I have been in Marks counsel for quite some time. He is a straight shooter and tells me what I need to do to make positive changes in life. He has taught me how to use Gods Word with my lifes relationships, providing new outlooks and insights with my family.Marks counsel comes from wisdom, with incredible insight, getting to the root cause of the problem. His knowledge of the Bible and his way of counseling is what I have been needing all of these years.He doesnt always tell me what I want to hear, but what I need to hear.Mark helps to keep me on course.-James

Mark is a caring and knowledgeable counselor, and has a kind and loving way he talks about areas that need to be addressed. His counsel is backed by the Bible, which he freely incorporates in his counseling. If you want Bible based counsel that is all about making you a better person and follower of Christ, then I would highly recommend Mark, as he is helping my wife and I through a seperated situation. If you dont want God or the Bible as the basis for the solution, then choose someone else, and good luck with that. God is our Maker, and His ways are the best ways. 👍

Mark has always advised me with exceptional empathy and understanding . He returns me to a biblical perspective which has ultimately been the most successful path though not always the easiest.Mark is courageous in his Christian belief and gentle in the way he will guide you into God’s way.I am grateful for all he has done for me.

Biblical counseling was a new experience for me, and I believe bringing God into the center of my marriage each week was a catalyst for progress and change that will result in a new level of maturity and love within our relationship.  Mark guided us well, giving us tools to have more positive, honest conversations and soften our hearts to each other and to the Holy Spirit at work.

For licensed mental health professionals, confidentiality is protected by state laws and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Therapists who break confidentiality can get in trouble with state licensing boards. They can also be be subject to legal problems.For someone whos not necessarily licensed by the state of California.Such behavior might disqualify said parties from having one.As professionals we have a duty not to interject our own belief systems on to the people that we claim to want to help.

Yeah, its gonna be a NO for me. Trying to blast a client and hide behind the bible to do it? Not somebody you want to ask for any kind of help. Those positive reviews must be family members.

Hi All, I felt the need to chime in after hearing from and working with his last (potential client) who commented above. If you take the time to review his response, you can clearly see the judgement that was described earlier by the client and he seems incredibly self-righteous in his approach for someone who claims to be God-fearing. He also repeatedly refers to her fiancé as her “boyfriend” in an attempt to belittle or bash someone who was just looking for premarital counseling. That is not of God and truly saddens my heart for this unfortunate experience. This should be a HUGE red flag for any potential clients to watch out for “biblical counselors” proclaiming to be “of God” and biblical in their teachings and treatment of others. God is not the author of confusion nor does He condone condemnation. This is why so many shy away from the Church and “Church people”. I also wonder if his approach would have been the same if the color of her skin had looked different? Just my observation. So I say to Mark, what Jesus himself said in John Chapter 8: “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” I will be praying for God to touch his heart so that no other will have to go through such an ordeal.

I would definitely NOT recommend using this counselor if you are looking for someone who genuinely cares about the success and progress of your life, or that of your relationship. Our initial call went great and I really felt heard and cared for during that conversation on the phone. However, upon meeting with him and having our first session (via Zoom) I felt incredibly judged, and was befuddled by the apparent biases and assumptions that were made upon slightly opening up to Mr. Brandes.I sent him an email expressing my concerns and gave him the opportunity to further explain his point of view, only to be met with an unexpected barrage of judgmental, harsh, and just downright incorrect statements about me as a person and as a Christian. The gaslighting was undeniable upon addressing my concerns and this definitely did not exemplify God’s love and grace, which I thought should be the core principle of any Christian-based counseling organization.It appears that Mr. Brandes uses the Bible to assert his own perceptions onto others backed by very little fact or reasoning other than his misinterpretation of Scripture, and he uses his very “old-fashioned” way of viewing things to further support his one-sided viewpoints. I rarely ever write reviews, but I wanted to make sure that I do my part to save someone else the time, money, and/or letdown of a truly terrible experience. Take this as a sign to continue your search for the right counselor.