Helping the Helpers

Jennifer Toler Smith is CEO and president of Link Care Counseling Center, a nonprofit in Fresno that began in 1965 to provide counseling services to local pastors and missionaries. In all, morethan 7,500 local pastors and missionarieshave been helped.

Link Care’s pastors' program offers five free counseling sessions. The intensive seven-week program for missionaries is a needed resource because missionaries often struggle with depression, anxiety, spiritual warfare and difficulties moving tonew countries.

Most people would agree with Smith when she says, “Mental health things affect every single person, no matter what you are doing.” But the need is particularly important among those in ministry. “Pastors probably need more counseling than anyone else because spiritual leaders are under attack even more,” she says.

Current research on the mental health of pastors shows the deep need. “70% of pastors report dealing with depression and 80% of pastors believe their ministry is negatively affecting them,” Smith says. “Being a pastor is a very lonely position. You don’t get to fall apart at any moment. You need to keep it together. There’s a lot going on in this world and our pastors are the frontline defense.”

Smith graduated from FPU with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She started at Link Care in 2010 as a clinical psychologist and in 2020 became the CEO and president upon the retirement of Phil Collier, Ph.D., former FPU faculty. She now serves in an advisory role overseeing all componentsof Link Care and performs eight client hoursper week.

While her success has been obvious, it was a surprise to Smith that she became involved in mental health. “I didn’t know I was going to do this,” she says.

Running cross country and track originally attracted Smith to FPU, but classes with Collier and Ted Nickel, Ph.D., emeritus psychology, drew her to counseling and helping people. One of the core things she learned was flexibility in life and ministry. “People are so diverse and individual,you have to learn to pivot to them when theycome to you,” she says.

FPU introduced Smith to the broad field of psychology during what were formative years for her. “I learned people are still people. They are not a diagnosis, and they are not symptoms,” she says.

While at FPU she took various psychology classes, including Abnormal Psychology and Introduction to Assessment. “I was taught to think critically and not just regurgitate information for tests,” Smith says. She was introduced to Link Care through a class Collier taught when he wasagency president.

The classes, people and atmosphere all prepared Smith to serve others. “The culture and the community of FPU really shaped how I view my faith and how that plays out in my career,” she says. While a student, everyone from her professors, resident advisors and cross country coach regularly reminded Smith how important her relationship with the Lord is. All these people taught her, “a career is going to be about morethan making money and it matters how mysoul is doing,” she says.

Now in her fifth year as CEO and 15th year as a clinical psychologist, Smith acknowledges there’s still much work to do as it relates to helping pastors and missionaries. “I’d love us to work ourselves out of a job,” she says.