Shield Bearer Counseling Centers

What Shield Bearer Counseling Centers does

Shield Bearer Counseling Centers is a Texas-incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN: 33-1125038) founded in Fall 2005 by Matthew White in Houston, providing licensed outpatient mental health counseling across Greater Houston. The organization employs 11–50 staff including licensed professional counselors (LPC, LPC-S, LMFT, LCSW), graduate student interns, and volunteers, supplemented by a Certified Therapy Dog/Crisis K9 program. It operates nine physical locations, with its headquarters at 12337 Jones Road, Suite 114, Houston, TX 77070, and a satellite site in The Woodlands, delivering more than 14,000 counseling sessions annually.

The clinical portfolio spans core individual therapy, marriage and couples counseling (including premium 1–3 day Marriage Intensives priced $750–$2,250), family counseling, child and teen counseling (with play therapy for ages 3–10), and specialty services in trauma/PTSD (using EMDR), human trafficking recovery, grief and loss, and anxiety and depression. Faith Integration is offered as an optional add-on across all services without imposing religious content on clients who decline it. Notable programmatic assets include the Lindsay's Light Dating Violence Prevention Program, which has educated over 25,000 students, and specialized trauma recovery for 1,134+ human trafficking survivors.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid model: insurance billing across 11+ major carriers (Aetna, BCBS, Cigna, United Healthcare, Humana, Magellan, ComPsych, Optum, Tricare, Ambetter, Oscar Health), sliding scale fees for uninsured clients, donor contributions and scholarships, foundation grants (notably Tomball Regional Health Foundation), corporate sponsorships, event underwriting, and fee-based professional development training. All client intake is conducted via phone during office hours (no online booking), with services delivered primarily in-person plus limited virtual options. Shield Bearer is led by Executive Director Thad Cardine and Clinical Director Michelle Temofonte (LPC-S).

Name

Shield Bearer Counseling Centers

Legal name

Shield Bearer Counseling Centers

Website

https://shieldbearer.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Shield Bearer Counseling Centers is a Houston-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 2005, that delivers licensed outpatient mental health counseling — individual, marriage, family, child/teen, and trauma recovery — to individuals, couples, and families across nine Greater Houston locations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Counseling Session Fees: Primary revenue from billable counseling sessions. Accepts most major insurance plans (Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, United Healthcare, Humana, Magellan Health, ComPsych, Optum, Tricare, Ambetter, Oscar Health). Also serves uninsured clients on a sliding scale fee basis.
2. Marriage Intensive Programs: One-time fees for intensive multi-day marriage counseling programs: $750 for 1 day, $1,500 for 2 days, $2,250 for 3 days. Includes recommended follow-up sessions.
3. Donations and Fundraising: Nonprofit organization funded significantly by donor contributions. Donors subsidize sliding scale fees, fund scholarships for survivors of trafficking, crime victims, veterans, and families in crisis. Includes corporate giving, event sponsorship, and planned giving programs.
4. Professional Training and Workshops: Fee-based training programs for organizations including trauma-informed care training, burnout prevention, suicide prevention, recognizing abuse/grooming/trafficking, and organizational psychology. Customized workshops for schools, churches, nonprofits, and businesses.
5. Event Sponsorship: Monthly First Tuesday Breakfast sponsorship (~$150), fundraising gala sponsorships, and community workshop underwriting. Provides brand visibility in exchange for financial support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Shield Bearer Counseling Centers is a nonprofit, Christ-centered outpatient counseling organization providing licensed professional mental health care across Greater Houston. Services span individual therapy, couples/marriage counseling, family counseling, and child & teen counseling, supplemented by specialty clinical offerings in trauma and PTSD recovery (including a dedicated human trafficking survivor program), grief and loss, and anxiety and depression. Premium and premium-format programs include the Marriage Intensive (1-3 day format) and the Life Together Forever pre-marital workshop.

