{"id":30243,"date":"2025-08-11T09:15:22","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T14:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/?p=30243"},"modified":"2025-08-11T09:15:22","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T14:15:22","slug":"michelle-snyder-seminary-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/blog\/michelle-snyder-seminary-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Ground \u2013 A Journey of Vocational Recovery at PTS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michelle Snyder ’09 is a church consultant and a national leader in suicide prevention training for faith communities. In this post, she shares about her journey from “ministering” to the point of self-neglect to finding theological grounding and healing that enabled her to serve others with energy, joy, and unimaginable impact in faith communities around the country.<\/em><\/p>\n

Choosing Formation Over Burnout<\/h2>\n

\"\"\u201cWhen I first came to PTS, I was a \u2018theological train wreck,\u2019\u201d Michelle says. \u201cI was a victim of toxic theology and bad formation, and I was destroying myself trying to live that theology out.\u201d Michelle describes that she was giving her life to homeless ministry in New York City, but was doing so in a way that did not make space for her own wellness. For example, she rented an apartment, but she\u2019d usually sleep on the floor by the door so that someone else could have her bed. \u201cMy tradition had taught me a lot of Bible,\u201d she says, \u201cbut I didn\u2019t have the emotional, spiritual, or intellectual infrastructure to manage theological complexity. I felt the whole world was on my shoulders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, a friend encouraged Michelle to take care of herself before she burned out. \u201cBefore you try to save anyone else, why not take time for yourself?\u201d That friend was a student of the Rev. Dr. Andrew Purves, a former theology professor at PTS. So, Michelle decided to enroll in the Seminary as a master\u2019s student.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cThe first thing I experienced at PTS was Dr. Martha Robbins\u2019 spiritual formation class,\u201d Michelle says. \u201cAt first, I couldn\u2019t read the Bible without crying, and I discovered that the Bible was actually a trigger for me. I would cry in class every day.\u201d Her professor recommended an on-campus therapist, and this became a turning point in Michelle\u2019s life. \u201cI finally got the mental healing I needed,\u201d she says, \u201cand at the same time, I found spiritual grounding and framing through my other classes. Seminary provided first a safe place to discover, then theological anchors and scaffolding, and finally a pathway for vocation. It absolutely transformed me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having received the healing and theological formation she needed, Michelle was able to reengage with her call to serve others with new energy and joy. She completed one of PTS\u2019s joint degree programs, graduating with both her M.S.W. from the University of Pittsburgh and M.Div. from PTS. \u201cI became a therapist with an M.Div.!\u201d she says. \u201cI specialize in spiritually-integrated psychotherapy, helping people recover from experiences of sexual abuse in church, thoughts like \u2018God hates me,\u2019 ministers going through spiritual crises, and other issues where faith and mental wellness overlap. I had been such a beneficiary of therapy services myself; now, it\u2019s come full-circle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now Formed, Ready to Serve<\/h2>\n

\"\"Michelle\u2019s work as a therapist led her to realize that in order for many of her clergy clients to become well, they needed more than one-on-one therapy; the churches they were serving needed to start functioning in healthier ways, too. \u201cA client came to me presenting with an array of mental and behavior health struggles: depression, anxiety, addiction\u2014a standard dumpster fire of pathologies,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was pretty obvious that he came to me because he thought he<\/em> was sick. But working with him, it became clear that the church he was serving was making<\/em> him sick. So I said, \u2018I can help you a little, but if you really want to let me help, I need to help your church too.\u201d Michelle now serves as a church consultant at\u00a0 the Center for Healthy Churches\/PneuMatrix, doing strategic visioning, pastoral transitions, conflict management, boundaries training, and more with congregations and judicatories. \u201cChurches call us when they run into something and don\u2019t know what to do,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

