stress management, burnout, anxiety and depression. James and his wife live in the MENA region.
Rebecca Hirt, M.A., Licensed Professional Counselor
Rebecca has been a member of Wycliffe since 2007. She has spent time in Brazil, Honduras, Mexico, and Thailand. In 2006, she received her M.A. in Counseling from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, in west Michigan. In 2009 Rebecca completed the Counseling Orientation and Development Course in Dallas, TX, and is now assigned to MSEAG. She has been married since 2002 and she and her husband have two children. Rebecca’s areas of specialization include depression, anxiety, trauma, stress, marriage, transitions, parenting, and group therapy. She has experience in counseling children and adolescents, as well as using play therapy. Through her past employment prior to Wycliffe she is also skilled in working with post-adoptive families and caregivers. Rebecca is also certified in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy.
Valarie Johnson, M.A., Licensed Clinical Social Worker
After graduating from Moody Bible Institute, Valarie attended the University of Texas where she graduated with a Masters in Social Work. She worked as a licensed counselor in private practice and community mental health setting until she joined Wycliffe in 2004. Since 2005 Valarie has worked as a counselor with SIL Global Counseling in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and currently in Northern Territory Australia. She feels her clinical strengths are assessment and crisis care, as well as assisting families with transitional issues.
assessment and crisis care, as well as assisting families with transitional issues.
Kathy Petersen, M.A., Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Kathy grew up in a medical missionary family in Cameroun. She studied linguistics and anthro-pology in Texas for her B.A., graduating in 1981. She married Dan and together they headed to Burkina Faso, West Africa. It began with a year in France to learn French; then a year in western Burkina Faso to learn Jula, the trade language; followed by moving in among the Nanerige Senoufo to learn their language and work in Bible translation and church planting. In the village Kathy was primarily busy with the parenting and homeschooling of their three children, she also enjoyed building relationships and doing comprehension checking in the translation process. Since 2000, Dan and Kathy have been serving at their home church in Illinois. In 2004, Kathy received her M.A. in Counseling at Lincoln Christian Seminary, where she continued as an adjunct professor. She has served her church by teaching the Bible and working in counseling. Dan and Kathy joined Wycliffe in 2014 and currently serve in Cameroun, West Africa.
Diane Tehan, M.A., Licensed Professional Counselor
Diane Tehan and her husband Tom joined Wycliffe in 1989 and moved to Thailand in 1991. They have 5 children and 7 grandchildren. Diane received her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Wheaton College in 2002, completed a counseling internship at the Jaars Center, and is licensed (LPC plus LPCS provisional) in the state of North Carolina. She is a counselor for SIL Mainland South East Asia Group and also works at Cornerstone Counseling Foundation in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Her special counselor training and interests include grief/loss, trauma/neglect, stress/transition, cultural issues, communication skills, emotional development, brain health, and body awareness/body-mind connection.
Mark Ruch, M.A., Licensed Professional Counselor
Mark has an M.A. in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage & Family Therapy from Wheaton Graduate School (1990). Having grown up as an SIL MK in the Philippines, Mark developed a keen interest in serving in missions and while an undergraduate at Wheaton he received a staff-needs list from Faith Academy listing their need for a Marriage & Family Counselor. Mark has worked as counselor since 1991 and he and his wife joined Wycliffe US in 1993. His first Wycliffe assignment was serving at the Dallas Counseling Center from 1996 to 1999. The Ruch’s arrived in the Philippines in 1999 and Mark continues to serve as a SIL counselor in a joint SIL/Faith Academy assignment. Mark considers himself a general practitioner of the art of counseling with a keen interest in serving and supporting missionaries and their families through individual, marital, and family counseling, along with consultations with school & mission administrators, and providing various seminars and trainings.
Anette Schubert, M.Th. (UNISA), Licensed Professional Counselor
Anette has been a member of Wycliffe since September 1993. She is married and has two adult children. She came into counseling with a nursing background and 13 years of cross cultural experience with SIL in Tanzania – first in a language project, then as Language Programs Manager. For the past ten years she has worked with Wycliffe Germany as a counselor primarily serving cross-cultural workers. As of 2017, Anette has taken on an additional role as SIL Counselor for Eurasia Area. She offers counseling, debriefing, coaching and personality development through lifestyle analysis. She facilitates debriefing retreats using the Le Rucher model. Special areas of interest for Anette include cross-cultural issues, stress management, work-life balance, burnout, identity, team building, mediation and conflict resolution. She loves to work with individuals and teams.
Hyungjun Kim, M.A., Korean Psychological Association Certified Counselor
Hyungjun and his family are members of GBT (Global Bible Translators) head- quartered in South Korea. He graduated from Korea University with a degree in Education and a major in Counseling Psychology Education. He is a Certified Counselor with the Korean Psychological Association. He wrote his Master’s thesis on “The effect of Korean style group counseling sensitivity training program on interpersonal conflict resolution mode and problem solving ability of Korean missionaries.” Hyungjun was accepted as a SIL Counselor in 2010. He is now serving in the Philippines at Faith Academy under the supervision of Mark Ruch to receive further training for the competencies which SIL Counseling desires for each counselor and to help improve his English. Hyungjun’s goals for the future involve working toward a Ph.D. in Psychology at one of the Universities in Manila. Hyungjun hopes to do further study in Christian counseling in the US. He is married to Sunkyung Kim with 3 young sons.
Megan Reeder, M.A., Associate Marriage & Family Counselor
Megan is from southernmost Illinois and has served with Wycliffe since 2005. She spent 7 years in Bangladesh and then return to the U.S. to complete a MFT graduate program at Wheaton College. After graduating she served on Asia Area staff as a counselor in Davao City, Philippines for two years, working under the supervision of Mark Ventrella as she works towards licensure. In 2017 she returned to the states again to complete the Counselor Development Orientation Course for for Wycliffe/SIL counselors and in 2018 accepted an assignment to serve as a counselor intern in Chiang Mai with MSEAG where she is currently serving.
Sunkyung Kim – M.A., Korean Psychological Association Certified Counselor
Sunkyung has a Masters of Education degree in Counseling Psychology from Sogang University in Seoul, Korea in 2001. She is a Counseling Specialist with the Korean Counseling Association and a Certified Counselor with the Korean Psychological Association. She has expeince as a Personal Counselor, a Youth Counselor, and specializes in Play Therapy with children. Sun, her husband (Hyungjun (also an SIL Counselor – see above) and 3 boys are missionaries with Global Bible Translators (based in Seoul, South Korea) and have served in Papua New Guinea, and now, in Manila, Philippines. Sunkyung was accepted as a SIL Counselor in 2015. She plans to serve at Faith Academy under the supervision of Mark Ruch to receive further training for the competencies which SIL Counseling desires for each counselor and to help improve her English.
Pat Miersma, R.N., B.Sc.N, M.N., Global Trauma Healing Consultant
Pat received her R.N. in 1969 and completed her Bachelor’s degree at Biola College (University) in1981 and her Master’s at UCLA in 1984. She is licensed as a mental health nurse ethnic clinical specialist in the state of California. She specializes crisis intervention and consultation. Much of her counseling and psycho-educational work centers around issues of trauma and trauma recovery. She is a co-author of the Wycliffe Scripture Use book, ‘Healing the Wounds of Trauma’, and has been teaching this material and leading workshops for church leaders in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the U.S. since 2001. Her other teaching experience includes 5 years at Biola University as an Associate Professor of Psychiatric and Community Health Nursing. Prior to meeting her husband, Harry (a marriage and family therapist), at Multnomah School of the Bible in 1971, Pat was an officer in Army Nurse Corps, serving 14 months in a M.A.S.H. unit in Vietnam. Pat and Harry married in 1972 and served as Reformed Church in America missionaries from 1973-76 among the Majang people of Ethiopia before joining Wycliffe in 1980 to serve as SIL counselors in Papua New Guinea (3 years) and Africa Area (10 years), where they helped establish the Tumaini Counseling Center in Nairobi, Kenya. Pat is a past SIL Global Counseling Coordinator.