ABOUT MATT PAVLIK

Hi and Welcome!

I am glad you are here.

I can schedule an appointment with you on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday from 1pm to 8:30pm in Dayton, Ohio. Or, I can provide online counseling or coaching via phone or video if you cannot make it to my office. You can Register for an Appointment.

Counseling Approach

No matter how discouraged or beaten down you feel, you can overcome. You don’t have to live with insecurity, despair, anxiety, or panic. You can move beyond painful experiences, discover who you are, and be empowered to pursue your purpose. I’ll help you confront emotional wounds and false beliefs that rob you of joy. You can experience peace in the present and hope for the future, even when life has been harsh. If your treasure is earthly, your heart decays; if your treasure is heavenly, your heart is anchored in eternity. Are you ready to embrace hopeful assurance through a confident identity?

If your life feels chaotic, you can rebuild it on the foundation of God's truth revealed in the Bible. I'll help you strengthen your worldview and grow in awareness, understanding, and acceptance of who God made you to be. I offer compassion when you’re hurting and challenge when you need direction and change.

Your emotional needs are met through positive relationships. You long for love, security, connection, significance, and hope—needs that can’t be satisfied by substances or accomplishments. If you’re struggling to receive what you need to make life work, contact me. I’ll help you trust in God’s goodness and love for you.

I offer discounts for those committing to 2 or more sessions per month. Prepayment reduces fees to $125, $115, or $110. I accept cash, check, card, and HSA. My goal is to keep therapy affordable for those who are committed to emotional healing.

I've walked with Christ for over 30 years and been married for more than 25 years. My Christian worldview shapes the guidance I provide. Having experienced years of my own therapy, I understand the courage and commitment it takes to pursue healing.

I provide intensive therapy for clients with emotional wounds. Without a real relationship with Jesus, despair, fear, or bitterness can dominate. I help individuals and couples connect with Him for emotional healing. Deep healing through God’s truth takes time but brings lasting hope, peace, and freedom.

Life events can distort your view of yourself and God. We’ll revisit memories tied to current symptoms and apply a biblical worldview for healing. I provide space to express what's in your heart and truth to reflect on for confident living. I help couples grow as individuals so they can communicate and work through conflict. A healthy marriage is built on two healthy individuals.

Who I Am

• A Christian since July 1991
• Theological Thinker who blends biblical depth with poetic metaphor
• INTJ/INFJ personality — strong thinker, sensitive soul, introverted companion
• Steward of Depth — someone who holds space for truth, ache, and transformation in a world addicted to noise
• Founder of New Reflections Counseling and Professional Counselor with decades of experience guiding clients through emotional healing and spiritual clarity
• Founder of Christian Concepts blog Christian Concepts on the assurance of salvation in Christ, identity in Christ, marriage in Christ, and emotional healing in Christ.
• Author of 9 books including Secure in Christ, Marriage From Roots To Fruits, and Confident Identity
• Graduate with degrees in Clinical Pastoral Counseling from Ashland Theological Seminary and Computer Science from the University of Illinois
• Matt and his wife Georgette have been married since 1999 and have four children. They attend South Dayton Presbyterian Church.

What I Offer

• Emotionally honest counseling that doesn’t flinch at pain
• Spiritually grounded guidance rooted in Reformed theology
• A safe place to wrestle with doubt, truth, feelings, and calling
• Companionship through the dark night of the soul — not just advice, but presence

Who I Work Best With

You might be a good fit if you:

• Feel emotionally or spiritually disconnected, even if you “know the truth”
• Long for depth in relationships but often feel misunderstood or unseen
• Are navigating a season of loss or vocational disillusionment
• Value theological clarity but need emotional resonance
• Want more than coping — you want transformation
• You’re competent and exhausted, longing for rest but unsure how to receive it

I work with individuals who live quietly burdened — responsible, thoughtful, and emotionally isolated. You may look composed on the outside, but inside, there’s a world of unspoken ache and unanswered questions.

• You’ve spent years ignoring your own needs, believing they’re less important than what others expect of you
• You carry a quiet belief that you’re not good enough, not lovable, not worth the effort
• You relate to others externally but superficially, unsure how to bridge the gap between your inner world and your outer life
• You’re an internal processor — you think deeply, but rarely feel safe enough to share what’s inside
• You feel like no one would care about your emotions, so you stay silent — even in relationships

What It’s Like to Work With Me

I listen with care and precision — not just to your words, but to what’s beneath them. I read between the lines, gently naming what’s been buried or overlooked. I offer insights that bridge the gap between how life feels and what is true — especially the truth that God is loving, present, and sovereign, even when everything feels uncertain.

Together, we explore the depth of your inner world — your thoughts, your feelings, your longings, your fears. Not to perform. Not to impress. But to understand, to heal, and to connect with the God who sees you fully.

How Others View Matt

The following comments contain others' perspectives on Matt's role as a counselor. Because each person's struggles are unique, each person will respond to counseling differently. In addition to a counselor's skills, many other factors (such as a client's availability, investment, motivation, attitude, and ability to face difficult emotions) can determine the results of counseling. While Matt practices with evidence-based methods, the outcomes of counseling cannot be determined ahead of time. He might interact with you in completely different ways (than those depicted below) to help you reach your goals.

Matt is not able to help all people. Sometimes there is not a good fit between what people need and what Matt is able to provide. The comments below do not necessarily represent the specific outcome you will realize. They are only meant to help you get a better feel for Matt's personality and approach to counseling. They have been edited for readability. While Matt cannot guarantee any specific outcome, he will work with you to achieve the best results possible.

• Matt has an ability to ask questions that go right to the heart of the issue. Sometimes I did not like his questions, however, through answering them I was able to begin to see more clearly the real problem.
• He challenged my thinking pattern. He helped me to begin to see how my thought pattern was dysfunctional.
• He showed me a way to begin making my own decisions based on my priorities instead of impulsive thinking.
• The books, handouts, and exercises Matt had me read or complete were helpful. They showed me new ways of looking at different situations. They taught me life skills to use to deal with problems in my life.

• Matt helped me understand how my childhood has effected my marriage.
• He helped me understand there are boundaries to which no one should cross and I have the power and ability to set those boundaries.

• Matt listened and directed my thinking in a way that made sense.
• He helped me rediscover my God relationship. God and I have a much better relationship because of counseling.

• Matt helped me understand how to think of others to have a fulfilling life.
• He helped me see the need to break out of my safe zone and take risks to do things in different ways to achieve different results.
• He helped me understand the relationship between how I was nurtured or not nurtured as a child and mapping my views of my parents onto God whereas I should map the ideal view onto God and rely on that ideal to be met not the limited defective images I’ve seen through my parents.

• As a marriage counselor, Matt helped me by being a true neutral party. He gave simple, sound advice, which was easy to put in place and to see the results.

• Matt is easy to talk to and comfortable to be around, even for someone who has been uncomfortable around strangers their whole life.
• He showed concern and redirected my thoughts when needed. He was patient with me which was greatly needed.
• He pointed out how I was allowing others to compromise myself. I am not in a relationship any longer because he helped me realize the control that I actually do have over my life.
• I have expressed the joy and the bad aspects of my life to him and I am glad that he was there to hear me when no one else was.
• I thank him very much for these things that have helped shape my future relationship; they will always be in my mind.

• I found several moments very illuminating, and it was helpful to be able to respond to Matt's questions and see our relationship from an outside perspective.