 Dr. Robert Paul, LPC
Co-President and Intensive Lead Therapist
Dr. Robert (Bob) Paul is the Co-President of the National Institute of Marriage and is the Director, primary innovator, and creator of their highly acclaimed Intensive Programs. His programs are having remarkable success helping couples, including those in extreme crisis, achieve successful and deeply satisfying marriages.
Bob received his Bachelor’s Degree from Evangel University, his Master’s Degree from Georgia State University, and a Diploma in Christian Counseling and an honorary doctorate from Psychological Studies Institute. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a National Certified Counselor. Bob is an accomplished speaker who has spoken at professional conferences and numerous events. He is a regular guest on numerous radio and television programs and has co-authored two books, The DNA of Relationships , with Drs. Gary and Greg Smalley, The DNA of Relationships for Couples, written again with Dr. Greg Smalley. His latest book, Finding Ever After, was released in August.
He is a former professor at Evangel University where he taught in both the Biblical Studies and Psychology departments, specializing in Marriage and Family Counseling, Human Sexuality, and the integration of faith into all areas of life. Bob and his wife, Jenni, live in Branson, Missouri, have been married for over 27 years, and have four children, Chris, Jessica, Rebecca and Nathan.
 Christine Arnzen, MA., LPC
Clinical Director
Chris Arnzen is a graduate of Evangel University and earned a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology from Forest Institute of Professional Psychology. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor with the State of Missouri. Chris has served as a past board member for Teen Challenge of the Ozarks and was previously a member of the Community Crisis Team of the Ozarks.
Chris is the Director of Clinical Services and Lead Therapist for the National Institute of Marriage. She is in charge of all internal clinical staff management and training. She has been in the counseling field since 1988 and has experience working with individuals, couples, and groups. Prior to joining NIM, she served as the Director of Counseling Services as well as an adjunct faculty member of the Behavioral Sciences Department at Evangel University.
Chris and her husband Jim are parents to three beautiful daughters. Through 14 years of small group participation and leadership, they have been devoted to supporting young couples. It has been Chris' life goal to work with couples in crisis. Chris feels honored that the Lord has allowed her to be a part of NIM at such a crucial time in the history of marriage.
Tricia Cunningham, MA, LPC
Director of Support Resources
Tricia Cunningham earned her masters degree in Counseling from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, MO.
Mrs. Cunningham is a licensed professional counselor and is a Lead Therapist and trainer for the National Institute of Marriage. She is also the Director of Support Resources and is in charge of managing all follow-up services. She remains involved with her husband in a ministry at her home church in Springfield, MO. She is very passionate about her work and participation in the restoration of broken hearts and marriages, and feels incredibly blessed to be involved in what God is doing at National Institute of Marriage.
Tricia, and her husband Craig have 3 beautiful children; Alexis, Cameron, and Carter.
 Dr. Brett Sparks, Licensed Psychologist
Lead Intensive Therapist
Dr. Brett Sparks is a licensed psychologist who joined the Intensive team in 2003. He currently serves as a Lead Therapist for Marriage Intensives as well as contributor to the follow-up and research programs for National Institute of Marriage. Prior to joining NIM, Brett worked in private practice with couples and individuals at the Relationship Center of the Ozarks and Smalley Relationship Center. These environments have allowed him to actively pursue working with couples and integrating faith into his psychology practice.
Dr. Sparks earned M.A. and Psy.D. degrees in Clinical Psychology from the Graduate School of Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary. Other degrees include an M.A. in Christian Leadership from Fuller, an M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling Psychology from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, and a B.A. in Psychology from Baylor University. Before moving to the Ozarks, he served as an intern and then staff psychologist in the United States Navy.
Dr. Sparks and his wife Jennifer have three children and reside in Branson, MO. He serves on the board of Options Pregnancy Center and is actively involved in his church where he leads a class geared towards building a strong marriage foundation for young couples.
