The Samaritan Institute is a non-profit organization

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 based in Denver

Denver, Colorado

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

 which manages an international network of faith-based counseling centers (Samaritan Centers). Counselors and mental health

Mental health

Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...

 professionals in the Samaritan program receive theological

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

 training in addition to typical licensing in psychology

Psychology

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

, psychiatry

Psychiatry

Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...

 and counseling, enabling an approach which combinines "mind, body, spirit and community." Services offered include outpatient counseling, wellness programs, and consultation and training for clergy

Clergy

Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....

 and other professionals.

History

Founded in Elkhart

Elkhart, Indiana

Elkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, northwest of Fort Wayne, east of Chicago, and north of Indianapolis...

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

 in 1972 by a physician

Physician

A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

, two parish ministers

Minister of religion

In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community...

 and a seminary

Seminary

A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...

 professor, the Samaritan philosophy sought to emphasize the unity of mind, body, spirit and community in counseling through the collaboration of clergy, therapists and physicians. The program first formed as a part of First Presbyterian Church of Elkhart as part of the church's counseling center. Following the expansion of the Samaritan name and model to other churches, in 1979, the Samaritan Institute was formed as a non-profit corporation seeking to unite and develop existing and future counseling centers. In anticipation of continued growth, in 1983, the Institute relocated its headquarters to Denver, Colorado, where it could better manage its nationwide network.

Today, the Samaritan Institute and its Centers are one of the largest national providers of faith-based counseling. Nearly five hundred Samaritan Center offices exist in 389 cities throughout the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Samaritan Centers, which are the independently-run affiliates of the Samaritan Institute, use facilities provided by sponsor churches — about 4,000 congregations of 26 denominations support the Samaritan program. The model is cost-effective in practice and is capable of offering counseling at lower rates than many other programs. Annually, Samaritan Centers donate more than $20,000,000 in subsidized counseling to individuals in need of assistance.

The Institute is a 501(c)(3) organization, governed by a board of directors in consultation with a national council of Center executive directors. R.J. Ross, one of the original founders of the Samaritan program, serves as president.

The Samaritan counseling model

As a faith-based program, counselors and professionals in the Samaritan program represent various disciplines, including psychology, clinical social work

Social work

Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...

, marriage and family therapy, pastoral counseling

Pastoral counseling

Pastoral counseling is a branch of counseling in which psychologically trained ministers, rabbis, priests and other persons provide therapy services...

 and psychiatry. In addition, counselors are trained in theology and are better able to address the religious perspectives of clients, incorporating them into the therapeutic process. Declaration of any particular religious belief is not a requirement for treatment, however, and counselors do not impose personal theological beliefs upon counselees, but instead work within a spiritual context when appropriate. In addition, local physicians and ministers work in collaboration with therapists to best serve a client's varying needs. The Samaritan program has been acknowledged by the American Medical Association

American Medical Association

The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...

, the American Association of Pastoral Counselors

American Association of Pastoral Counselors

The American Association of Pastoral Counselors is a professional organization of pastoral counselors from a variety of religious and psychological traditions.-Membership:...

, the President's Commission on Mental Health, and a number of major religious denominations.

Ethics in Business Awards

The Samaritan Institute sponsored the Ethics in Business Awards program, which is conducted by Samaritan Centers worldwide. The Awards are to honor community leaders, businesses, and non-profit organizations which promote social responsibility, civic improvement, environmental concerns or ethical conduct.