Internationals in Taiwan include missionaries, teachers, executives, workers, and students. Here are some of the significant challenges they face:

• cultural differences, multiple languages, and both
  intense urban and ancient Asian value systems
• personal, family, and career issues
• losses, crises, and catastrophes

To help meet these needs, Center for Counseling & Growth offers care from a Christian and international perspective.

The Center for Counseling & Growth is a cooperative effort of the international ministry community associated with the Taiwan Missionary Fellowship. Dr. Lee Leeder opened the center in 1992. Following Lee's retirement in 1994, the Center for Counseling & Growth board invited Dr. Steve Spinella to serve as director in 1996. Our team has grown as Christian caregivers have associated with us in the years since.

Our original purpose, and still a top priority, is to help internationals in Taiwan stay, flourish, and contribute by providing care from a Christian perspective. Beginning there, we have been able to extend Christian care to others as well.

The center provides the following ministries in both English and Chinese:

• consultations with Christian caregivers
• couples care
• family consultations
• coaching for language learners
• small groups
• caregiving seminars and workshops
• training for peer caregivers
• retreats and focus groups
• Christian career counseling
• internationally qualified supervision for Christian counselors and interns
• access and interpretation for self-report testing and inventories

Every international needs language to flourish in daily life, and in inter-cultural relationships. In Taiwan this is a big task that absorbs a lot of energy.

Many language learners and coaches are asking for help in evaluating language learning and finding ways to have even more success.

This project provides a cooperative platform to serve language learners by providing evaluation and support.

Ruh-Shan [Ruth] Jin is spearheading this new care for CCG, now as a consultant. As a native speaker with 8 years experience studying language abroad, she is available to coach language learners. This includes...

• providing Chinese language evaluations
• networking and encouraging language learners individually and in groups
• resourcing and cooperating with other language coaches, teachers, helpers, and coordinators to enhance progress and effectiveness in language learning

Interested? Check out this article "The Challenge Of Language - An Interview with Ruh-Shan Jin" to know more about this service and Ruh-Shan Jin herself.

The Center for Counseling and Growth is a ministry supported by dedicated staff, volunteers, and contributions from concerned partners. We warmly invite your help.

We can provide the needed information for you to make tax-deductible contributions in Taiwan, the United States, or Canada. We also encourage people receiving care to contribute toward the costs of providing that care as he or she is able. For companies, we are happy to identify our costs when reimbursement is available.

Please use our services! That's why we are here. We welcome you, whether you come for care, as a fellow caregiver, as a volunteer or conributor, as a friend, or as all of these.