Catholic Charities offers a variety of counseling services to individuals, couples, and families. Professional counselors, licensed in Indiana or working toward certification, provide these services. Personal and interpersonal issues that can be addressed include:

Catholic Charities is an authorized Medicaid provider. Counselors are members of several third-party insurance panels.

Counselors also provide professional assessments as part of the investigation of a petition of nullity of marriage. If personality testing is necessary, a referral is made to a psychologist, and the results are included in the report to the Diocesan Marriage Tribunal. (Typically, divorced couples petition the marriage tribunal for a declaration of nullity in their previous marriage so that they may enter a sacramental marriage.) Counselors provide professional assessments and/or counseling to fulfill the conditions of a monitum set by a tribunal judge at the time of declaration of nullity. A monitum is a warning declared by the tribunal judge and can specify a need for pastoral counseling and/or an assessment of current functioning of the client and proposed spouse. There is a fee for these counseling services.

Click here for contact information for our Counseling Services department.

School-based counseling (South Bend)
The agency has a contract with 10 parochial schools to provide counseling and support services for children and their families. Services include helping children adjust to school, and collaborating with teachers and other school personnel. Counselors work with parents to contact outside agencies when referrals are considered to be a necessary addition to school-based services.

Click here to contact our Counseling Services department for more information.

Project Rachel
Abortion is one of the most traumatic experiences a person can have. Feelings of grief, anxiety, guilt, and anger are common, not only for the woman who undergoes the abortion, but also for the father of the child, relatives, friends, and attending medical personnel. The pain of loss is often buried initially, but it may manifest itself in dysfunctional relationships, depression, or other emotional or spiritual problems. For Catholics, the pain of abortion may be intensified by a sense of alienation from God and Church.

If this describes your situation, the Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend invites you to participate in Project Rachel, a post-abortion reconciliation program. Through this ministry—named for the Old Testament figure who wept inconsolably over the loss of her child—priests and counselors are available to support and assist you through the healing process.

Like the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession), Project Rachel offers a sensitive, private, and confidential experience. If you wish, you can be put in communication with a priest outside your home community. Your meeting with the priest will focus on preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Generally, the process will include counseling, prayer, and sharing of scripture.

Also available to you as part of Project Rachel is counseling with specially trained staff from Catholic Charities. Such counseling, before and/or after the Sacrament of Reconciliation, can help you sort through your feelings and deal with unresolved conflicts.

Project Rachel represents a means for you to receive the healing grace of God as well as reconciliation with the Church community. It allows you, in a caring and hopeful context, to move toward reconciliation—with yourself, your unborn child, your family, your Church, and your God.

Our Counseling Services supervisors would be happy to answer your questions. Click here for Project Rachel information.