Dr. Jill Verschaetse

Dr. Jill Verschaetse is a wife, mother, and clinical psychologist. She and her husband, Nate—also a psychologist—have three sons and live in the Arizona desert, where they own a Catholic counseling practice, Journey to Peace Counseling Services.

 Dr. Jill has accompanied individuals, couples, and families in therapy and has conducted psychological evaluations for religious communities and seminarians. She has served as Director of Psychological Assessments at a seminary and as a psychological consultant to cloistered religious communities. Prior to receiving her doctorate, she spent time in a religious community herself and now lives a form of consecration in the world alongside a group known as the Cloistered Hearts.

As a child of divorce, Dr. Jill attended the first-ever Life-Giving Wounds retreat. She later served on the ministry’s traveling retreat team and as a psychological advisor for the organization. She has contributed to the ministry through blog writing, leadership manual development, and review of the LGW book.

Her doctoral dissertation, focused on feminine bridal identity, proposes a psychological understanding of women’s identity development grounded in Catholic anthropology. Drawing from the Theology of the Body, additional writings of Pope John Paul II, and Sacred Scripture, her work explores pathways of healing for women wounded in their bridal identity, including those affected by the trauma of divorce.

 Above all, Dr. Jill considers caring for her family her most precious vocation. She is passionate about proclaiming the universal call to holiness and helping each person discover God’s invitation to intimacy in every state of life.