Care + Counseling Center

Getting married? Couples who wish to be married at Bay Life and/or by a Bay Life Pastor, are required to attend Premarital Counseling. Private Couples’ Counseling is available by appointment at $300 per couple. This includes 6-7 sessions with a SYMBIS certified counselor or pastor, the Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts work book and his/her guides, and SYMBIS marriage assessment. Upon completion, couples will receive a certificate which will entitle them to a discount on their marriage license. You can register by contacting our Counseling Center at 813.319.0183 or email .

Bay Life's Pastoral Family Counseling Center provides quality biblical counseling to individuals and families dealing with a variety of issues. Our goal is to help our clients find emotional, spiritual, and mental restoration so that they may be free to fulfill the purposes for which God has uniquely designed them!

We understand that each person’s comfort level about counseling is different. With this in mind, we offer in-person and virtual appointments through our HIPA compliant video calling system. Just call the office to schedule an appointment and let us know if it will be in person, over the phone, or a video call.

To schedule a counseling appointment, or to register for the premarital counseling, please call us at 813.319.0183. To register for our Breakthrough Support Groups like GriefShare and DivorceCare, visit baylife.org/breakthrough.

To assist you best, please print and fill out the following forms prior to your first appointment. 

Release of Liability and Psychosocial Questionnaire 

If you will be participating in a video or phone counseling session, please fill out the Technology Assisted Counseling (TAC) Consent Form and email it with your Release of Liability and Psychosocial Questionnaire to  .

Stress, anxiety, and worry are a real part of all of our lives. While some of us may have a higher tolerance for these emotions, there can still be issues that we need to find healthy ways to work through. These stressors can creep up from issues at work, in our marriages, families, and many other places, including being overly connected on social media. My hope is to provide some helpful ideas for you to think about and put into practice. For some of you, these may be things you’re already doing. For others, it may mean trying out a few new techniques as we walk through the rhythms of life. Regardless of where you are, I hope that these ideas and tips are good reminders for all of us.

Brenton Shephard | Care & Counseling Pastor

Don’t be trapped into thinking you’re the only one experiencing your current feelings, that no one understands, or that circumstances will never change! Bay Life's Breakthrough Support Groups provide safe, confidential, and caring environments where you can feel comfortable and safe talking about your struggles and grow toward wholeness.

Breakthrough groups will meet at various times and locations at Bay Life Church. Go to baylife.org/breakthrough to find out more.

THESE GROUPS ARE FOR ADULTS ONLY. Childcare is NOT available on Thursday nights for Breakthrough. In addition, we request that you do not leave anyone under the age of 18 unattended on Bay Life's campus while you are participating in any group.

Brenton Shephard is the Director of Bay Life’s Pastoral Family Counseling Center and serves as the Care and Counseling Pastor for Bay Life Church. He has served as a pastor for fourteen years, working with middle school, high school, and college age students. He has an undergraduate degree from Trinity College of Florida in Christian Ministries, a master’s degree from Liberty University in Christian Ministry with a cognate in Pastoral Counseling, is a certified Mental Health Coach through the AACC from Light University, and is certified in Prepare/Enrich marriage counseling. He’s been married more than ten years and has two young children. 

Karen Chipchase is a certified Christian Life Coach and certified Mental Health Coach through the AACC from Light University. She has a master’s degree from Regent University in Human Services with a concentration in Christian Counseling. Her focus is to help clients seek to understand life’s challenges as they develop and enhance their known and unknown God given capabilities bringing their ideas, thoughts, and dreams into reality. Karen is a retired Department of the Army senior civilian with 33 years of experience. Additionally, she is a retired United States Army Reserve Colonel having served 26 years with deployments to Afghanistan and Hungary. Karen spent 29 years as an Army wife to an active-duty service member where she helped spouses and family members adapt to military life. Karen and her husband of 35 years reside in Riverview. 

Jennifer Hydock is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) specializing in family, teens, and children (individual and group counseling). She graduated from Florida State University with a dual Bachelor's of Science (Psychology and Criminology), and holds an Masters of Science in Mental Health Counseling from Nova Southeastern University. 

Genevieve LoCicero is the Breakthrough Groups Coordinator and works with adults with mood disorders, grief issues, PTSD and trauma, marital issues, and other mental health concerns. She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and graduated from USF with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and a Master of Arts in Professional Counseling from Liberty University. She is trained in Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) which is a form of psychotherapy that can aid clients with depression, anxiety, panic attacks, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sexual abuse, and many other mental and physical conditions. She also uses Gottman Method couples therapy in her work.

Dr. Bob Magruder is a pastoral counselor with over 40 years of pastoral ministry. As an AACC member, he specializes in counseling clients through addiction, marriage issues, premarital guidance, parenting teens, blended families, and the needs unique to men. Dr. Magruder has 4 degrees in Christian Education from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He earned a Doctor of Education and a certificate in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He’s served as a Panama City Rescue Mission chaplain, directing the residential addiction recovery program. He is also certified to facilitate the SYMBIS Marriage Assessment and trained in the Gottman Marriage Counseling, Level One. Dr. Magruder has served churches as a youth pastor for over 20 years, then as teaching pastor, discipleship pastor, and executive pastor for over 20 years. He has a passion for discipling clients to overcome root problems and live in freedom through applying the Word of God to their lives.

Dr. Shane Drury is a Biblical Counselor who has served twenty years in ministry. He specializes in marriage counseling, parental counseling, premarital counseling, counseling young adults and teens, and issues related to men. He earned a Masters of Divinity and Doctorate of Ministry in Biblical Counseling both from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served as a pastor in the local church for the last twenty years and has worked as a Biblical Counselor for the last five years. He graciously seeks to apply the gospel to issues of the heart to help people experience an abundant life in Christ.