About Us
Our Values
Transformative Integration
The ongoing process of learning to create positive change in one's inner landscape, leading to deeper self-awareness, and a more fulfilling resilient life. It involves unification of mind, body, emotion, and spirit which often become fragmented on life’s journey. This reconnection improves the quality of all our relationships, with self, with others, and with God.
Storied Growth
The practice of cultivating your story to make a path for Transformative Integration. Each story matters. Unpack the outdated script you’ve been handed from your culture, demographic, family of origin, & life experiences. Learn how you can grow beyond the limitations of your inherited narrative. When we make sense of the past by telling the truth of our stories today, we create a better future to step into.
Authentic Connection
Creating deep and meaningful relationships characterized through an integrated self leading to emotionally open and honest encounters with yourself and others. Connection builds trust, empathy, and a quality of being fully seen and known. These capacities are essential for fostering a sense of belonging, reducing feelings of loneliness, and enhancing overall health.
Our Founder
Beginning and Struggles
In 1988, Scott Reall was hired as a Senior Wellness Director for the YMCA. His primary role was to assess and prescribe exercise programs for YMCA members, a critical task at that time. The YMCA was deeply rooted in its mission of changing lives, guided by leaders like Clark Baker, the then-CEO, and Bill Lee, the head of the Christian Influences Committee.
Despite his professional success, Scott was fighting a private battle with anxiety, depression, and other life-controlling issues that were causing significant turmoil in his life. His breakthrough came when he met a pastor from Willow Creek Church in Chicago, who had joined the YMCA part-time. This pastor, coming from a family of alcoholics, became the first person Scott confided in about his spiritual and emotional troubles.
Path to Healing
The pastor introduced Scott to a transformative book called "Power to Choose," which laid out the original twelve steps with Christ as the higher power—distinct from the common practice of using any higher power. Delving into the twelve steps and the teachings derived from the Beatitudes, Scott found a spiritual path that emphasized transformation through Christ, not mere self-help. Scott began to contrast the radical transformation needing a power greater than oneself, which in his conviction, was most effectively embodied in Jesus.
Integrating Faith and Healing
Scott's journey took an academic turn when he was awarded the Armstrong Award by the national YMCA, which included a scholarship to Covent Seminary in St. Louis. His time in seminary was driven by a desire to create an intentional spiritual healing process with Christ at its center, but one that remained accessible to all people, regardless of their religious affiliation. He noticed a shift within the YMCA, as business elements began to overshadow its spiritual mission, and sought to address the deeper spiritual and emotional needs he observed among thousands of members.
By leading twelve-step groups that integrated Christ into the process, Scott began to witness not only his own healing but also the transformation of countless others. His efforts lead to wide recognition where churches, correctional facilities, and counseling centers started referring people to his program.