Desert Streams strives to meet the varied needs of our community, and we are committed to having top quality Christian therapists as part of our team. We are excited to introduce two of our newest team members to Desert Streams: Ann Phillips Browning and Brian Bensinger. Both bring a wealth of knowledge, experience and wisdom to our therapy team.
Ann Phillips Browning has earned her Bachelor’s from WMU in Sociology, and her MSW from WMU. Before even pursing her MSW she worked for almost 10 years at a ministry to people who had experienced abuse in their life. She was involved in a Trauma Recovery program that was developed by a local therapist and priest initially to meet the needs of those that were victims of clergy abuse, and has been expanded to include any trauma survivors. She has also worked with grieving families. She has enjoyed working with female tweens, teens, senior citizens, married couples, and all ages in between. Ann states; my personal motto is “for such a time as this”. I believe I have experienced some difficult life experiences, that have led me to develop a special passion and empathy for girls and women who are going through difficult and stressful times. I believe God has had this plan for me to minister to others before he even created me in my mother’s womb.
I have special interests in working with survivors of sexual abuse, trauma survivors, anxiety, depression, and grief therapy not only as a result of a death, but as a result of the aging process. I think using humor as part of therapy can help to lessen the fear and stress involved in the therapeutic process, as well as learn to incorporate it into one’s every day life as a stress management strategy. I always look forward to meeting new clients, hearing their stories, and partnering with them in the process of learning new ways to manage the difficulties in life.
Brian Bensinger is from Kalamazoo Michigan. All of his family still lives here and he’s close with them. Brian earned his Masters in Social Work from WMU. He’s been a therapist for almost 3 years and currently works primarily at the VA doing substance-abuse and PTSD counseling. The work is both challenging and rewarding, and as a Navy veteran he feels honored to work with veterans each day. Brian is a people person, and loves maintaining friendships with a lot of people from church in the area. He enjoys being outside, kayaking, shooting pool, visiting national parks out west, and hiking. He is excited to join such a wonderful staff that that he has heard so much about!
As Brian begins his practice at Desert Streams he plans to serve clients with sexual addictions as well as pornography addiction. He will also address issues of depression, anxiety, grief and loss, singleness, spiritual abuse and self esteem. In addition he will also be working with clients who have substance abuse struggles and will work with those suffering from PTSD. Brian will be bringing his experience, training, personal style in counseling with clients here at Desert Streams.
