Providing Help. Creating Hope.
A Path Towards Emotional Wellness
The Parish Counseling Network (PCN) is a collaboration between Droste Mental Health Services, Inc and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York. It offers compassionate support and guidance to help navigate life’s challenges through providing low-cost, short-term counseling for parishioners in need. Parishioners are either referred by their parish or can contact the PCN directly with the name of their parish or referring priest.
The NY Archdiocese recognizes the importance of supporting members of the Catholic community in times of need. Sometimes, the individualized attention and care deserved by each person surpasses the resources available within churches alone. That is why the NY Archdiocese developed the Parish Counseling Network (PCN) to make access to supportive counseling available to any parishioner of a church in the NY Archdiocese. For too long, stigma and lack of resources has limited the ability to access the support we all need during life’s difficult times.
PCN strives to help pastors secure the most effective and appropriate care for their parishioners. It was established in order to provide counseling in addition to the valuable pastoral counseling received through the church. If it is determined by the PCN clinician that shortterm counseling is not an effective treatment approach, as with severe or persistent mental illness, a more appropriate referral will be provided. The parishioner may be referred to a therapist providing longer term individual counseling, to a hospital or treatment center, or specialized clinic.