The vision for The Wellness Path Institute™ began taking shape while Dr. Chalice C. Rhodes was studying psychology. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, she completed a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology in 2003. As part of that degree, she completed a supervised clinical Christian counseling internship. Called to integrate Scripture into her classes, she began exploring a question that would guide her work for years to come: How can we care for the whole person—body, soul, and spirit?
Dr. Rhodes earned her Ph.D. in Human Services with a specialization in Counseling Studies in 2008. During 12 years of teaching in higher education, however, she did not have the opportunity to teach within a body, soul, and spirit framework. The question that began in graduate school stayed with her. Her experiences in teaching, counseling, and research, along with her partnerships with pastors and church communities, inspired her to create the Institute: a place where participants could study biblical understanding alongside counseling principles and ethical care.
The Institute’s guiding conviction is that lasting transformation begins with whole-person formation.
Bringing faith and research into conversation
Through the Wellness Path Certified Counselor™ (WPCC™) program, the Institute integrates Christian and biblical foundations for care, trauma-informed principles, and evidence-informed counseling approaches, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Participants consider how physical well-being, emotional life, relationships, and spiritual formation affect one another, while learning to apply what is appropriate to their own roles and qualifications.
Recent research helps inform these distinct strands. A 2024 meta-analysis found that psychotherapy addressing religious or spiritual concerns may offer benefits for clients with strong religious or spiritual affiliations (Bouwhuis-Van Keulen et al., 2024). Research involving Christian clients also illustrates why understanding a person’s faith can matter in spiritually integrated psychotherapy (Currier et al., 2022). Separate reviews examine the implementation of trauma-informed care and the evidence for CBT in treating depression (Goldstein et al., 2024; Cuijpers et al., 2023). These findings inform the Institute’s teaching; they do not establish that researchers have evaluated the WPCC™ program itself.
The program’s textbook is Dr. Rhodes’s Amazon #1 bestselling training manual, The Wellness Path Revealed: God’s Blueprint for Wholeness—Body, Soul, and Spirit™. It provides a foundation for studying and applying the Institute’s whole-person framework throughout the WPCC™ journey.
A growing community of whole-person leaders
The inaugural Fall WPCC™ cohort is in full swing, with members of The Wellness Path Institute™ community across the United States, Canada, and Africa. Members have repeatedly shared that they had been looking for a program that would help them work within a body, soul, and spirit framework. All members of the inaugural cohort have shared plans to bring what they learn into their church communities, extending the program’s emphasis on ethical, whole-person care beyond the classroom.
A recent review of partnerships between faith communities and the mental health sector describes approaches that include education, referrals, and collaboration—areas that matter when participants consider how to serve responsibly in their communities (Perez et al., 2025).
Those interested in the upcoming Spring cohort can join The Wellness Path Institute™ community on Skool for free to connect with the community and receive enrollment updates.
Education grounded in ethics
The Institute welcomes counselors, clinicians, clergy, coaches, educators, students, and leaders. Because participants serve in different roles, ethics are infused throughout the program. Training emphasizes self-awareness, professional boundaries, responsible practice, referrals, and respect for each participant’s scope of work. Its teaching draws on professional counseling standards while remaining open to people who are not licensed counselors.
The WPCC™ credential prepares participants to apply a whole-person perspective within their own roles. It does not confer a professional counseling license or authorize participants to provide clinical services outside their qualifications.
Formation beyond the credential
At the Institute, formation does not stop when participants earn the WPCC™ credential. Graduates will have the opportunity to continue learning and reflecting through the planned WPCC Formation Companion app. It will include video teachings from Dr. Rhodes and ethically responsible AI-assisted coaching shaped by her philosophy of whole-person formation. The companion is intended to support reflection and continued growth while keeping human judgment, professional responsibility, and appropriate boundaries at the center.
Founder and President
Dr. Chalice C. Rhodes is a licensed professional counselor, executive advisor, educator, researcher, best-selling author, and speaker. With nearly three decades of experience across clinical, academic, and leadership settings, she helps people move from survival toward sustainable transformation. As Founder and President of The Wellness Path Institute™, she leads a community with members across the United States, Canada, and Africa.
Dr. Rhodes also created the Rhodes Regulation & Results Framework™, a regulation-first approach to emotional well-being, decision-making, leadership, and sustainable performance. In addition to The Wellness Path Revealed, she is the author of The Wellness Path: Nurturing Your Mind, Body, and Soul with Faith and Practice®, an Amazon #1 Top New Release. She is the creator and host of Talk the Wellness Tea with Dr. Chalice.
Her recognitions include the Best in New Jersey Magazine Top Doc Counseling Excellence Award, the SJ Mag Media Business Excellence Award, and inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who in America.
What began as a calling during her graduate studies became a vision strengthened through years of teaching, counseling, research, and partnership with churches. Through The Wellness Path Institute™, Dr. Rhodes is preparing participants to bring knowledge, humility, and ethical judgment to the care of the whole person—body, soul, and spirit—and to continue that formation as they serve their communities.
About The Author
