Biography
Nicholas Grier’s counseling, writing, speaking, and community leadership privileges the experiences of the most vulnerable and marginalized people in society. He joined Bishop Wellness Center in November 2020 and is Associate Professor of Practical Theology, Spiritual Care, & Counseling at Claremont School of Theology and Adjunct Professor of Law at the Willamette University College of Law.
Privileging the experiences of people on the margins of society, Grier enjoys nurturing cultures of self-awareness, resistance, healing, and liberation to make possible flourishing for everyone in the human village.
He believes that everyone deserves fair opportunities to flourish. In his words, “The journey to flourishing takes intentionality. On the journey to flourishing, one must be equipped with resources to survive, heal, and become liberated from past traumas and other life-limiting circumstances.” He believes that it is important to equip clients with resources to live self-aware and resilient lives in the context of life-giving communities. Grier practices therapy from an eclectic approach that takes seriously the process of cultivating liberation and healing from oppressive ideologies, cultures, institutions, relationships, and other life-limiting circumstances. He believes it is important to draw from the strengths of clients. In this sense, he practices therapy from a strengths-based approach. Ultimately, by focusing on individual and communal well-being, Grier believes that clients can be equipped with resources to survive and flourish.
He is author of the book Care for the Mental and Spiritual Health of Black Men: Hope to Keep Going and founder and CEO of Coloring Mental Health Collective, LLC. In his downtime he enjoys sports, listening to jazz & neo-soul music, playing piano, dancing, spending time in nature, and connecting with friends & family.
Nicholas Grier earned a Bachelor of Music (B.M.) degree from the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University, Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary on the campus of Northwestern University, and a certificate in psychotherapy from The Center for Religion and Psychotherapy of Chicago.