Pastoral Institute
Established in July 1974, the Pastoral Institute was born out of a vision that four men shared to see the needs of the whole person met. Richard Robertson, pastoral counselor; Herschel Allen, pastoral counselor; George Zubowicz, medical director of The Bradley Center; and Bill Turner, a Columbus business leader, believed the Pastoral Institute would be a refuge of healing, clarity and inspiration for those who come seeking help with difficult life experiences. Originally located in two donated offices in the newly renovated downtown YMCA, the Pastoral Institute opened its doors for the first time in October of 1974.
In 1979 our services of counseling, consulting and education were expanded to include an Employee Assistance Program. In 1984, our ten year anniversary, we relocated to our current location and in 1987 the building was expanded due to demands for services. In order to provide services to the surrounding community we established our office in Lanett, AL in 1989. We celebrated the inauguration of our Clergy Resource Center in 1991, which is now the D.A. and Elizabeth Turner Ministry Resource Center. The Pastoral Institute cares for the emotional, relational and spiritual needs of people. The Pastoral Institute helps inspire and empower people to love, serve, and live meaningfully.
The Pastoral Institute was established in 1974 as a nonprofit, faith-based, non-denominational organization that offers education and counseling services to individuals, couples, and families. Several years of discussion and planning took place between local businessman and philanthropist, William B. Turner, local psychiatrist Dr. George Zubowicz, and counselors Rev. Richard Robertson and Rev. Herschel Allen to create an outpatient facility to treat mind, body, and spirit. Our founders believed the Pastoral Institute would be a refuge of healing, clarity, and inspiration for those who come seeking help with difficult life experiences. Our clinical counseling services have evolved over the years, demonstrating our strong commitment to meeting the unique and growing mental health needs of the diverse community we serve.
In the early 1980’s, Turner concluded that there was a lack of workplace counseling options for people in the Chattahoochee Valley. Having had an employee that he feared he would have to fire for performance issues, Mr. Turner learned that relationship problems at home were the cause. This led the Pastoral Institute in implementing a national trend to create Employee Assistance partnerships with local businesses to offer counseling as a paid or reduced cost benefit. Today we work with more than 150 local business to provide counseling to employees and their families.
In 1999 the D.A. and Elizabeth Turner Ministry Resource Center was established to provide counseling to clergy, clergy families, and congregation members. The Covenant Congregation Program, modeled after the community employee assistance program that allows churches to offer counseling to their members at no or reduced cost.
The Sarah T. Butler Children’s Center was created in 2010 to expand the services we offer children and adolescents. In order to help families find answers and help for their children and adolescents, we offer psychological testing for children as young as 18 months old for a wide range of psychological conditions including Autism Spectrum Disorder, social skills group therapy and counseling. The Pastoral Institute is accredited by the Solihten and is part of the Solihten Network of counseling centers nationwide.