WCCW: The Sacred & Ordinary Collective
Ordained Reverend • Hospice Chaplain • Mental & Emotional Care at Life’s Thresholds
A Q&A with local chaplain Gwen Perkins.
By Kayla Burrow, LPC & Farrah Hunt, MS, NCC, LPC
Some interviews feel less like interviews and more like sitting across from someone who quietly reminds you what mental health really is. That is how our conversation with Gwen Perkins unfolded. It was grounded, honest, and deeply human.
As clinicians at Wholistic Care Counseling and Wellness, Farrah and I spent time learning about Gwen’s background, her work in hospice and hospital settings, and the many ways mental health shows up in moments of illness, loss, and transition. Often these moments go unnamed, but they shape people profoundly.
While Gwen’s role is often described as spiritual care, what became clear very quickly is that her work is inseparable from mental and emotional health. At its core, chaplaincy is about helping people regulate overwhelming emotions, make sense of loss, and feel less alone when life no longer feels familiar or safe.
Grounding, Calling, and Emotional Safety
Gwen was born and raised in Corpus Christi and has lived a life shaped by caregiving in many forms. She has cared for her parents, navigated marriage and divorce, raised children, and now spends time as a grandmother. Long before she ever held the title of chaplain, caregiving was already part of who she was.
“Caregiving was an extension of what I had been doing in some form all along.”
From a mental health perspective, Gwen’s work begins with emotional safety. In hospice and hospital spaces, fear, uncertainty, and loss of control are common. Her steady presence helps regulate what feels unmanageable. She offers calm, consistency, and attunement. When someone else can remain grounded, it becomes easier for a person in distress to breathe and stay present.
Although Gwen grew up Baptist, she did not immediately step into ministry. There was hesitation, fear, and even an extended season of atheism. After her father passed away from cancer when she was 40, she found herself sitting quietly one day when a clear inner knowing arrived: “The ministry.”
She did not answer that calling right away, but it stayed with her. That patience with herself is the same patience she now extends to others.
Grief, Loss, and the Emotional Experience
In her hospice work, Gwen sees the same emotional needs surface again and again. Fear of the unknown. Unresolved relationships. Anticipatory grief. A deep desire to be understood without being rushed or fixed.
One of the most harmful misconceptions about grief, she shared, is the idea that it should follow a predictable path. From a mental health lens, grief is not a problem to solve. It is a process that needs support. Confusion, anger, sadness, numbness, humor, and even relief can all exist at the same time.
When someone says, “I do not know what I believe anymore,” or even, “I do not believe at all,” Gwen does not see that as something to correct. She understands it as emotional disorientation, a very human response to loss. Her role is not to provide answers, but to reduce shame, normalize uncertainty, and stay present while meaning slowly takes new shape.
Presence, Co-Regulation, and the Nervous System
Gwen spoke often about moments when there are no right words. In those spaces, meaningful presence looks like sitting quietly, listening deeply, and allowing silence to do its work.
From a mental health standpoint, this is co-regulation. One grounded nervous system helping another find steadiness in the middle of uncertainty. Before insight, before coping tools, before acceptance, people need to feel safe enough to exist in their emotions without being overwhelmed or made to feel less than for having them.
This is where Gwen’s phrase “midwifing the soul” feels especially fitting. She holds space while something new emerges, whether that is peace, clarity, or simply rest.
Meaning, Identity, and Inner Strengths
When life feels unfinished or unfair, Gwen helps people reflect on who they have been, who they are, and what has mattered. This reflection is not about forcing positivity. It is about honoring the truth of a person’s story.
Caring for the Caregivers: Burnout and Compassion Fatigue
Walking alongside death and grief requires intentional self-care. Gwen shared that chaplaincy training emphasizes this early on, though what self-care looks like is deeply personal. For her, it includes family, movement, being outdoors, time with grandchildren, hosting loved ones, helping others, and traveling when possible.
Spirituality, Existential Distress, and Mental Health
Even for those who do not identify as religious, Gwen sees how spiritual distress can look very similar to anxiety, depression, or burnout. Loss of meaning, identity confusion, and emotional disconnection often surface during illness and major life transitions.
Her approach bridges spiritual care and mental health care by helping people reconnect to themselves, to nature, to relationships, or to whatever gives them a sense of grounding. Belief is not required. Presence is.
She often recommends the book End of the Sphere and speaks about leaning into the full picture of life and death when possible. Not as something morbid, but as something honest and, at times, deeply healing.
Community as a Mental Health Support
Gwen expressed deep appreciation for Corpus Christi’s sense of community, culture, and local supports such as Timmons Ministries, churches, hospice organizations, and even a special shout-out to Wholistic Care Counseling and Wellness, which we were grateful to receive.
From a mental health perspective, community connection is a powerful protective factor. It reduces isolation, buffers against prolonged grief, and reminds people they are not navigating loss alone.
She believes chaplains and counselors are not either-or supports. They often work best together, especially during illness, grief, and existential transitions.
A Gentle Closing
When we asked what brings her hope lately, Gwen spoke about connection, family, and the quiet moments when people allow themselves to be honest. When asked what she wishes people felt less alone in, her answer was simple: their grief, their doubt, and their fear of saying the wrong thing.
She hopes more people recognize that even from the hardest experiences, something meaningful can still emerge.
Talking with Gwen reminds us that mental health support does not always happen in an office or follow a treatment plan. Sometimes it looks like sitting quietly. Listening deeply. Helping someone feel seen at one of the most vulnerable points in their life.
And sometimes, that is exactly what healing needs.
If This Resonates
You may know someone who deserves a moment in the spotlight. This could be a person who has navigated mental health challenges with resilience, introduced a meaningful idea or practice related to mental wellness, or simply shows up for others through consistent, quiet acts of care.
If someone comes to mind, we’d love to hear about them.
Reach out to us at Wccandwellness@wccounselors.com and share why you’re nominating them. We value meeting new community members and highlighting the many ways people make mental health matter—often in everyday, unseen ways.
If you’re feeling ready for support, or know someone who is, you’re also invited to:
• Schedule a consultation to explore trauma-informed, relational counseling
• Share this perspective with someone who may need a gentle starting point
• Explore our Resources Page for additional tools, education, and support
👉 https://wccounselors.com/resources/
• Leave a Google review to help others find compassionate, ethical care
A Google review is a meaningful way to support our practice and help others find care that feels steady, respectful, and human. Public feedback is not part of therapy and is never expected. If you choose to share feedback publicly, please protect your privacy and avoid personal or clinical details.
