Steve Spinella, DMin, Director

Steve holds a doctorate in marriage and family from Eastern Baptist Seminary (DMin, 1990). He has also studied at Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic (Certificate, 1987), Dallas Theological Seminary (ThM, 1984), and Rice University (BA, 1978). He is an ordained evangelical pastor and a clinical member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT).

Steve has previous counseling experience in agency, private practice, and church contexts. He has also worked in business, ministry, and teaching.

Of course, every counselor also draws from his or her own life experiences. Steve grew up as an international, and has experienced various losses, including the loss of stillborn infants, and the loss of terminally ill parents. He has been married to Laura for 22 years, and is father to three: Sarah, Joey, and Robby.

Steve is available to counsel both in English and his second language, Spanish. His Chinese is still in process!

Steve's Personal Website

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Dr. Ling-Huei Wang, DMin

Ling-Huei holds a doctorate in Marriage and Family Counseling from Denver Seminary. She also holds a Master of Divinity (1998) in Counseling from Grace Theological Seminary, and a Master of Arts in New Testament (1989) from Capital Bible Seminary, and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics (1979) from Taiwan National Central University. In 2008 she is licensed in Taiwan as a counseling psychologist.

Ling-Huei grew up in Taiwan, and has lived many years in North America and South America. She is multicultural and multilingual. She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, English, and Spanish.

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Mike Wright, MDiv, MS, MFT

Michael graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University with a Master of Sciences (M.S.) in Marriage and Family Therapy (2002). He also holds a Master of Divinity degree (M.Div) with core studies in Marriage and Family Counseling from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, USA (1991) and a B.S. in Psychology from Oklahoma State University, USA (1984).

Michael is a Clinical Member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists and a Clinical Member of the Taiwan Association for Marriage and Family Counselors (TAMFC) and is working toward licensure in the state of Oklahoma in the U.S.

Michael and his wife Sharon have served as missionaries for 17 years sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board, the last 15 years they have served in Taiwan where they work primarily with college and university students. They have been married 19 years and have two children.

Mike is available to counsel in English and Chinese (Mandarin).

Mike's Personal Website

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Ya-Rong Cheng, MS

Ya-Rong (Maria) Cheng received her masters degree in counselor education from Illinois State University in 1992. She also holds a training certificate in Transactional Analysis (Taiwan Transactional Analysis Association, 1999) and a BA from Tam Kang University (1982.) Following Taiwan's passage of licensure regulations for counselors, Ya-Rong completed the exam and experience requirements and is licensed in Taiwan as a counseling psychologist (2005.)

Since 1992, Ya-Rong has not only raised a family here in Taiwan, but also provided counseling care, first at Warm Life for Women, then at Morrison Christian Academy (high school counseling office), and especially at Teacher Chang. In addition, she has worked under contract at social service agencies, schools and universities, and public service installations. She grew up in southern Taiwan and now lives in Taichung with her husband, John Schirmer, and their two children, Janna and Jason.

Ya-Rong Cheng is a counseling associate of CCG. She is available to provide care in Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, and English.

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Vaughn Robart, MSW, MDiv

Vaughn Robart, MSW, MDiv is available to counsel in English, with a particular interest in marriage counseling, relational dynamics and conflict resolution. Besides counseling, Vaughn has taught school and worked as a youth pastor. He received a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Social Science Education from Greenville College in Illinois in 1989, his Master of Social Work (MSW) from the University of Kentucky in 1993 and a Master of Divinity (MDiv) from Asbury Theological Seminary in 1994. After graduate school, Vaughn and his wife moved to Moscow, Russia where they worked in an international school. They returned to New York and Michigan where Vaughn served as a youth pastor for 10 years and started a family. They moved to Taichung in 2005 to take teaching positions at Morrison Academy. They now have 3 school-aged children. Vaughn is available for appointments on selected evenings and Saturdays or when school is not in session.

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Marianne Ulmer, MA

Marianne Ulmer first came to Taiwan in 1980. For ten years she was involved in church planting with her husband in the Taichung area before serving as a Bible teacher in Hualien. In addition to her work at CCG, she works in local churches, especially among women and children.

As a ministry wife for twenty-five years, living in three continents, and remaining childless, Marianne can give emotional support for people who are dealing with losses, facing crises, and are challenged by cultural differences and ministry adjustments. Marianne’s passion is to encourage all on their journeys toward healthy thinking and spiritual and emotional well-being.

Her education includes licensure in pediatric nursing (Germany 1976), Bible college (Switzerland, 1979), MA in Religion, Trinity International University (USA, 1993), and continuing education in mentoring and counseling (Germany, 2000-03). Marianne is available to counsel in German, English and Taiwanese.

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Ruh-Shan (Ruth) Jin, Language Coach

Jin Ruh-Shan was born in Taiwan, but her parents are both from Mainland China. She went to Fu Jen University and studied German, graduating with a bachelor of arts in 1974. In 1975 she went to Germany to study German Language and Literature, and lived in Germany for eight years. She has taught German in the German Culture Centers in both Taipei and Kaohsiung, and also did some private tutoring.

She got married in 1980 while still in Germany. Her husband has a Doctorate of Industrial Chemistry which he earned while in Germany. She has three daughters, ages 21, 16, 15.

After she moved to Taichung, she wished she had an opportunity to serve in ministry, and also work. She met Steve in church, and then came to work in the center as a volunteer.

For several years she has been our administrative assistant, and oversees the general management of our office. Start January, 2002, Ruh-Shan will be providing the Language Coaching Service to the missionary communities both in central and other areas of Taiwan.

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