Joshua Irvine, MA, LPC, has been involved with Pennsylvania’s Family Based Mental Health Services (FBMHS) since 2004, first as a front-line therapist working in the home and community, then as a supervisor, teacher, and mentor. He served as a clinical consultant at Pennsylvania Counseling Services for Family Based programs in Lancaster county from 2012  to 2020. Josh currently is in private practice with New Life Counseling Services in Mt Joy, PA  where he provides outpatient treatment from a systemic perspective to children, couples, and families. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Lancaster Bible College and Capital Seminary & Graduate School. Josh has a longstanding commitment to strengths-based, systemic treatment and has been working with children and adolescents living in multi-stressed families for over 20 years.

Josh’s training in family therapy has primarily been derived from teachers who received their training and experience at the former Philadelphia Child Guidance Center (PCGC), where Dr. Salvador Minuchin developed the Structural Model of family therapy.  His initial supervision and mentoring in family therapy was provided by Dr. James Johnson.  Once he became involved in FBMHS, Josh received extensive training and supervision from Dr. Wayne Jones and Tara Byers in Eco-Systemic Structural Family Therapy.  These years of in-home experience and family therapy training have strongly shaped the way he currently practices and teaches.   Whether with patients, supervisees or trainees, Josh focuses on the circular dynamic of strengths and challenges that exists between people within the context of their family. He stresses the critical importance of actively incorporating multiple family members into treatment to sustain long-term changes.

In addition to applying systems theory to his professional life, Josh translates it to his role in the church community, where has served as a Youth Director for adolescent ministries and as a leader of community life groups.  He is an ordained Elder.  Josh relies on his knowledge of family systems when providing consultation and support to pastors, lay leaders and congregant families working through challenging family crises.