Pastoral counselor Sally Ensley and psychologist Dr. Ronal Smith are the two therapists on staff at Signal Counseling Center.Signal Counseling Center offers Christian-based counseling services to children and adults. The practice, which opened last September, recently expanded its staff to include Dr. Ronal Smith, a Signal Mountain resident who moved his core practice to the center in January. He plans to eventually move his entire practice to Signal, he said.
“It’s our understanding there’s no practicing counselor on Signal Mountain,” said Sally Ensley, therapist and director of Signal Counseling Center. “We definitely see the need to have that available up here.”
Ensley, also a Signal Mountain resident, holds master’s degrees in Christian education and professional counseling from Ridgemont Graduate University and has served as the education minister at Signal Mountain Baptist for the past 28 years.
Although the counseling center rents its space from Signal Mountain Baptist, it is not affiliated with the church, she said.
Smith received a master’s in clinical/counseling psychology from Valdosta State College and a Ph.D. in school psychology from the University of Georgia. He has been practicing for 23 years. He worked for five years at the counseling center at First Baptist Church and lately has been focused on performing psychological evaluations.