Our Story


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Redeemer Counseling was co-founded by Rachel and Michael Blackston in 2011 in a one-room office space at University Presbyterian Church in East Orlando. We have since grown to multiple locations throughout Central Florida with a talented team of counselors committed to clinical competency through a faith-based perspective.

The name Redeemer is deeply embedded in our own story. To redeem is to buy or win back, to be freed from what distresses or harms. We have seen God redeem the broken places in our lives and would consider it an honor to journey with you in your process of redemption. Whether you are struggling with disappointment, unfulfilling relationships, addiction, betrayal, anger or grief, we want to be a voice of grace and hope. 

I believe Love is waiting to buy back all that has been lost, abandoned, or violated and give us a certain fullness in life. Relationships with self, others and God are intended to be our resting place, our balm for suffering, our taste of heaven here on earth . . . Love redeems all.
— Sharon Hersh, M.A., L.P.C. Counselor, Speaker and Author

Our Core Values

SAFETY

We provide a warm, confidential environment that enables you to open up about life’s hardest places.

CHRIST-CENTERED

We are guided by the story of Scripture and seek to reflect the presence of
Jesus Christ.

PROFESSIONALISM

We integrate the body, heart and mind, staying current with best clinical practices, to foster comprehensive healing.


Our Approach to Counseling

We are a full-service counseling practice that serves the greater Orlando community. For those clients who do not live in the Orlando area, telephone and web-based video counseling are available. We work with men, women, couples, and adolescents to provide individual counseling, couples counseling, family counseling, and group counseling.

There are many different approaches to counseling that offer quick-fix solutions. However, we believe God created individuals with both complexity and mystery. As a result, we look at a person’s core beliefs, past wounds, and heart issues rather than just treating surface symptoms. This is a process, and our desire is to create a safe environment where true and lasting change can occur.

While we are sensitive to everyone’s faith journey, we counsel from a distinctly Christian perspective and believe true healing occurs as we find our place in God’s unique design and purpose for our lives. We are also clinically sound, meaning we stay current in the field of secular and Christian counseling and utilize a wide array of proven therapeutic interventions to assist our clients. We offer counseling services for the following issues:

  • Abuse and Neglect

  • Addictions

  • Anger

  • Anxiety and Stress

  • Career and Personality Issues

  • Codependency

  • Communication

  • Depression

  • Divorce Recovery

  • Emotional Eating

  • Family Issues

  • Gender Issues

  • Grief and Loss

  • Infidelity

  • Marriage Issues

  • Obsessive/Compulsive Behaviors

  • Parenting Issues

  • Pornography

  • Premarital Counseling

  • Self Esteem Issues

  • Self Injury

  • Sexual Abuse Recovery

  • Sexual Addiction

  • Sexuality Issues

  • Shame

  • Spirituality

  • Trauma and PTSD