Today we’d like to introduce you to William Hemphill, II.
William, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am the son of a Baptist pastor and a praying mother. As such, church and faith were always an important part of my life. I remember being in the church when the doors opened and when the doors closed as a youth and a teenager. I am also a child of divorce as both my father and mother divorced and remarried. Thus, I can understand some of the divided loyalties and pain that children feel when they have to make choices between their parents. I also can understand the difficulties that come with blending a family as I have two sets of stepparents and siblings. In some cases we worked well. In other cases we didn’t.
It was in college when I decided to claim my faith in Christianity. For me, that meant not only going to church but also figuring out how to apply my faith to my daily life. This is a practice that I still continue. While attending Georgia Tech, I became a part of a campus ministry called the Fellowship of Christian Believers. It was a group of mostly African American students who studied scriptures for themselves and tried to figure out how to live them. We would get into heated debates over things like partying, dating, alcohol usage, career choices, and politics. We also challenged each other to do service in the community like tutoring kids at Techwood Homes, participating in missions, and so forth. The fun part was being in a community where we could push ideas and challenge one another’s thoughts and beliefs.
It was also there that I first received a call into ministry, although I neglected to pursue it at the time. My reason for refusing the call was that in being a pastor’s child, my father was always in the church and I believed that there was more to life than just the church building. God is bigger than the sanctuary. So, I pursued a career in engineering until I could no longer resist the call.
While attending Emory University, one of our professors made the statement that every pastor should see a therapist. I took him up on that suggestion. This is how my interest in becoming a therapist grew. Through my own struggles with faith, career, family, perfectionism, and anxiety, I saw that therapy helped me. I began to realize that it could be a help within the church also. One of the mentors told me one time that my calling was dual – I serve both inside and outside of the church. I believe that is because I have never limited God to existing inside the church walls only.
After my mother passed in 2014, I decided to pursue my master’s degree in mental health counseling. It was the right time for me. I had previously worked as a hospital and a hospice chaplain and I wanted to continue that work, but with a different focus. My focus was on helping individuals, couples, and families of faith receive quality mental health counseling in a situation that could allow their faith to strengthen and empower them. I did not want clients to have their faith dismissed because I had some experience with that.
In addition, I wanted to place some emphasis on married couples and adoptive families. My wife and I are adoptive parents. We have experienced the rewards of adoption. But there are also some specific challenges that most adoptive families face. Issues such as children understanding their identity, finding a sense of love and belonging, and grief from being removed from families of origin present their own unique challenges. Those challenges can often come out in anger, rebellion, pain, and depression. Children who experience trauma will also developmentally and emotionally later than their peers. Parents need to be equipped and supported in blending the unique family structure that comes from adoption.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No, it has not been easy. My biggest challenge has been finding where I fit in the system. In addition, there is a strong desire in me to create my own path. Being inside and outside the church is not easy. Sometimes I get frustrated with both. On the one hand, I feel that the religiosity of the church and the systems that sustain it can keep us from understanding, loving, and empathizing with people. On the other hand, there is something to the love for all people, faith, honesty, and integrity that the church teaches that can and should be applied outside of the church in all areas of human relationships including family, education, business, politics, and so forth.
My challenge has also been economic. I went from making a good salary in corporate America, to making zero, to slowly climbing back economically. And in each stage of my career path, I have started over from ground zero economically. I have also been forced to learn about business. In my corporate career and in school, I never had to learn about marketing and sales, balancing budget sheets, dealing with employees, etc. It’s a completely different skill set. People have to know that you are gifted and available in order for them to take advantage of your services or products.
Going back to school while parenting my children was also tough. I had to balance school, home, and work responsibilities. While I feel I have a good relationship with my children, I did miss some key moments in their lives. Compounded with the extra energy that it took to care for my mother as she was dying of cancer, getting my degree brought a serious strain on my family.
Please tell us about Faith and Family Empowerment.
I am a licensed professional counselor in the state of Georgia as well as a nationally certified counselor with the National Board of Certified Counselors. In addition, I have also been a professionally certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains and I am an ordained Baptist minister. Presently, I also serve as a pastor of Springhill United Methodist Church in Covington, GA. So, my life has in many ways been a blending of education and life experience. My desire is to use these tools to empower others to live better lives.
Clients who come to me state that I have helped them deal with anger and hurt constructively, learn how to speak and communicate with others, and understand their personal values and goals. They have also stated that they have found purpose in their lives, learned how to forgive others who have hurt them, taken responsibility for their mistakes, and set appropriate boundaries in their relationships. Couples have stated that I have helped them find ways to draw closer to one another in the midst of having busy lives and have found love again after affairs.
I am looking to expand beyond just individual, couples, and group counseling. My first book, Praying with Your Spouse: A Secret To Building Intimacy In Your Marriage, has been published. I have also started a podcast, The Faith and Family Matters Podcast, which is located on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Podbean. There are two episodes per week. One is the Monday motivation – a short podcast with an inspirational thought to carry us through the week. The second episode is on Thursdays and can be in the form of solo episodes, interviews, or discussions on topics related to faith, family, and mental health. In addition, I plan on doing webinars, workshops, and speaking engagements in order to reach a broader audience. In my experience, I have found that many people wait until it is almost too late to seek therapy. I maintain that therapy can empower us at any stage of life. Webinars, books, and speaking engagements reach people who may not be ready to enter into a therapist’s office.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I like to say that God has blessed me greatly with the support of family, friends, and mentors. In addition, I believe that hard work and perseverance helps to prepare us for life’s challenges and rewards. For me, it is all a process of learning and growing as a person as the business grows. Challenges to the business are often opportunities for me to become a better person, even if it is not easy. At the end of the day, my business is an opportunity to serve others and hopefully make the world a better place.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4530 South Berkeley Lake Road (Pathway Center for Psychotherapy)
Norcross, GA 30071 - Website: https://williamhemphill.com/
- Phone: 678-684-0397
- Email: whemphill2@williamhemphill.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faith_and_family_empowerment/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/William-Hemphill-II-Pastoral-counselor-Faith-and-Family-Empowerment-1644987882188014/
- Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-hemphill-ii-mdiv-ncc-lpc-02309313/
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-faith-and-family-matters-podcast/id1501121574
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