Counseling Center
Introducing Dr. Joan K. Harrington, NCC, LMHC, LPC

Dr. Joan Harrington began her life in Harvey, Illinois in 1934. She was raised in  the home of a Baptist minister. Her early years were spent in Wisconsin, Iowa and  Kansas. She was graduated from high school in Abilene, Kansas.

Dr. Harrington began her education by attending Tennessee Temple College in  Chattanooga, Tennessee for two years. She then attended one year of Business  College in Salina, Kansas after which she attended and was graduated from the  Moody Bible Institute in 1960 with a double major - Bible and Christian  Education. While a student at Moody she wrote continuity scripts for WMBI,

was correspondent for the Correspondence School and was advertising secretary for the Moody Monthly magazine. After graduating from Moody, Dr. Harrington was a Rural Bible Teacher for the New England Fellowship of Evangelicals for two years.

Dr. Harrington then received her BA from Gordon-Barrington College in Massachusetts in 1967. She holds two Masters’ degrees; a Master of Professional Studies degree from Alliance Theological Seminary in Nyack, New York where she majored in an integration of psychology, theology and sociology and a Masters’ in Education degree in Counseling/Education from William Paterson State University of New Jersey. Dr. Harrington has had extensive training in mental health counseling. She served her internship under a Christian African-American diplomat in the American Psychiatric Association. She holds her Doctorate of Philosophy in the Social Sciences from the California Graduate School of Theology and has been awarded an honorary doctorate in Sacred Literature from the Jacksonville Theological Seminary in Florida.

Dr. Harrington is an ordained minister (Faith Covenant Ministries, Now Ministries in Conyers, Georgia, and the American Baptist Association). She is also a Clinical Pastoral Psychotherapist, licensed by the State of Florida as a Mental Health Counselor, and the National Board of Certified Counselors. Dr. Harrington holds certification from the State of New Jersey in Pupil Personnel Services, from the Evangelical Training Association, and the Christian Motivational Training Institute. She is also licensed by the State of Georgia as a Professional Counselor.

In her early years, Dr. Harrington was elected Outstanding Young Woman of America. She was elected for the 1992-1993 edition of Who's Who Among Human Service Professionals, and is in the 1995-1996 edition of Who's Who in the South and Southwest, also in the 19th edition of Who's Who of American Women, and included in the fiftieth edition of Who's Who in America. Dr. Harrington was nominated for the Millennial Edition of Who's Who in the World for the year 2,000. She holds the Phi Lambda Theta Key for excellence in graduate education.

Dr. Harrington holds memberships in the American Association for Christian Counselors, the American Counseling Association, the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors, the Association for Specialists in Group Work, and the Association for Religious and Value Issues in Counseling.
Dr. Harrington will be the first to assert that her major focus in life is her walk with the Lord. She committed her life to full-time missionary service in her youth and has followed this commitment for more than 50 years. She became a born-again Christian when she was 11 years old and made a definite commitment for full-time service to the Lord when she was 21 while attending Founder’s Week at Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Harrington found a new dimension in her ministry when she was introduced to and embraced the Charismatic theology and was baptized in the Holy Spirit while a part of Crossover Ministries in Tampa, Florida. Dr. Harrington’s testimony has always included a kind and compassionate heart for those she counsels and teaches.

She has served the Lord as a missionary with Children’s Haven in Massachusetts where she founded and directed Camp Chilaven - a camp for inner-city children and teens, and was "Aunt Joni" for hundreds of children who listened weekly to the Haven Radio Club aired over a Boston station. She has also served under the Africa Inland Mission in New Jersey Urban areas and with the Christian Reformed Home Missions in Paterson, New Jersey.

Along with her private counseling practice, Dr. Harrington has counseled in church settings, taught Psychology and Bible while serving as Director of Guidance in a New Jersey Christian High School, worked as a College Counselor and Adjunct Professor on an inner-city junior college campus for cross-cultural students, and was a Visiting Professor for the Alliance Seminary in Nyack, N.Y. where she taught Urban Christian Education. She has served in community mental health, as Clinical Director of Life Management Counseling Program, and as Minister of Counseling for the American Baptist Church in Saint Petersburg, Florida. She has maintained an office for private clients in Clearwater and Tampa, Florida. Dr. Harrington has also served urban churches as Director of Christian Education, Minister of Church Education, Minister of Parish Witness, and Minister of Counseling.

Just prior to moving to Georgia in July of 1998, Dr. Harrington served as Professor and Academic Dean for the Tampa Campus of Jacksonville Theological Seminary, teaching graduate level courses in Counseling and Christian Education. She was also Professor and Chair of the Counseling and Education Department at the Saint Petersburg Theological Seminary. She served on Pastoral Staff at Crossover Community Church in Tampa as Counseling/ Education Pastor. Dr. Harrington is Founder of The Care Center, a Counseling Center located in Clearwater, Florida. Dr. Harrington also served on the development staff at Atlantic Southern Bible College where she was Chair of the Educational Ministries Division and professor in counseling, Bible, and education. She has served as Counselor and Educational Pastor at SafeHouse in Atlanta.

Currently, Dr. Harrington counsels at The Wellness Center for Counseling and Education. which she founded. This center is associated with SafeHouse Ministries and is affiliated as part of the Atlantic Southern Bible College where Dr. Harrington serves as President. Dr. Harrington also counsels, writes, and teaches for the SafeHouse Family Resource Center in Tucker, Georgia where her office is located.

Dr. Harrington is equally at home with children, teenagers, adults and the elderly. Her focus of ministry has often been with the disadvantaged and oppressed individuals. There are adult families in Boston, Massachusetts, Newark and Paterson, New Jersey and metropolitan Atlanta who say "thank you" to Dr. Harrington for becoming a "Mother in Israel" to the "street children" and their families who had no emotional or spiritual nurturing until she reached out with Christian love and compassion and taught them the love of Jesus as well as how to nurture and survive.

Although she received her first ordination from the American Baptist Churches of America, her commitment to the Full Gospel has led her to be ordained under Bishop Jim Earl Swilley and NOW Ministries and she looks to Bishop Swilley for on-going spiritual headship. Since the Wellness Center is a part of Faith Covenant Ministries in New Jersey, Dr. Harrington was also ordained by Faith Covenant Ministries. Above all, her spiritual walk and commitment to Biblical excellence has led her to become an integral part of the Full Gospel and Spirit-filled family of God.

Dr. Harrington can be reached at Revdrjoan@aol.com.  Her web site is www.drjoan.org.  She is available for seminars and speaking engagements.  Her home office number is 785-434-2493 or mobile number 785-303-0395.