Please don’t suffocate emotions (yours or your kid’s). Instead, give emotions AIR…
Allow
Identify
Respond
It’s a simple mnemonic to use when feelings start flying.
For more, visit Stone and Sky Counseling, LLC
Please don’t suffocate emotions (yours or your kid’s). Instead, give emotions AIR…
Allow
Identify
Respond
It’s a simple mnemonic to use when feelings start flying.
For more, visit Stone and Sky Counseling, LLC

Hello there, and thanks for stopping by!
I’m so excited to offer individual and couples counseling in Southwest Missouri! If you’re interested in setting up a session, please visit Stone and Sky Counseling or see my listing on Psychology Today. Three-day individual and couples counseling intensives are also available.
Background
Since 2014, I have had the privilege of walking alongside hundreds of couples and individuals in dozens of countries. As a pastoral counselor, empathetic coach, Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), and Provisionally Licensed Professional Counselor (PLPC), I have experience journeying with people through issues such as grief and loss, life transitions, anxiety, ADHD, depression, trauma, OCD, abuse (spiritual, sexual, physical, emotional), debriefing, Autism, ministry burnout, addictions, and more. With all clients, I take a person-centered, trauma-informed, experiential approach.
Before moving to Cambodia in 2012, I worked bi-vocationally as an ER/trauma nurse and youth and worship pastor. I am also a licensed attorney in California and hold a master’s in clinical mental health counseling from Colorado Christian University. As a PLPC, I am supervised by Dr. Karl Wendt, LPC #001808.
For Pastors and Ministry Folks
My wife and I have been involved in local church ministry, in one form or another, since 2000. Before moving abroad, I was a youth and worship minister for about ten years. From 2012 to 2020, my family and I lived as cross-cultural missionaries in Phnom Penh Cambodia and I served the community as a pastor at an international church and as a pastoral counselor at a local counseling center, working with folks from over thirty nations.
I’ve led trainings, seminars, or coaching sessions in China, Thailand, the Czech Republic, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Laos, the US, England, and Myanmar.
For Marriages
With couples, I utilize an attachment-based, emotionally-focused approach. I also greatly appreciate the evidence-based tools and resources from Dr. John Gottman. Since 2014, I’ve had the privilege of meeting with several hundred couples who were trying to overcome unhealthy patterns in their relationship, boost communication, improve their sex life, prepare for married life, and more. I am trained to administer the Prepare/Enrich relationship assessment. See the “Roadmap” I often use with couples here.

For Medical Professionals and First Responders:
It is my privilege to offer specialized care for for medical professionals and first responders. If that’s you, keep reading.
If you’re looking for a counselor who understands what a Level 1 Trauma Center feels like during a full moon; if you’re looking for a therapist who’s assisted Kansas City police officers in subduing violent patients; if you want to visit with someone who knows the unique stressors and pressures of dealing with life and death situations during a normal Tuesday, keep reading!
With a background in ER/trauma nursing, law, ministry, and counseling, I now provide individual and couples counseling at Mount Hope Christian Counseling Center in Webb City.
Visit www.stoneandskycounseling.com for more information or to book an initial session.

with Jonathan Trotter, RN, MA, JD, NCC, PLPC
at Mount Hope Christian Counseling Center
2830 Mt. Hope Road, Webb City, MO 64870
(417) 624-9659 · jonathan@stoneandskycounseling.com

They gather here for their daily bread,
and a drink,
Unaware that behind this window is another.
There, a portal opens to an El Salvadorian summer,
a Central African power outage,
a thick Indonesian night.
Paris.
Does he not care more for you than the birds of the yard?
There is such beauty in the large, grand things;
the great arc of justice or rainbow.
But there is beauty too in the miniscule;
the bird on wing,
the hosta’s veiny leaf.
The heart at rest.
Not even a cardinal can fall but that he takes notice and sees.
The world is loud and gaudy, demanding we be afraid,
and drown.
Thanatos lives here.
But there is more.
The rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous.
I will not fear, for through both windows I see the Father at work,
tending,
mending.
I see the living among the dead.
___________________________________________
I’m so excited that Remnant Counselor Collective launches today and includes an article of mine aimed at helping counselors care for missionaries. It’s about the six things a counselor should remember when counseling missionaries:
1. Don’t try to keep them on the field or get them off the field
2. Remember, they’re people too
3. Get comfortable with grief, because there’s probably a lot of it
4. Be careful with spirituality
5. Always assess for trauma and secondary trauma
6. Remember the basics
Read the full article here: https://www.remnantcounselorcollective.com/…/when.
— Jonathan T.


I had the chance to talk about a bunch of ideas from Digging in the Dirt on a couple of different podcasts recently. Read about what we discussed, and check ‘em out!

The Clarity Podcast with Dr. Aaron Santmyire: We talked about married sexuality, the danger of centering America in the story of global Christianity, why not to call our kids “world changers,” the uniqueness of having a work spouse, Shiny Happy People, and more.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0xHJ0ksF3Z8pc3W6G8fkJh…
Podcast website: https://the-clarity-podcast.captivate.fm/

Missionary Life with Sarita Hartz: We talked about the fun stuff like depression, anxiety, the “missionary life cycle,” and the important distinction between anger and aggression. It’s a vital conversation for those in missions and pretty much everyone else too. ![]()
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3uUrZYPmrWn5MaW2I85fN6…
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/…/missionary-life/id1719722593
If you’re interested, you can buy Digging in the Dirt here: https://amzn.to/4a5O3Bf
Happy Friday, y’all, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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