Product overview

Shield Bearer Counseling Centers is a nonprofit Christ-centered outpatient counseling organization providing licensed professional care across Greater Houston. The core offering is a portfolio of clinical counseling services — Individual Therapy, Marriage Counseling/Couples Therapy, Family Counseling, and Child & Teen Counseling — supplemented by specialty services including Trauma & PTSD Counseling (with EMDR), Human Trafficking Recovery, Grief & Loss Counseling, and Anxiety & Depression Counseling. Premium programs include the Marriage Intensive (1–3 day format, $750–$2,250) and the Life Together Forever pre-marital workshop. Faith Integration is offered as an optional add-on across any service. The organization also provides Support Groups (Grief, Parenting, Trauma Recovery, Marriage Enrichment), the Lindsay's Light Dating Violence Prevention Program (25,000+ students reached), and Professional Development Training workshops. Educational resources include Family & Teen Guides, Marriage & Couples Guides, and Trauma & Individual Guides. Financial access is facilitated through accepted insurance plans (Aetna, BCBS, Cigna, United Healthcare, Humana, Magellan, ComPsych, Optum, Tricare, Ambetter, Oscar Health), sliding scale fees, and counseling scholarships. The organization operates across nine Greater Houston locations and conducts community events including a monthly Network & Learn Breakfast and a weekly Prayer Warrior Meeting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Individual Therapy One-on-one counseling sessions providing a private, confidential environment to process personal challenges, heal from the past, and plan for the future, using evidence-based approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and trauma-informed care.
• Marriage Counseling / Couples Therapy Licensed couples therapy addressing communication breakdowns, infidelity and trust repair, conflict cycles, blended family challenges, and life transitions, offered weekly or through an intensive format.
• Family Counseling Family therapy sessions navigating divorce, co-parenting, blended families, parenting adult children, and communication breakdowns, treating families as systems to identify and shift unhelpful patterns.
• Child & Teen Counseling Age-appropriate counseling for children and adolescents including play therapy for younger children and one-on-one talk-based sessions for teens, addressing anxiety, bullying, self-esteem, risky behaviors, and trauma.
• Trauma & PTSD Counseling Specialized trauma-informed care for survivors of abuse, crime, human trafficking, domestic violence, and natural disasters, utilizing approaches including EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) and working at the client's own pace.
• Grief & Loss Counseling Counseling supporting clients through grief and loss including death of a loved one, divorce, life transitions, and pet loss, offered without imposing a timeline and respecting each person's unique grieving process.
• Anxiety & Depression Counseling Clinical care for anxiety disorders, depression, mood disorders, and trauma-related symptoms, using evidence-based approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to build practical coping tools.
• Human Trafficking Recovery Program Survivor-centered, trauma-informed counseling specifically designed for human trafficking survivors, with financial barriers removed so no one is turned away due to inability to pay.
• Marriage Intensive An intensive one-to-three-day couples counseling program for marriages in significant distress or actively discussing divorce, led by two professional counselors with the goal of breaking through barriers and finding reconciliation.
• Life Together Forever Workshop A pre-marital and early marriage workshop for engaged couples or those early in their marriage, covering communication, expectations, boundaries, and romance in a small-group setting. Engaged couples who complete the workshop receive a Texas Marriage License discount voucher.
• Faith Integration Counseling Christ-centered counseling option where faith, prayer, and scripture are integrated into sessions at the client's request. Available across all counseling services; never imposed and never required.
• Lindsay's Light Dating Violence Prevention Program A school- and community-based dating violence prevention program named in memory of Lindsay Laneigh Ferrill, equipping teens to recognize healthy versus unhealthy relationships and know how to access help.
• Professional Development Training Mental health training workshops for churches, schools, and businesses across Greater Houston, covering trauma-informed care, burnout prevention, recognizing abuse and trafficking, suicide prevention, mental health awareness, and organizational psychology.
• Insurance & Financial Access Services Financial access services covering accepted insurance plans, sliding scale fees based on household income, and counseling scholarships for survivors of trafficking, crime victims, veterans, and families in financial crisis.

