The Center for Enriching Relationships

What The Center for Enriching Relationships does

The Center for Enriching Relationships (CER) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Christian counseling center founded in 2003 in Kansas by Dr. Donald W. Welch, Ph.D., MFT, and relocated to San Diego, California in 2005. It delivers professional psychotherapy that integrates biblical principles with evidence-based clinical methods across approximately six office locations in San Diego County (Mission Valley headquarters, Chula Vista, El Cajon, La Mesa, Spring Valley, and Rancho Bernardo), supplemented by telehealth services available to California residents. The center operates with roughly 30 therapists across 10 service sites and reports serving "thousands of clients," supported by an administrative and program staff reflected in a 51–100 total employee count.

CER's differentiated IP centers on the Welch Responsive Temperament Assessment (WRTA), a proprietary instrument with a 2022-published handbook and mobile app, and the Welch Relationship Model, both developed by the founder and protected as registered brand assets. Specialty services include sex therapy, play therapy, EMDR, and psychological testing, alongside core individual, couples, family, and group therapy. Revenue is generated through a hybrid model combining standard therapy sessions ($210–$240 per session) with a broad reduced-rate ladder down to $10, in-network insurance billing for Medicare, Medi-Cal, Tricare, and TriWest VA, APA/CAMFT-approved continuing education seminars and on-demand programs priced at $15, and tax-deductible donations (one-time and recurring monthly tiers from $25–$100).

The go-to-market is predominantly direct, anchored by a referral network of more than 50 churches, schools, and organizations that channel clients into CER practices, including Focus on the Family, Shadow Mountain, Skyline, and The Rock. Distribution is augmented by a strategic training pipeline through Point Loma Nazarene University's Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling program, which supplies low-cost therapist-in-training labor at $10/session and feeds the next generation of clinicians into the practice. In May 2022, Dr. Welch established the Welch Therapy Institute (WTI) as a closely affiliated but distinct entity to monetize continuing education, WRTA certification, and advisory services beyond direct clinical care, and in 2023 he extended the brand with the publication of The Responsive Marriage consumer book.

Name

The Center for Enriching Relationships

Legal name

Center for Enriching Relationships, Inc.

Website

https://enrichingrelationships.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Center for Enriching Relationships is a San Diego-based nonprofit Christian counseling center founded in 2003 by Dr. Donald W. Welch, delivering biblically integrated psychotherapy across six county locations and telehealth, with 30 therapists, a PLNU-trained clinical pipeline, and a proprietary temperament assessment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health Counseling Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Individual and Family Services (6241), Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Health Counseling & Psychotherapy Services (EDALAFAB)

Keywords

• Christian counseling services
• Marriage and family therapy
• Mental health services
• Faith-based psychotherapy
• Continuing education training

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Therapy Session Fees: Direct client payments for therapy sessions. Most therapists charge $210-$240 per session. Reduced rates available starting as low as $10. Low-cost trainee program charges $10 per session.
2. Insurance Billing: Direct billing for in-network insurance plans including Medicare, Medi-Cal, some Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare Supplemental Plan, Tricare, and TriWest VA. Superbills provided for out-of-network insurance reimbursement.
3. Professional Training/CE Programs: Continuing education seminars approved by APA and CAMFT. On-demand programs cost $15 each. Level 1 certification training and Level 2 credentialing training for WRTA.
4. Donations: 501(c)(3) nonprofit relies on donations for low-cost mental health services. Accepts one-time donations ($50 minimum) and recurring monthly donations ($25, $50, $75, $100 options).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Center for Enriching Relationships is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) Christian counseling center that provides professional psychotherapy services integrating biblical principles with clinical psychology. It offers individual, couples, family, group, sex, play, and EMDR therapy as well as psychological testing, supported by the proprietary Welch Responsive Temperament Assessment, continuing education programs approved by APA and CAMFT, and a low-cost trainee counseling program run with Point Loma Nazarene University.

