The number of clients at the Samaritan Counseling Center of Western Pennsylvania increased 23 percent last year.

Executive Director Carl Baughman sees this as a mixed message.

There's no doubt, Baughman said, that as the economy continues to recover slowly, individuals and families face more stress, bringing them to his door.

The counseling center, a nonprofit organization, offers faith-based counseling. Baughman does administrative duties and counsels.

“People are stressed out. The trend is with the economy. They are facing financial difficulties or wondering, ‘Am I going to keep my job?' And financial insecurities can cause marital stress,” Baughman said.

“There are more hurting people out there.”

On the flip side, Baughman said the increase in client numbers reflects a positive trend he's seen in recent years:

There's a greater acceptance of therapy and assistance programs and a dying off of the stigma attached to the people who seek them.

“We're becoming a lot more open to helping others and reaching for help when we need it ... I'd say we are becoming more caring of each other,” Baughman said.

“In life, bad things happen. It doesn't mean we are bad people.”

Still, Baughman stresses that confidentiality for clients is always a priority at the center.

Only a small white sign with a big, blue arrow points clients to the office in the rear of St. Andrews United Presbyterian Church on East Jefferson Street.

The counseling center is not affiliated with that church or religion.

On the contrary, the organization's two other county sites are in the North Main Street Church of God and St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Cabot.

The organization's 18 therapists, all of whom are state licensed, employ a holistic approach, with only as much emphasis on spirituality as the client finds comfortable.

Baughman said the therapists work within the context of each person's religious tradition and do not impose a particular belief system.

“This is about you,” Baughman said. “It is not about me or my faith.”

The organization has been around nationally for 30 years and in Butler for 18 years, since Baughman first became executive director.

“I like helping people,” he said. “You must like helping people.”

Baughman, who grew up in Chambersburg, Franklin County, earned a sociology degree from Shippensburg University in 1972. Afterward, Baughman, who knew he had a calling, earned a master's in divinity from Bethany Seminary.

For five years he was the pastor at the Emmanuel Church of the Brethren in Dayton, Ohio.

While there, he earned his second master's degree, this time in counseling from Wright State University.

Baughman did a two-year residency at a counseling center in Indiana, followed by an eight-year position at a mental health center.

In 1990, Baughman moved to Butler to become the director of the counseling services at the North Main Street Church of God.

He was there just more than three years before starting as the executive director at the Samaritan Counseling Center.

In counseling, Baughman said in the first session he asks questions that help him understand the client's worlds. Often, they walk in the door during a life crisis.

“They are depressed or struggling, and I feel empathy,” Baughman said, noting that future sessions are dedicated to recognizing and achieving the clients' goals.

Every person is unique, Baughman said, so the sessions and goals are individualized.

“People are not cookie cutters,” he said.

The average counseling center client attends seven sessions. In addition to the one-on-one services, the center offers couples and family counseling. And counselors can lead workshops and retreats for employers or provide speakers on topics related to better, healthier living.

Baughman said many of the services are covered by health care insurance. An adjusted fee, based on a family's gross income, also can be used when a person does not have health care coverage.

Baughman noted a career in faith-based therapy is likely not going to make a person financially wealthy. But he said that his career has other rewards.

Specifically, he said, “I see people make significant changes in their lives.”

Baughman acknowledged the clients don't always reach their goals in the time frame they had hoped, and it's difficult for him not to allow their concerns to weigh on his heart.

“I cannot turn the ‘care-switch' off when I leave the office,” Baughman said. “But I need to be a dad, a husband and a homeowner. I cannot carry the people I worked with today home with me, tonight.

“For those people, I pray and ask God to watch out for them until the next session.”

<b>Address: </b>Butler Township<b>Title: </b>Executive director of the Samaritan Counseling Center of Western Pennsylvania<b>Family: </b>Wife, Karen; two sons; and three grandsons<b>Education: </b>He is a licensed marriage and family therapist and an ordained minister.<b>Quote:</b> “There are more hurting people out there.”

Carl Baughman, executive director of the Samaritan Counseling Center of Western Pennsylvania in Butler, offers these tips to be successful in your business:• Care about people who are hurting and their circumstances.• Obtain the appropriate education and training.• Be flexible to see each person as unique.• See people holistically in body, mind and spirit.• Don't plan on getting rich.

<b>Name: </b>Samaritan Counseling Center of Western Pennsylvania<b>Address: </b>201 E. Jefferson St.<b>Top official: </b>Carl Baughman, executive director<b>Services:</b> Professional psychological counseling and educational programs using the resources of faith.<b>Clients:</b> 1,400 a year in offices in Beaver, Butler and Allegheny counties<b>Employees: </b>23<b>Phone: </b>724-287-5449<b>E-mail:</b> info@samaritancounseling.net<b>Website: </b>www.samaritancounseling.net<b>Mission statement: </b>To help individuals and families achieve spiritual, emotional and physical well-being through professional psychological counseling and educational programs using the resources of faith.

Carl Baughman offers these suggestions as ways to improve the quality of life in Butler County:• Because I am a licensed marriage and family therapist, my tendency is to see the ability of one person to change a larger system.The same is true for Butler County. Improvement in the quality of life starts with one person.So my first suggestion about how the quality of life could be improved in Butler County would be to have every person look at their own life and decide what changes they could make that would lead to a healthier lifestyle.• My second suggestion has to do with prevention.If people sought preventive help before a crisis occurred, I believe the quality of life would improve.• When people need help and seek help, I believe the community should encourage those individuals.So often people are shamed when they reach out for any kind of assistance. The quality of life could be improved if people were more supportive, encouraging and less shaming of those in need.• In Butler County, we have a terrific asset in our community college. I believe the quality of life would be improved if residents took advantage of the opportunities Butler County Community College offers to further career skills, or just life enhancement activities.I lived in Butler County eight years before I decided to take computer classes. What I received from BC3 has made a real difference in my life and my career.• At Samaritan Counseling Center, we see the number of hurting people increasing, and increasing dramatically.There are more and more people dealing with depression, stress, anxiety, family difficulties and job insecurities.These people need help on many fronts, so agencies that offer help to hurting people will need to grow and to improve the services they offer.