Counselors

Pam Reese Comer, LPC, Director of Counseling Services is a graduate of the EMU Master of Arts in Counseling program and JMU Master of Education in Counseling program. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and has over 25 years experience working with issues on death, dying, and grief and has been a consultant and trainer for the Virginia Association for Hospices where she developed a state-wide grief network for professional and lay caregivers. She has a local private practice called Horizons and has also received special training in an international model on suicide intervention skills and provides training workshops in the community. She supervises many of the graduate internship students at the EMU Counseling Center as well as residents in counseling working towards licensure.

“My discovery through years of working with people is that most of us carry some powerful beliefs around way deep inside that drive our very being and can control our lives. Most times these are secrets that we do not share and can be summed up in the following: “I am not good enough, I am not worthy, I am not lovable”. Those beliefs are actually lies and are ruining our relationships with self, with others and with our world. I see counseling as one of the most healing experiences in calling attention to the truth. If you find a counselor you trust, you can change your life. My vision for EMU counseling services is to create a place and group of people who you can trust to offer professional, grounded services during the times and seasons of your life that hold you back and keep you from a sense of well being." – Pam

Dana Blauch holds a BS in Human Services from James Madison University and a MA in Counseling from Eastern Mennonite University. She works from an attachment and person-centered orientation with a psychodynamic flavor. She has over 10 years experience working in mental health services with adults and children as well as a background in youth ministry. Her areas of interest are varied and include concerns with anxiety, identity, depression, relationship struggles, bodily responses to stress, abuse and personal growth.

“In my view, each of us has an innate desire to grow and change positively and our environment and experiences affect this growth. I believe we are created to be in relationship with others as well as with our body, mind, emotions and spirit. At times we are fragmented and disengaged from the whole person and this disconnect creates disharmony. I appreciate the power of the therapeutic relationship to promote change and find it a joy to walk with persons over time in discovery and healing." – Dana

Kim Jackson is a graduate intern from the EMU Master of Arts in Counseling program. She received her BA from James Madison University. Kim is interested in working with depression, anxiety, relationships, personal growth, and self-identity.

“I am excited to work with college students because I remember what it was like to be a college student, finding my way in the world. Counseling provides people a safe place to process where they have been, where they are now, and where they are going. I am honored to be able to sit with people as they encounter and process brokenness and discover who they are
in this imperfect, beautiful world.” – Kim

Caleb Johnson is a graduate intern from EMU’s Master of Arts in Counseling. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from The Pennsylvania State University. Caleb brings with him the experience of studying conflict-resolution at the Fairfield Center where he volunteered as a mediator. Caleb works from a Gestalt, Person-Centered and Existential perspective, and finds particular interest in topics such as: self-esteem, domains of self-worth, trauma, anxiety, personal growth, depression and interpersonal conflicts.

“Everyday, we are assailed with a thousand choices. Occasionally, the simplest of these choices lead to us to question who we “are”. And although we all travel from a myriad of diverse experiences, we have all had moments when we feel disunited and fragmented in our being as an individual. Conversely, there are also moments in which we experience the most authentic sense of pride: when we differentiate “me” from “thee”—that is to simply “be ourselves”. For this reason, the less I think I may “know” the answers to the concern which brings a client to therapy, the more freedom I have to explore and discover alongside another human-being’s experience.” – Caleb

Jason Lichti is graduate intern from EMU’s Master of Arts in Counseling Program. He holds a BA in Physical Education from Goshen College and has worked with young adults in a variety of settings. He is interested in personal growth, athletic performance, abuse, substance use, and interpersonal relationships.

“I am fascinated by the growth that happens during the college experience and am honored to have the opportunity to walk with college students as they discover and explore their emerging identities. I believe that everyone has the opportunity and the ability to use their own personal suffering to facilitate personal growth. It is through encountering our unique humanness that we are able to build healthy relationships with those around us.” – Jason