Product overview

The Center for Enriching Relationships is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) Christian counseling center offering a comprehensive suite of mental health services. The organization operates as a unified center with multiple service lines: core therapy services (individual, couples, family, and group therapy), specialty services (sex therapy, play therapy, EMDR, psychological testing), and an educational arm (low-cost counseling through PLNU partnership, CER Seminars continuing education, and Welch Therapy Institute). Key products include the Welch Responsive Temperament Assessment (WRTA) with certification training, the My Therapist Sez video series resource, and The Responsive Marriage book by Dr. Donald Welch. The organization serves San Diego County with offices in Chula Vista, El Cajon, La Mesa, Mission Valley, Rancho Bernardo, and Spring Valley.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Individual Therapy
• Couples Therapy
• Family Therapy
• Group Therapy
• Low Cost Counseling (PLNU MACC Partnership)
• Sex Therapy
• Play Therapy
• EMDR Treatment

Quantifiable outcome

• Thousands of clients served in San Diego area
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Welch Family Therapy Institute (WFTI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Dr. Donald W. Welch founded WFTI (2022) to provide resources and advisory services. CER and WFTI collaborate and co-sponsor Welch Responsive Temperament Assessment Training with continuing education units from CAMFT and APA.
• Center for Justice and Reconciliation (CJR) at Point Loma Nazarene UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016CER provides greatly subsidized counseling to Beauty for Ashes Scholarship recipients—survivors of human trafficking. Partnership began in 2016 when CJR staff met CER psychologist. Students receive life-changing counseling results.
• Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional partnership between CER and PLNU's Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling program. CER provides clinical training sites and supervision for student therapists-in-training. PLNU students receive FREE therapy services; community receives $10/session low-cost counseling. Dr. Welch serves as adjunct professor in the program.
• Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCER is the San Diego chapter of CAPS. CAPS is a professional association uniting members committed to Christ and professional excellence. Represents variety of denominations, professional groups, and theoretical orientations.
• 50+ Churches and Organizations (Referral Network)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExtensive referral network including Focus on the Family, Point Loma Nazarene University, Shadow Mountain Community Church, Skyline Church, The Rock Church, and 45+ other churches and schools that refer clients to CER services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Focus on the Family: National Christian organization with a relationship-counseling referral and resource arm that funnels families to counseling partners — overlaps with CER on biblically-based marriage/family support and is one of CER's named referral partners, but operates at a much broader national scale.
• Talkspace: National teletherapy platform accepting insurance including Medicare — competes with CER's telehealth arm on accessibility and pricing, but lacks CER's faith-based integration and church-placement model.
• American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC): Largest professional association for Christian counselors, providing certification, training, and continuing education that parallels CER's APA/CAMFT-approved seminar and WRTA credentialing programs.
• Thriveworks: Large multi-state outpatient counseling and psychiatry platform with in-network insurance billing — same outpatient psychotherapy service line and insurance breadth as CER, but secular and operating at much greater scale.

Direct peers

• Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services: Large nonprofit, faith-based behavioral health system offering outpatient counseling, psychiatric care, and training — directly comparable faith-integrated service and training model, but at significantly larger scale and broader geography than CER.
• Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF): Faith-based nonprofit that combines biblical counseling with training/certification for counselors — same integration of Christian theology with professional psychotherapy, and same training/credentialing flywheel that drives CER's WRTA and WTI.

Regional players

• Seattle Christian Counseling: Faith-based outpatient counseling practice in the Pacific Northwest with a similar integration of Christian theology with professional therapy — illustrates how CER's model could be replicated regionally outside California.
• CrossPoint Counseling Services: Faith-based counseling practice providing individual, couples, and family therapy with biblically-integrated approaches — comparable outpatient service mix and faith integration to CER.
• New Life Counseling Center: Nonprofit Christian counseling center offering sliding-scale therapy and marriage/family services — directly comparable faith-based, sliding-scale outpatient model to CER's nonprofit structure.

Emerging players

• Biola University – Rosemead School of Psychology: Faith-based graduate psychology program integrating Christian theology with clinical training — mirrors CER's PLNU MACC partnership model and could be both a competitor for graduate students and a potential future university partner for trainee clinics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xinstagram.com/cersandiego
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCSRkb9d7TElrlVuaNoIyfUQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/centerforenrichingrelationships
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centerforenrichingrelationships

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Center for Enriching Relationships