I grew up in rural south Alabama. I knew I wanted to be a psychologist very early in my life. I think I was around 15 years old when I decided and never looked back. It wasn’t until much later that I began to peel back the layers of the onion that lead me to that decision. It’s a beautiful story of God’s redemption. I see now, at almost 50 years old, the tapestry that was being woven to bring me to where I am currently. Don’t misunderstand, it wasn’t beautiful-easy; it was full of doubt, pain, failure and rejection. But I’m beginning to see that this is what I had to embrace to fully understand God’s love for me. I know… it sounds paradoxical, but it’s true. It’s what people need to do to heal from past hurts and move into a more authentic relationship with God and others. If you continue reading through my philosophy of counseling you will understand more. But for the moment, on to my schooling… because that’s what we value most in our culture right?…wink wink

I did my undergraduate studies at the University of Mobile where I studied psychology and theology. I then went Denver Seminary where I obtained a Masters Degree in Clinical Counseling. I obtained my post graduate hours at Porter Adventist Hospital where I continued to work after receiving a license to practice therapy in the state of Colorado.

Backstory…

I planned my whole life to attend Auburn University where my older and much admired cousins had attended. My parents couldn’t afford to send me to a major university right away, so I went to a junior college in my hometown for two years. I was accepted to Auburn my junior year and moved there the summer before classes started to begin working and get acclimated. I was going to study psychology and criminal justice. During that time I grew more and more distressed. Somehow I knew this wasn’t the place for me. I ended up with a kidney stone that hospitalized me right as the semester was starting. My dad also had a minor stroke during this time. Long story short, I withdrew for the semester and moved back home to take care of my myself and my dad. During that semester I had time to rethink my schooling options and decided not to return to Auburn.

Spring semester of 1998 I enrolled at the University of Mobile to study psychology and theology (they didn’t have a criminal justice degree). I ended up falling in love with theology and its necessity for good and true psychology. I knew that I needed to continue learning these two disciplines in tandem, so I decided to get a masters degree in counseling from a theological perspective. I had family in Denver, CO so I applied to Denver Seminary and started there in the spring of 2000. My plan was to apply for a PhD program after graduation. I graduated in 2002 with a Master of Arts in Counseling and was offered a job working on an inpatient psychiatric unit at Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver. I wasn’t trained in acute psychiatric care, but I took the job anyway. It was a great decision. It turns out you learn a lot by jumping into things that scare you and for which you feel under qualified. Needless to say, I learned a ton…more than I had learned in school, because nothing can replace hands on experience. During this time at Porter Hospital I worked with inpatients, outpatients, conducted group therapy, and psychological evaluations for the ER physicians. I realized that I had great interest in the medical/physical side of things as well as the theological, psychological. So I decided not to pursue a doctorate degree in psychology. I wanted to study medicine. I was highly encouraged by the doctors I worked with to go to PA school. They were very supportive of me and said I had a job waiting on me when I finished. My dad was dying of kidney failure at this point, so understanding human anatomy and physiology became a passion for me. I was energized by this new addition to my previous educational endeavors.

The state of CO only had one medical school at the University of Colorado at that time. The competition to get a seat in PA school was so competitive that I thought it foolish to put my eggs in only one basket. So I decided to move to TX where there were nine medical/PA schools to choose from. I had to establish residency for a year before being eligible to attend school in state. I moved to Dallas to get the equivalent of a pre-med undergraduate degree to be eligible for PA school, not knowing where or if I would be accepted. It was one of the hardest times of my life and there were many days I wanted to quit. I went to school all day and, to make ends meet, I managed a substance abuse clinic in the evenings where I learned a great deal about addiction and the havoc it wreaks on one’s life. Again, I found myself in a setting in which I felt inadequate and ill-prepared. We offered a 28 day inpatient rehabilitation stay for those needing to detox and plan how to live a clean and sober life. I heard stories that were heartbreaking. The brokenness was sometimes beyond my imagination. But I also remember being captivated by the 12 steps and saying the serenity prayer multiple times a day to close out a group therapy session. It was hard and sometimes felt hopeless, but once again God showed me his ability and desire to put the broken pieces of our lives back together. I think I can honestly say I have learned as much from my clients as they have from me. It was actually hard for me to leave a year later when I was accepted to the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in the fall of 2006.

During the time I worked in Dallas, I met and fell in love with Ross Bebee who was a student at Dallas Theological Seminary. He helped me move to Galveston (where UTMB is located) to study medicine. After completing the didactic portion of my training and before starting clinical rotations, I decided to take a leave of absence. Ross and I had married in March and my dad was given about a year to live. I didn’t want to spend the time I had left with him stressed with clinical obligations.

Ross was offered a job in Frisco, TX as a pastor and we started our life together there. I joined a counseling group that allowed me flexible hours so I could be available to travel to AL whenever I needed or desired. My dad finished the year well and things looked more stable. However, when the time came for me to go back to school I found that I had little desire to do so. I had become disillusioned with the emphasis on pharmacology and specializations in the current medical system. My dad had 5 different specialists treating him and was on a total of 25 medications. It was a full time job just coordinating his medical care. Very rarely could I get the different specialists to communicate with each other directly. His care was so fragmented and no one seemed to truly understand the big picture. I knew this was not going to appeal to me upon graduation. I feared that frustration would be my constant companion in a system that does healthcare in this way. So I made the hard decision to not return to UTMB.

I stayed with the counseling group I was with in Dallas for a few more years before opening my own private practice in 2011. I also worked part time for Green Oaks Psychiatric Hospital doing psychiatric consultations as I had done in Denver.

My dad died in 2010 at the age of 72. This really changed the way I saw health and wellness and I began to investigate functional medicine and the holistic approach more closely. I knew if I were ever to return to the medical field this would be the route I would take.

Over the next 10 years, Ross and I had 3 beautiful children and he continued to pastor a church in Texas. My mom’s health slowly began to decline after my dad passed, so in 2021 we moved to AL to care for her. For the next 18 months, being her caretaker was my full-time job. She passed peacefully in my arms in the spring of 2022. It was so beautiful! We weren’t sure what God had in store for us after that, but we stayed another year in my hometown praying for what was next. In the summer of 2023 Ross was offered a job in Stillwater as the Young Life Area Director… another cross country move for the Bebee’s!

Ross grew up in Tulsa and attended OSU, so this has been a sort of homecoming for him. I’m slowly building a practice here while homeschooling 3 kids and helping with the Young Life ministry. I love investing in college students.

I plan to attend the School of Neurotherapy in Santa Barbra, CA this summer to become certified in neurofeedback. It has proven to be a very effective way to treat a host of mental and physical disorders without the use of pharmaceuticals. I hope to integrate that into my practice in 2026.