Erik Salwen

LPC-Intern

Sugar Land Office

I am a Christian counselor with a beloved wife of seventeen years and three children.  My background includes executive management in the technology industry and pastoral leadership on a church staff.  My current roles include:  professional counseling at the Houston Center for Christian Counseling; counseling and teaching at the Houston campus of Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS); and pursuing a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision at Regent University.

Two months after earning a B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin, I married my bride and began a fifteen-year career in technology marketing.  Later, after earning a M.B.A. from Columbia University, I founded and managed a technology marketing research consultancy.

Being convinced of the need for a vocational change from technology marketing to Christian counseling, I shifted focus both to pursue a M.A. in Biblical Counseling from DTS and to join the pastoral staff of Bethel Church as their Counseling Ministry Director.  Upon completion of the counseling degree in 2010, I left the formal position at the church to pursue my current roles.

My areas of special interest include working with men in the areas of sexual addiction, career crisis, and substance abuse.  I also have a heart for men from adolescence forward who are struggling with gender identity issues and same-sex attraction.  Additionally, I strongly desire to work with couples in conflict who have lost the sense of “US” as they have built defenses against pain in their relationship.

I believe strongly in the principle that a marriage is always moving toward or away from a sense of “US”.  In light of this, I have a strong emphasis on the area of marital enrichment.  I am a certified instructor for PREP (Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program), Marriage LINKS (Lasting Intimacy through Nurturing, Knowledge & Skills) and Prepare/Enrich and am available to lead seminars and/or sessions in these programs.

First and foremost, I have a love relationship with Jesus Christ as I continue to risk my future on what I know and believe of His character and plan.  As He continues to prove Himself faithful, I live in greater hope that what I know and believe of His character and plan is true, and I love him more.