Quantifiable outcome

• 14,000+ counseling sessions delivered annually
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• America's ER + Urgent CarecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2005Healthcare provider partnership. America's ER + Urgent Care sponsors Shield Bearer events and provides visibility as a community partner invested in mental health awareness.
• Baker Wealth StrategiescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFinancial services firm serving as corporate sponsor and community partner, supporting mental health initiatives in the Houston area.
• Creekwood GrillminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal restaurant and community partner that sponsors Shield Bearer events and community initiatives.
• H-E-B RacetrackminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal H-E-B grocery store location serving as community sponsor for mental health awareness and counseling access programs.
• University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor healthcare institution partnership. MD Anderson invests in mental health services for the Houston community through corporate giving and sponsorship of Shield Bearer programs.
• Houston Methodist Orthopedics & Sports MedicinecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerHealthcare system partnership supporting mental health initiatives. Houston Methodist provides sponsorship and community visibility for Shield Bearer's mission.
• Teri Black FinancialsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFinancial advisory firm serving as corporate sponsor for community mental health programs and events.
• Resale with a PurposeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNonprofit resale shop supporting Shield Bearer through fundraising and community awareness efforts.
• Grow Grit & VirtueminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity organization led by Thad Cardine, providing content marketing and community outreach support through Substack newsletter.
• Houston First Church of GodcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding faith community partner providing ongoing volunteer support, Prayer Warriors leadership (Naomi Dingle), and community outreach for Shield Bearer's mission.
• Windwood Presbyterian ChurchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFaith community partner supporting Shield Bearer through volunteer recruitment and community visibility.
• Calvary Community ChurchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFaith community partner providing ongoing support, volunteer engagement, and community connections for mental health outreach.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• The Menninger Clinic: Major Houston psychiatric hospital and outpatient clinic offering comprehensive mental health services including trauma, mood, and anxiety treatment. Comparable as a Houston-based mental health provider but operates at significantly larger scale and as a specialty psychiatric institution.
• UTHealth Houston School of Behavioral Health Sciences: Academic medical center in Houston operating outpatient behavioral health clinics staffed by faculty clinicians. Comparable as a Houston provider of outpatient mental health services but as part of a research and training institution rather than a community-focused nonprofit.
• Memorial Hermann Health System: Large Houston-area health system with behavioral health and outpatient counseling services. Comparable as a Houston provider of outpatient mental health services but as part of a broad hospital network rather than a focused nonprofit specialty.
• The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD: Local mental health authority for Harris County providing outpatient mental health, substance use, and intellectual disability services. Comparable as a Houston-area outpatient mental health provider but operates as a government-funded authority at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Jewish Family Service Houston: Houston-based social services nonprofit providing counseling, mental health support, and case management for individuals and families. Comparable as a faith- and values-rooted nonprofit social services organization serving Greater Houston.
• Legacy Community Health: Federally qualified health center in Houston providing primary care, behavioral health, and counseling services on a sliding scale to underserved populations. Directly comparable as a Houston-based nonprofit offering outpatient mental health services with financial access supports.
• DePelchin Children's Center: Houston children's services nonprofit providing counseling, foster care, and adoption support for children and families in crisis. Comparable as a Houston nonprofit focused on child, teen, and family mental health with similar donor and foundation funding models.
• BakerRipley: Major Houston social services nonprofit (formerly Neighborhood Centers) providing counseling, education, and family support to low-income communities. Comparable as a large Houston-based community services nonprofit overlapping on family counseling and donor-supported programming.
• Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston: Faith-based social services nonprofit operating across the Houston region with counseling, family services, refugee support, and community programs. Comparable as a faith-rooted, multi-service nonprofit competing for similar donor and grant funding.
• Houston Area Women's Center: Houston-based nonprofit providing counseling, shelter, and advocacy for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Comparable as a Houston nonprofit providing trauma-informed counseling and survivor support, often competing for similar victim-services grant funding.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/shieldbearercc
• Facebookfacebook.com/shieldbearercc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shield-bearer-counseling-centers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Shield Bearer Counseling Centers