Kim Thornton enrolled at City Vision University while volunteering for an organization that provided assistance to ex-offenders planning to reenter society. She taught them how to dress for success, interview techniques, how to search for jobs, and how to write resumes and cover letters. Kim felt a connection with these men and women after she found out there were “more unsuccessful stories than successful ones.” They dealt with issues of addiction, mental behaviors, and abuse. She pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Addiction Studies at City Vision College so she could begin to “identify issues within individuals and help them from the inside out.”
At City Vision University, two courses especially impacted her. The first was Family Issues and Recovery, where she learned about “The Miracle Question” which is a question that you ask a client in therapy what they think life would be like once their struggles were gone. Kim loved asking this question because it asked them “to create their own vision of change for themselves, and it focused on the healing that can be experienced in their life.” She enjoyed the second course, Theology and Strategies of Urban Missions, because of the direct contact she had with people in urban cities and the opportunity for her to interview a diverse group of people. She said, “This hands-on experience validated and confirmed that I was truly working where God wanted me to be. It gave me a new understanding of people and how much hurt the urban community deals with.”
Kim is currently an Addictions Counselor and Chaplain at a Salvation Army facility where she counsels, teaches, and provides assistance to clients so they can attend church services and other ministries. She also works in the Emergency Service Department to help clients with the food pantry, utility assistance, and family counseling. In the future, Kim hopes to become a fully certified counselor. She also hopes to provide counseling to people in her church.
City Vision University has helped Kim in her professional goals of becoming an addiction counselor while also learning how to integrate biblical principles into her work. But she finds the most joy out of sharing the love of God with others: “I can assist a client with developing a program for them, but the most important part of their counseling is telling them about the healer of all, Jesus Christ.”
Kim Thornton’s Story was featured in the Salvation Army Central Territory January 2012 Newsletter – see below:
