Find Peace of Mind Today

Life’s Too Short To Be Miserable

About

Hi, I’m Bowden McElroy. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor. I help people get unstuck. When the difference between where you want to be and where you think you currently are in life seems huge, I can help you move through the obstacles and achieve your goals.

I am also an Ordained Minister. I combine the best of what the behavioral sciences have to offer with a Christ-centered, biblical worldview.

I have been in the counseling field since 1983 and have been in private practice for over 25 years.

My Content

For years, I have worked with adults, teens, and children in individual, marital, and family therapy. Part of that work includes teaching workshops and seminars on a variety of topics. People kept asking for a copy of my notes and it seemed to me that if I were going to give my notes away I may as well try to reach a wider audience.

To that end, I write on managing your emotions, healthy marriages, effective parenting, and what to do when technology gets the best of you. On occasion, I write about stuff that doesn’t fit neatly into one of these categories. You can find out more on my Start Here page.

My goal is to create content that is insightful, relevant and actionable. I want to share with you time-tested strategies that you can put to work in your life.

My goal is to post once a week, occasionally more. To make sure you don’t miss any of my posts, you can subscribe via email. It’s quick, easy, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Your email address is just between you and me: I won’t sell it, rent it, or abuse it.

My Biography

Bowden McElroy, M.Ed.

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and have been in in the mental health field for nearly 40 years.

When I graduated with my B.S. from Oklahoma State University in 1981 I couldn’t decide if I wanted to be a pastor who does some counseling or a counselor who worked with churches. Either way, I decided, I would need a graduate education in counseling.

I earned my M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology from Central State University in 1983 and became an Associate Pastor at a large church in Edmond, Oklahoma where I was responsible for individual, marital, and family counseling. After that I spent a year working in rural Oklahoma for a community mental health center.

In the early 1980’s there were only a few options in the country for getting an education in Christian counseling. Since moving my family across the country was not really an option I chose to to round out my education by attending seminary.

I began working in psychiatric hospitals while a student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. For the next 11 years I worked in and eventually managed inpatient, psychiatric programs. Most of that time was with an organization that no longer exists but at one time was the largest provider of hospital-based Christian mental health treatment in the country.

By the mid-1990’s the world of hospital care was changing dramatically with managed care, short stays, and increased emphasis on medication. Therapy was becoming less and less important in hospitals. In 1996 I joined the staff at Christian Family Institute (CFI) as an outpatient counselor. In 2017 I began my own practice (BMA Counseling).

Along the way I became trained in being a long-term, strategic, interim pastor. I have been trained in both the Intentional Interim Pastor model and the Transitional Pastor model. I have served in four churches as a strategic interim and was Ordained at Immanuel Baptist Church (Sallisaw, Oklahoma) in 2002.

My Family

41 Years of Marriage!

I have been married to Sherri – a public school, second grade teacher – for forty-one years. We have three daughters, two sons-in-law, three grandsons, and three granddaughters. Sherri and I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In my free time, I enjoy reading, fishing, and am attempting to get back into running. I am a member of Southwood Baptist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma where I have taught a Sunday morning bible study for several years.

My Contact Information

You can contact me via e-mail or follow me on Twitter or Facebook. You can call my office at 918.346.3665.