Meet Hannah Fowler, tLMFT, a marriage and family therapist serving clients in person in Bettendorf, IA and throughout the state of Iowa via telehealth. A wife and mom of two little ones, Hannah works with couples in all stages and seasons of life, from premarital counseling and beyond. 

Location:  Bettendorf, Iowa

Email:  [email protected]

Office/Scheduling: 563-359-0696

Tell us about your role with Lutheran Family Service.

I am a marriage and family therapist. I work part time doing that, and see people via telehealth in Iowa or, in person at the Bettendorf office.

What drew you to this field?

When I was doing my undergrad work, I was initially [in] children’s ministry, and had the opportunity to work with a lot of families. Through doing that for a bit, I realized I more enjoyed the meet ups with parents or doing educational things, helping them through things. When you see a lot of the marital units being strong, that just kind of flows down to the health of their children.

[Looking] to how I could support the parental system and marriages, I decided to that through counseling, specifically, hopefully Christian counseling. I absolutely believe that our enemy doesn’t want marriages to work and that they are under attack. So if I can, in some small way, help them work through communication or things they’re struggling with, and get them through those hurdles, that that could be a way to contribute to the health of families.

Tell us a bit about your educational background and how that contributes to your work at Lutheran Family Service.

Christian Education was ultimately my degree in undergrad. Then, I ended up going to Indiana Wesleyan University to get my Marriage and Family Therapy degree, because I thought that was what ultimately would help me to be able to help the couple system.

I ended up working at a college, mainly with students and then I did some premarital workshops. I realized in that time that I really liked equipping that age group as well. It’s a really hard time in life, you’re finding your independence and what life looks like being on your own, potentially for the first time.

My marriage and family training in graduate school prepared me to be able to work through what couples bring when they come to therapy, helping them through their concerns.

What are some indicators church workers could benefit from counseling? 

Things that can lead to burnout—constant stress, thinking “I’m always so busy,” not finding joy in ministry. The misuse of substances or other drugs are problems. And apathy—the pastor not caring enough for the congregation, or the congregation not caring enough for the pastor. Conflict in the marriage or home can lead to or be the result of being burnt out or stressed.

If you’re [consistently] looking at 80 to 90 hours a week, that’s a warning sign—it’s a warning sign for anybody if you’re working that much.

You mentioned premarital counseling. Can you share why that’s a beneficial thing to pursue?

I think that it’s very important to get good premarital counseling. A lot of people skip it or it’s very surface level. I’m trained in SYMBIS (Save Your Marriage Before It Starts), and I think that’s a really good tool. It helps couples to think about the deep things before they get married. I think some couples think that they do, but there could be a lot of topics of conversation left out — how do we deal with conflict, what if we don’t agree about this, what about different family dynamics? I’ve always thought premarital counseling was important, but now I have more equipping in how we do that well.

What are some of the reasons couples may come to see you once married?

I see a broad range of situations and couples in various stages of life. There is a tendency toward couples in their late 30s early 40s, when their kids are getting older, they’re kind of out of survival mode. They find they either really grew together, or more apart. It can be a challenging position as far as how they’re communicating and what it means moving forward.

Is marriage counseling only for crisis situations?

No, it’s not! I think a lot of couples like to come to me when things are on fire, and that’s incredibly important. But to even come in just to make sure things are going well, get tools to help you communicate a little bit better, there’s no shame in that.

I do think there’s a stigma that things have to be really bad before we seek out that help. Marriage counseling, however, can just be a tool to check that couples are on the same page, to help talk through a maybe difficult thing within a marriage, and just to equip couples to do these things on their own. Ultimately, that’s my goal.

How does your faith inform your therapy practice?

Previously, I was working at a secular agency and I’m a believer, but wasn’t actively making that a known thing. While we have clients here who don’t have a faith background or anything like that, it’s the most important thing of who I am and Christ informs everything that I do. Having the support of others in that is great.

I love that now I work at a place where we do attract more Christian clientele because that can be very open part of what I speak about. I can help clients maybe question some things as far as what Scripture says or encourage them in their faith block and have that inform who they are, because ultimately that should inform how we live. Sometimes I think, “I can give someone all the tools in the world, but Christ gives you a new identity and then shapes all of who we are.” That just informs everything, because He changes everything.

Why is the work you do important?

Because we live in a broken world where things are messy. There is hurt, there are wounds that we need to work through. Especially in the marital system, you bring two imperfect people together and there’s going to be conflict. If I can offer couples or individuals with space so like be able to learn about themselves, to be able to grow, and to even heal those things, I think that’s Kingdom work.

What do you enjoy most about the people you work with?

As far as colleagues, I love working at a Christian agency. Just being able to speak about Christ with people, knowing that they support me in that.

With the clients I work with, it is a privilege to hold peoples’ hard stuff. It’s also exciting and wonderful to see their growth or positive thing happens in their lives.

Is there a Bible verse/passage that has been particularly meaningful to you, personally or professionally?

I’ve had up in my home for a while Isaiah 26:3 “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (ESV). I believe that we are changed by the renewing of our minds, which is what the Scripture says, and through connecting with God and those around you. I’m very worrisome or my mind just everywhere all the time, and so sometimes it’s just like no like I can be in perfect peace because of who God is. Trying to put my thoughts on that and who He is, and His character, knowing that I can trust that no matter what the circumstance is.

Hannah sees clients via telehealth throughout Iowa and in person in Bettendorf, Iowa. Reach out today.

[email protected] | 563-359-0696 | lutheranfamilyservice.org/contact