 Dr. Robert K. Burbee, Licensed Psychologist
Lead Intensive Therapist
Dr. Burbee has 20 years of experience as a licensed psychologist working with individuals, couples, families, and groups.
As one of National Institute of Marriage Intensive therapists Dr. Burbee leads both Couples Intensives and Marriage Intensives. He also is involved in developing new programs at NIM such as Intensives for spouses who have a mate refusing therapy, and a Relational Skills Workshop for Intensive and conference alumni. Dr. Burbee has been involved with Intensive programs through NIM since 2000 and was part of the team at Smalley Relationship Center that helped support Bob Paul in developing the Intensive programs. Dr. Burbee was formerly the Executive Director of Relationship Center of the Ozarks. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in psychology, most recently as an adjunct faculty member at Evangel University and the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. Marriage and family issues have long been an area of special interest for Dr. Burbee, and he speaks frequently to groups on these topics in seminars, retreats, and workshops. Dr. Burbee and his wife Mary Jo have four children and reside in Springfield, Missouri.
 Nathan Phillips, LPC
Lead Intensive Therapist
Nathan is a graduate of Samford University and earned his master's degree in Community Counseling from Georgia State University. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor and the CEO of Battlefield Ministries, Inc., a ministry that focuses on Christian couples and families. He has over 20 years of experience in counseling and is an accomplished speaker and facilitator. He and his wife, Jane, counsel together and also lead marriage retreats nationally and internationally.
Nathan and Jane were married in 1982 and live in Rome, Georgia with their two sons, Isaac and Andy.
 Cindy Irwin, MFT, i-ABCST
Lead Intensive Therapist
Cindy Irwin earned a Masters Degree in Family Counseling from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary and her training as a Sex Therapist from the Psychological Studies Institute’s Institute of Sexual Wholeness where she has gained certifications in both Advanced Sex Therapy and Homosexuality/Sexual Identity. She is member of the American Board of Christian Sex Therapists.
In addition to her work at NIM she is also the founder and executive director of Life By Design, a local counseling center that specializes in Sexual Wholeness, Marriage and Family Counseling. Along with outpatient counseling, Life By Design serves as a resource on sexuality issues for the medical community and a training center for Masters Degree students seeking practicum work in marriage and sex therapy during their professional development.
Cindy facilitates focus groups for the Association of Marriage and Family Ministries, is an author and speaker, and is a co-host with Chick Chat, a nationally traveled Christian talk show for women. Cindy and her husband Steve have been married since 1985 and have two sons.
 Pat McLean, MFT
Intensive Therapist
Pat McLean earned her master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and Community Counseling from John Brown University, in Siloam Springs, AR. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Missouri.
She's been associated with the Smalley ministries since 1993, when she began as a freelance editor and ghostwriter for their Homes of Honor magazine and many other publications. With God’s leading, Pat transitioned into counseling with an unquenchable passion to help couples build, restore, strengthen and redeem their marriages, families, and individual relationships. She started with the intensive program in 2002 and continues to assist NIM as an Intensive Therapist.
Pat feels privileged to participate in many other ministries as well: she is the Campus Wellness and Relationship Counselor at the College of the Ozarks in Branson, MO, speaks on women, marriage, intact and step-family/parenting issues, and to church youth pastors on adolescent challenges in ministry.
Pat and her husband, Derek, attend The River, a non-denominational church located in Forsyth, MO. She and Derek have enjoyed more than 27 years of adventuresome partnership. In addition to their two grown children, Miles and Kaelin, Pat and Derek have been known to serve as host parents for several months at a time to as many as 7 teenagers simultaneously. Pat enthusiastically pursues the best in all individuals with the hope of empowering them to reach their greatest potential personally and relationally.
 Verlette Berndt, LPC
Intensive Therapist
Verlette Berndt received her Bachelor of Arts from Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri and a Master of Arts in Counseling from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Missouri.
