Corey Mettler, MA, LPC

I view every person who comes into my office as a uniquely created and infinitely important life. To be able to relate with one another – connected, loved and at peace is my hope for every child and family.”

Meet Corey

Corey has a Master’s of Arts in Counseling from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary and worked as an Adoption Specialist for over 10 years. Corey began his career in child welfare with his wife, Beth, living and working with up to twelve children with varying degrees of trauma as Family Teachers Mooseheart Child City and School in Batavia, Illinois. Corey has worked with juvenile offenders in residential treatment as well as pregnant and parenting teenagers. Corey is highly relational and focuses on the quality of relationships within the family as well as the family system. Corey has presented at the North American Association of Christians in Social Work (NAACSW) annual conference on the topic of Fear versus Faith and has created additional trainings for adoptive families including Biblical Parenting.

Corey and his wife have been married since 1996 and have four children: Andrew, Anna, Joshua and Caleb.

My Approach & Values

My first step is to get to know my clients and develop rapport together. I believe that there is healing in healthy relationships and in some cases, my relationship with the person sitting across from me may demonstrate their first exposure to true acceptance. We explore values and goals together and find the goals that will start to direct the first steps toward healing. I try to make a connection with every member of the family available to ensure the needs and issues that we all bring can be addressed in a healthy, open and freeing manner. We explore personal history, family of origin and attachment styles. We explore communication patterns, personality types and areas where it feels the client is the most stuck. When we identify areas of “stuck-ness”, we look for conflicting goals and emotions that are likely to be the cause and then we work at them together.

 Working with adoptive families as well as families experiencing crisis, I try to help everyone explore their expectations, stress levels, and methodology. In many cases I help parents understand why their techniques aren’t working with their children and we build a more solid foundation of empathy and commitment to doing what is in the child’s best interest. I also strive to help children understand their parents. We do our best bonding in the healing process of sharing our vulnerabilities, unconditional love, and deep hope for one another.

My Experience

  • 2 years Family Teacher
  • 1 year marriage and pastoral counseling
  • 3 years youth counselor with juvenile offenders
  • 2 years youth trainer with adolescents
  • 10 years adoption specialist and counselor
  • Post-adoption worker
  • Post-adoption therapy since 2017

My Education

  • BA – Olivet Nazarene University
  • MA – Grand Rapids Theological Seminary
  • DDT Training with Dan Hughes

 

Contact Me

Ask a question or book an appointment below. For emergencies call 911 or visit your nearest hospital

616.217.8612

Families Forever Counseling

4829 East Beltline Ave. NE Suite 303 Grand Rapids, MI 49525