Presence+ · For parishes
Discover your calling. Develop your strengths. Live your purpose.
Presence+ gives parishes immediate, accessible pathways to human flourishing through the STEP model of care — built at Divine Mercy University, where psychological research and the wisdom of Catholic faith are held together in one account of the person.
Our foundation
Good science and deep faith, working together.
Presence+ for parishes comes out of Divine Mercy University, where psychological research and the wisdom of Catholic faith are taught as one account of the person. True human flourishing honors both the scientific understanding of the mind and the transcendent dignity of the soul.
The response to the mental health crisis this platform offers is an approach that meets people where they are, with resources that work alongside their deepest values and beliefs — accessible pathways to flourishing for whole parishes and communities.
Community-centered care
Flourishing is communal. Presence+ strengthens the social fabric of the parish — networks of support where people can be honest, vulnerable, and themselves. When communities care for one another, healing happens.
Strengths-based approach
Rather than only identifying what's wrong, we help people discover what's right about themselves — building on existing strengths and connecting them to a purpose bigger than self-improvement.
How we help people flourish
The best of modern psychology, rooted in your faith.
Five truths every parishioner needs to hear — each one carried by solid psychological research and completed by what faith knows about the person.
You can get back up
What psychology teaches
Resilience is learnable. Through understanding stress responses, building coping skills, and practicing them consistently, people develop a real capacity to recover from adversity.
What faith adds
We are never alone in our suffering. God's grace strengthens us, and the community surrounds us with love and prayer. Resurrection is the lived experience of being restored and renewed through Christ.
You need to know you matter
What psychology teaches
Purpose and meaning are foundational to mental health. People with a sense of purpose show greater resilience, better life satisfaction, and lower rates of depression and anxiety.
What faith adds
You are made in the image of God, beloved beyond measure, created for a purpose that goes beyond yourself — a truth that changes how a person sees themselves and their place in the world.
You weren't made to do this alone
What psychology teaches
Connection is foundational to mental health. Social support buffers against stress, improves health outcomes, and is one of the strongest predictors of overall well-being.
What faith adds
We are the Body of Christ, created for communion with God and one another. The Church is where burdens are shared and where people experience the healing of being truly known and truly loved.
Your strengths are meant for something
What psychology teaches
Building on strengths works better than only fixing weaknesses. When people use their signature strengths regularly, they experience greater engagement, meaning, and life satisfaction.
What faith adds
Your strengths are spiritual gifts meant to build up the Body of Christ — invitations to serve others and contribute to the common good, rather than trophies of personal achievement.
You can face the future
What psychology teaches
Planning, goal-setting, and concrete skills for future challenges reduce anxiety and build confidence. Hope rests on realistic assessment and practical preparation.
What faith adds
We trust in God's providence — not because life won't be difficult, but because we are never abandoned. That trust is the deep peace of knowing the future is held in God's hands.
What only faith can see
Where psychology and faith meet, a deeper truth comes into view.
Honest about sin
We acknowledge the real brokenness in human hearts and in the world — not to shame, but to point toward real healing and transformation through grace.
Body and soul together
People are not minds to be optimized or spirits to be transcended. We are whole beings — body, mind, and soul — and true healing addresses all three.
Freedom to choose well
Human dignity includes the freedom to make genuine choices. We help people develop the wisdom and virtue to choose what is truly good.
Made for heaven
Human hearts carry an infinite longing that finite things never satisfy. We help people orient their deepest desires toward their ultimate end.
“You don't have to choose between good science and deep faith. They're not enemies — they're partners in helping people flourish and discover the fullness of what it means to be human.”
The STEP model of flourishing
A continuum of care that meets people where they are.
Five steps, from self-directed resources to professional counseling. Parishioners enter at the level that fits their need and move between levels as life changes.
Self-directed resources
Educational materials, apps, and tools people can access on their own.
Peer support
Small groups and community connections where people support one another.
Structured programs
Workshops and skill-building programs for specific challenges and growth.
Group counseling
Facilitated groups addressing specific mental health and spiritual concerns.
Individual counseling
Professional counseling tailored to individual needs and circumstances.
Cross-Connect · A Presence+ signature feature
Your parishioners see the providers you welcome.
Cross-Connect lets the head of any organization on the platform — a pastor, a chaplain, an administrator — welcome spiritual directors, therapists, and coaches from any practice on the platform into their community's app, a whole practice at a time or one provider at a time.
The pastor of Christ the King can make all of the Freedom Associates counselors visible to his parishioners in the app — or select only certain counselors. Nothing appears without his welcome, and he can expand or trim the circle anytime. Parishioners get a curated circle of providers who share the parish's view of the person, on the same platform where the parish's own care already runs.
The full Cross-Connect write-up for organizationsMinistry & Mission Management is coming to your parish.
Volunteer scheduling, small groups, welcome journeys, and a dashboard for every coordinator — alongside the care platform this page describes.
See the dashboardsNeed immediate support?
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health emergency, please reach out to a crisis line right away. The National Crisis Hotline is 988 — available 24/7, free and confidential. For other emergencies, call 911.
Your life matters. Healing is possible. You don't have to face this alone.
Get started
Bring Presence+ to your parish.
We provide training, resources, and ongoing support to implement the STEP model in your parish — and the platform underneath carries the care from day one.