I am a counselor who is fascinated with the big questions of life.  For more than thirty-five years I have had the privilege of being a companion to my students and clients as they searched for meaning and purpose in their lives.  Nothing engages me more than listening to the stories people tell me about what matters most to them.  Their joys and sorrows never fail to draw me more deeply into the mystery of my own growth and transformation.

I am a poet. From a tender age I was an observer of all things human, a lover of language, a holder of people's dreams. I wrote my first poem in primary school.  Writing poetry helps me make meaning and discover my purpose in life.  

For me, writing is praying.  I started journal writing twenty years ago. Keeping a journal helps me to stay committed to spiritual transformation.   

The place I live is called "Trumpet Hill." My house is outside St Louis, Missouri, near the town of St Albans, at the northern edge of the Ozark Highlands.  The names of these places call me to fully inhabit my life as it is now. 

The Buddha is visible in the garden outside the window where I do most of my writing.  I call this image "Equanimity." I am learning to pray with images along with words.   

I hope that my essays and poems will encourage you to claim your own calling to live an inspired life.

I am available to give presentations for spiritual pilgrims seeking the Presence of the Divine in All That Is. 

Barbara DeCoursey Roy

I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (State of IL License #180-1926). I received my Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology from Loyola University Chicago in 1979.  I have advanced training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy from the Institute for Psychoanalysis, Chicago, Illinois.  From 1979-1990, I taught courses in human relations, spiritual direction, and pastoral counseling at the Institute of Pastoral Studies, Loyola University Chicago.  From 1994-1997 I was a counselor at the Midwest Ministry Development Center in Westchester, Illinois, an ecumenical clergy consultation center. I spent five years as a counselor at The Christian Brothers Counseling Center, in Westchester, Illinois, and Evanston, Illinois.  I also worked in student mental health services at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.  

I have been in private practice for thirty years providing counseling to adults at all stages of life.  I have extensive experience consulting with congregations of religious women and men for mission effectiveness and long range planning. I currently reside in the St. Louis, Missouri area.