Shirley Fessel grew up on Southern Indiana. After earning a BA in English from Spalding College in Louisville, KY, she earned a MA in Counseling and an MEd in Communication, both from Wichita State University.
A 30-year veteran educator and counselor, she has worked in urban, rural, and surburban settings from literacy/GED to four-year-college levels. She has broad expertise in the effect of communication on mental health and education. She received the National Association for Staff and Professional Development’s Award of Excellence. She often presents at local and regional conferences.
Raised a Catholic, she sees women’s spiritual equality as a global challenge. Her late husband was a Baptist minister suffering from a mental illness. A lifetime of study has resulted in her latest self-help recovery workbook which provides a faith-based path to freedom from spiritual and domestic abuse.
She has three children and three granddaughters and lives in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
Religious domestic abuse survivor advocate
- Survivor of ministerial abuse
- Published effective clarification and strengthening process for victims
- Endorsed by marriage and family therapists, church leaders, and survivors
- Consistent 5-star reviews
- Collaborates with leading advocates for victim recovery
- Familiar with different faith traditions and their response to abuse
- Speaks as both a survivor and ministers wife