In addition to her consulting work, Michelle has founded Soul Shop, which is now the global leader in suicide prevention training for faith communities. She says the idea for Soul Shop came when she noticed a disconnect between churches\u2019 stated mission and the presence of real need in the community aligning with that mission that goes unmet by the church. \u201cSuicide comes down to two things: loss of hope and loss of social connection. These are things that churches really should be able to help with! A colleague of mine used to do suicide prevention trainings across Southern Ohio, and the rooms would fill up with parents, grandparents, teachers, and first responders\u2014but no pastors. I wondered: \u2018What about the way we\u2019re having this conversation is not capturing the theological imagination of churches?\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“So many churches are going through an identity crisis right now\u2014feeling irrelevant, asking \u2018What are we about?\u2019 Meanwhile, our society is facing a public health crisis: there are 50,000 suicides in the U.S. every year, and 20 percent of kids are thinking about suicide at any given time. Church is about loving neighbor as self; let\u2019s think about how we can be better neighbors.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Formed and Ever-Forming<\/h2>\n

Soul Shop is growing rapidly, and Michelle is working hard to expand her team to keep up with the demand for suicide prevention training from churches in a wide variety of locations, languages, and cultures. At this critical point in her work, Michelle has decided to return to PTS to pursue a Doctor of Ministry degree. \u201cI know Soul Shop saves lives; I get stories every day,\u201d she says. \u201cBut as Soul Shop expands, I wonder: ‘Is there a way that getting involved in suicide prevention could also help revitalize churches?’ American churches are struggling with an identity crisis while the needs of the world are all around us. My hunch is that if churches could throw themselves behind the suicide prevention movement, that could be a key to revitalization. What if church were a place where no one was alone, and no one was losing hope? What if we looked around and asked, \u2018Who\u2019s lonely, and how do we companion them?\u2019 I look forward to digging into this question with D.Min. colleagues and PTS professors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Your Turn: Deepen Your Formation at PTS<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Find your program at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Is it time to invest in your own formation? If you believe you could benefit from deepening spiritually, intellectually, and theologically in community, we encourage you to explore the formation opportunities available at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.<\/p>\n

Explore distance learning and residential certificate programs and degree programs: https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/find-your-program<\/a><\/p>\n

Explore continuing education opportunities at the PTS Neighborhood Collaborative: https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/Neighborhood-Collaborative<\/a><\/p>\n

Already established in ministry, community leadership, or creative work? Explore the Doctor of Ministry Program and find space to dive deep into a topic relevant to your specific context while remaining in your current position: https:\/\/www.pts.edu\/find-your-program<\/a>
\nUpcoming cohorts include: Bridging Divides in Church, Community, and Country; Christian Spirituality; Creative Writing and Public Theology; and more.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"Michelle Snyder ’09 is a mental health therapist, executive leadership coach, church consultant, and national presenter in suicide prevention for faith communities. She is the executive director of Soul Shop, whose mission is to equip faith community leaders and congregations with the tools and knowledge to effectively minister to individuals and families impacted by suicide, offering compassionate support, guidance, and hope. Michelle also leads the Organizational Development and Presbyterian teams at the Center for Healthy Churches\/PneuMatrix, where she is a consultant, coach, and suicide prevention trainer. She is co-author of Life, Death and Reinvention: The Gift of the Impossibly Messed-Up Life<\/em>. Michelle is a licensed clinical social worker who holds an M.Div. and Graduate Certificate in Urban Ministry from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and an M.S.W. from the University of Pittsburgh, and she is currently pursuing a D.Min. at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michelle Snyder ’09 is a church consultant and a national leader in suicide prevention training for faith communities. In this post, she shares about her journey from “ministering” to the point of self-neglect to finding theological grounding and healing that enabled her to serve others with energy, joy, and unimaginable impact in faith communities around…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":30263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[158,4,398,5,6],"tags":[827,884,50,889,888,24,887,890,99,885,883,886],"series":[],"class_list":["post-30243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-counseling","category-ministry","category-people-of-pts","category-protestant-spirituality","category-social-work","tag-burnout","tag-church-revitalization","tag-doctor-of-ministry","tag-emotionally-healthy-ministry","tag-healthy-work","tag-ministry-2","tag-rediscovering-vocation","tag-self-care","tag-seminary","tag-soul-shop","tag-suicide-prevention","tag-toxic-theology"],"yoast_head":"\r\nFinding Ground \u2013 A Journey of Vocational Recovery at PTS - Pittsburgh Theological Seminary<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Michelle used to believe ministry meant giving to others at the expense of her own wellness. 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