Who We Are
Our Story
Founded by The Sisters of the Good Shepherd in 1982, Maria Droste Counseling Services was named for Maria Droste, a good shepherd sister renowned for her ability to console those who came to her in pain.
We became Droste Mental Health Services in 2022. We work in a lens of respect for the dignity of each person who comes to us. Our mission is to provide affordable psychotherapy and counseling services in a supportive, safe and accepting therapeutic environment. We want every client to have the opportunity to engage in a process of self understanding that leads to growth and change. We also provide professional training, development, and supervision in a supportive peer environment.
Our staff includes an interdisciplinary team of social workers, psychologists and mental health counselors. We serve anyone struggling with life challenges at home, school, work, relationships, or within themselves. We welcome clients, regardless of race, religion, gender, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or economic circumstances.
Who are the Sisters of The Good Shepherd?
The Sisters of the Good Shepherd are a Catholic religious order founded in France in 1835 by Saint Mary Euphrasia Pelletier. The order’s full name is the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd. The sisters dedicated themselves to assisting women and girls in difficult circumstances.
Mary Euphrasia’s Story
Mary Euphrasia Pelletier was a French Roman Catholic nun, best known as the foundress of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd. Pelletier was born on an island off the coast of France where her parents had been exiled by the French Revolutionaries. At the age of eighteen, she joined the Order of Our Lady of Charity who cared for girls and women in difficulty. Some of the girls were abandoned by their families or orphaned, some had turned to prostitution in order to survive. The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity provided shelter, food, vocational training and an opportunity for these girls and women to turn their lives around. Pelletier formed the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd to expand this apostolate to wherever needed.
Pelletier died in Angers, France, in 1868 and was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1940. Her feast day is 24 April.
Why Maria Droste?
While Maria’s spiritual influence and contributions to Catholicism were significant, it was her compassion for those in need that distinguished her. Her belief that all people deserve to be treated with compassion and respect continues to guide our work today.
Also known as Saint Mary of the Divine Heart, Maria Droste was a nun and mystic born in 1863 in Germany. She is known for her devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and her role in the establishment of the Feast of the Sacred Heart. Maria Droste passed away in 1899 and was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church in 1920.
