About Dr. Mitch
Dr. Mitch Whitman holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Seattle Pacific University and is in private practice at Discovery Counseling & Consulting in Bellingham, WA and Wenatchee, WA. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of British Columbia and a graduate Diploma in Christian Studies from Regent College. He is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the State of Washington.
Dr. Mitch has worked in the mental health field for 30 years. His experience has included social with Child Protective Services (CPS); clinical work at Skagit Discovery with severely behaviorally disordered children and youth; Burnaby Counseling Group in British Columbia, where he developed a treatment program for sexual addictions and offenders; and Bayside Associates in Bellingham, where he also completed his doctoral clinical internship.
Dr. Mitch enjoys working with individuals, couples, and groups, in both short-term cognitive and behavioral therapy as well as longer-term psychodynamic therapy. His areas of specialty include marital/relational conflict and infidelity, mood disorders, trauma recovery, depression and anxiety, sexual identity confusion, sexual addiction, and faith and spirituality issues. His work with couples includes weekly therapy, customized/individualized marriage intensives, classes, and retreats. He approaches his work from an integrated and practical theological and psychological perspective.
As a psychological consultant and trainer with the Arrow Leadership Team of North America (www.arrowleadership.org), Dr. Mitch has been actively involved in leadership development over the last 18 years. The globally-esteemed Arrow Leadership Program over the past decade has graduated over 1,000 Christian leaders in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Denmark, Poland, United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States.
Dr. Mitch’s professional experiences extends to cross-cultural counseling, training, and both short- and long-term missionary contexts. He offers global counseling, training, and consultation on child abuse and neglect, sexual offender treatment, and a wide range of counseling issues. Over the past 30 years he has traveled extensively to Canada, Western and Central Europe, New Zealand, Australia, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia in his professional work with groups including Operation Mobilization, Youth With A Mission (YWAM), World Vision, The Salvation Army, and Pioneers International. He is on the professional clinical staff of Cornerstone Counseling Foundation in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Dr. Mitch conducts a number of speaking engagements and workshops around the world. He is author of the book Challenging the Darkness: Child Sexual Abuse and the Church (1994), which is published in German translation as Brecht das Schweigen (1993). His co-authored the journal article “Clergy Affairs: Emotional Investment, Longevity of Relationship and Affair Partners” (J. Thoburn & M. Whitman, Pastoral Psychology, July 2004).
He and his wife, Jill, have been married for 36 years; together they have two young adult daughters.
“Dr. Mitch Whitman has done pioneer research in the sensitive area of sexuality in ministry. His approach peels back the layers of hiddeness and the subtle veils of secrecy that allow Christian leaders to cover over and be in denial of the dark sides of their ministry. The result is a coherent logic to healing and helpful practices to becoming healthy and Godly leaders, comfortable and secure in their own sexual nature. I highly recommend him as a teacher of excellence who both unpacks the truth and gives credible, relevant and no-nonsense counsel on a matter of critical importance to the church in our time.”