You mention throughout your website that you operate on Orthodox Christian principles and contract with Orthodox providers. Do you only treat Orthodox clients?

Absolutely not! Agape is for anyone and everyone who would like to use our services.

If a client comes to Agape wanting services but does not share "Orthodox values", or is a member of the LGBTQ community, or is thinking about having an abortion, etc., will they still be welcome and will it be safe to seek services? Will they face discrimination?

Anyone and everyone is welcome to seek services through Agape; no one will be turned away due to financial limitations, how they identify, or the choices they're facing. We do not promote or tolerate any form of discrimination at Agape Wellness Collective, including but not limited to discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexuality, disability, or any other protected category. Christ Himself welcomed everyone, regardless of who they were.

We don't operate in "black-and-white". Everyone's life and situation is unique, and while we do uphold Orthodox values and principles at Agape, and do not advise clients in manners contrary to our faith, we also will never reject a client or pressure a client to make decisions that they do not want to make. At the end of the day, you, the client, are responsible for your own life and choices; that's the beauty of the therapeutic process. You have autonomy and choice.

Regardless of your faith background, your social status, how you were born, the choices you've made, the decisions you've faced, the trauma you've endured, you are welcome, valued, and respected at Agape. We love, because we are loved. We want to be part of the change we all so desperately need to see.

What is your commitment to diversity and nondiscrimination?

Everything Agape Wellness Collective stands for is centered in advancing equity, social justice, and fairness, actively promoting diversity, rejection of all forms of discrimination, and a fierce commitment to love despite differences and even personal injury.

Christ Himself modeled this for us - rejecting the wisdom of His time of simply doing good to those who do good to you, but engaging in intentional acts of love to all people. By intervening to save the life of a woman who could have, according to the law of the time, be killed in the streets for sleeping with a man who wasn't her husband. By not thinking twice of the social consequences of getting weird looks, getting talked about by those around Him, because He chose to associate with "sinners" and the outcasts of society. By praying for the forgiveness of the people driving stakes through His hands as He was put to death.

Regardless of your faith background, your social status, how you were born, the choices you've made, the decisions you've faced, the trauma you've endured, you are welcome, valued, and respected at Agape. We love, because we are loved. We want to be part of the change we all so desperately need to see.

Do you or your providers "preach at" or "proselytize" your clients? Is this "Christian therapy"?

No. While our philanthropic mission of providing affordable mental healthcare is rooted in Orthodox Christian values, we do not advocate for forcing anyone to do anything against their will. Αγαπε (agape) is the type of love that is real, sacrificial, deep, selfless, enduring. The type of love that knows it's only real if it's rooted in freedom. And if it's forced, it's not free. We believe that and we live it, and that means that we as an organization, and the providers that we contract with, as people and as professionals, are committed to neither preaching nor proselytizing, and simply supporting our clients.

That being said, if someone comes to Agape and specifically requests to incorporate their faith into their mental health treatment, that client and their therapist can discuss what that looks like within that context. But mental health treatment is not spiritual direction and should not be treated as such.

Commitment to All Clientele

Does Agape provide spiritual direction?

No. Mental health treatment is not spiritual direction and should not be treated as such. In general, therapists are not trained as theologians and spiritual guides, and most priests are not trained as mental health professionals. Although there can certainly be areas of overlaps, these two realms are distinct and require different training. The advantage (and often times, necessity) of a dedicated Christian working with both a spiritual father and with a professional therapist is having both spiritual and psychological guidance and expertise. Many mental health conditions could have a foot in both camps, so to speak.

Are all of your providers really Orthodox Christians?

Yes! We request a Letter of Good Standing from each provider's parish prior to contracting with them, and in the contracts we establish, the providers affirm that they are, to the best of their ability, striving to live their lives in accordance with the Orthodox Christian faith.

Are you open to contracting with faithful Roman Catholic and/or Protestant providers?

We are grateful for and humbled by the interest. At this time, we are focusing our efforts on contracting with Orthodox Christian providers.

That being said, Agape is supportive of genuine ecumenical efforts (see more) that are being made to promote productive dialogue, mutual understanding, and, God willing, true unity rooted in the Truth Who is Christ Himself among apostolic Christians, especially with the Oriental Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches. It is our sincere hope and prayer that we can labor to fulfill the heart of Christ's high priestly prayer, "that [we] may all be one" (John 17:21).

Regarding Orthodoxy