Prior to specializing in counseling, Verlette was a licensed minister with the Assemblies of God for a decade and was active in church leadership. Since 1995, she has been counseling couples, families, individuals and groups. Previous to the National Institute of Marriage, she was a staff counselor and Director of Counseling at Doulos Ministries/Shelterwood in Branson, Missouri for eight years. Her favorite aspect of counseling is having a front row seat to miracles on a weekly basis as God deeply transforms hearts, lives and relationships.
Verlette and her husband, Chris, reside in Branson, Missouri with their two daughters, Kirsten and Katarina. They enjoy involvement in their community and church, including leading a weekly small group for couples in their home.
Fletcher McClelland, LPC
Intensive Therapist
Fletcher McClelland is a licensed professional counselor in Georgia; he has a Masters Degree in Community Counseling from Georgia State and a Diploma in Christian Counseling from the Psychological Studies Institute. As CEO of his private practice, Christian Psychotherapy Resources, Fletch has specialized in work with couples, addictions, and mood disorders for thirteen years. Additionally, Fletch works as an intensive therapist with the National Institute of Marriage only in part because his old friend, Bob Paul, is there. Mainly, Fletch is very excited about being part of an organization committed to excellence and the healing of marriages.
Fletch transitioned into counseling following a career in secondary private school education in Georgia and Jamaica. Originally from Maine, Fletch met his Floridian wife, Julie, "more than half way" in North Carolina and they now live in Athens, Georgia with their three teenage sons.
Cynthia Nicholson, MA, CIT
Intensive Therapist
Cynthia Nicholson received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Central Bible College, her Master of Arts in Counseling from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, graduated from the Spanish Language Institute in Costa Rica, is an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God, and is in the process of being licensed with the state of Missouri as a professional counselor.
As a featured speaker in churches and conferences for over twenty years throughout the United States and Latin America, Cynthia has focused on marriage and home and women’s issues. She is adjunct professor for the Latin America Advanced School of Theology and the Caribbean School of Theology. She and her husband, Dick, travel extensively throughout Latin America where they serve the 600 missionaries of their denomination as directors.
Cynthia has been working with the National Institute of Marriage for over a year, bringing insights from a cross-cultural perspective. She is mother of three and grandmother of eight.
 Monique Wells, MA, LPC
Intensive Therapist
Monique received her master's degree in counseling from Reformed Theological Seminiary in Orlando, Florida. In private practice since 1998, Monique's calling is specific to marriage and relationship issues. One of her greatest joys is to come alongside a couple in crisis and be used by God to bring healing and restoration.
Monique a Canadian and Grant, a New Zealander, have been married for 14 years and have one beautiful daugther, Emma Clare. They moved to Rome, GA in 2006 to join the adjunct faculty of WinShape Marriage and for Monique to partner with Battlefield Ministries, a ministry that focuses on Christian marriages and couples. Along with a private practice Monique partners with Grant to lead marriage retreats and Bible studies.
 Jane Phillips, BME
Intensive Para-Professional
For 20 plus years, Jane has worked alongside licensed mental health professionals within various mental health settings. Upon graduating from Samford University with a bachelors in music education, Jane began working as a music therapist on a psychiatric unit in a hospital and then moved on to an adolescent treatment facility where she was part of a team of professionals specializing in helping troubled teens. Jane serves as a primary staff member at Battlefield Ministries, Inc., a non-profit ministry she and her husband, Nathan (see above biography), founded in 1995 which focuses on helping Christian couples and families learn how to not only stay together but to enjoy each other while doing so.
Jane consistently accepts the invitation to meet an individual in their dark valley and walks through that difficult place to find healing on the other side. As she ministers both at home and abroad she finds that from the prostitutes in India to the missionaries in Africa, people are hurting around the world. In addition to working with Battlefield, she is adjunct faculty at WinShape Marriage Retreat and is an influential speaker and facilitator in women’s ministry. Jane counts it a joy to be serving with the National Institute of Marriage as she comes alongside any who desire to explore what helps and what hinders the most significant relationship in their life apart from Jesus Christ…their spouse.
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