“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” — Ernest Hemingway
Aaron Welch, LPCC, LMHC, NCC
Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor
Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Nationally Certified Counselor
More than 25 years in counseling, pastoral care, and story-focused mentoring
Drawn to People’s Stories
I’ve always been drawn to people’s stories; probably because mine hasn’t always been easy to make sense of.
I know what it’s like to live with the tension between what’s visible and what’s vulnerable.
A Turning Point
I didn’t set out to become a therapist. I just knew something had to change.
In that moment, God got my attention and began reshaping my heart from the inside out.
Walking With Others
Over time, walking with others on that same path became one of the clearest parts of my own story.
It’s why I sit with men who feel trapped in shame, adolescent guys who don’t yet have words for the weight they carry, and men who long for purpose but feel stuck in survival.
The Thread That Runs Through
In every season, I’ve seen one truth hold:
You don’t have to face the fire alone.
Remember…
the fire doesn’t just burn,
it refines.
Meet Your Therapist
Aaron Welch, Counselor & Founder, Forge & Path Counseling
My Approach
Therapy shouldn’t feel like checking boxes or nodding politely for 50 minutes.
I offer something different:
A space that’s honest, grounded, and deeply respectful of your story.
A place where your pain is taken seriously, but your strength is too.
Where we work with what’s real, not just what’s expected.
I bring a mix of clarity and compassion, with just enough humor to break the tension when it needs breaking. Clients often tell me they feel deeply cared for, but also gently challenged in ways they didn’t expect. I don’t offer quick fixes or polished platitudes. I’ll give you practical tools when you need them, but I’ll also invite you to face the deeper work, the kind of stuff that doesn’t go away just because we avoid it.
Along the way, I draw from a blend of approaches to support the work. These include:
Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT): to make sense of emotional patterns and unmet needs.
Psychodynamic insight: to explore the deeper roots of your story.
Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS): helping clients explore and bring healing to the different ‘parts’ of themselves with compassion and curiosity.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) tools: when something practical is needed.
At the core, I work from a foundation of honesty, warmth, and deep respect for your pace.
Sometimes that work includes facing the harder questions; about meaning, identity, purpose, and what it looks like to live with intention. Healing isn’t just about relief. It’s about forging a life…and a legacy that matters.
My years in both counseling and pastoral ministry have taught me that real healing often means walking through grief, doubt, and the deeper questions of life with honesty, courage, and faith.
Sometimes healing feels like walking into fire. You feel the fear… and you walk in anyway. That’s what courage does.
Not all therapists walk on two legs…
This is Ludo. He was trained as a service dog, but his path took a turn when his person moved on. That’s when our stories met.
These days, he’s part of the team. He’s not licensed, but he’s got instincts no training could teach. Ludo specializes in quiet company, furry encouragement, and the occasional goofy grin that shows up right when you need it most.
Therapy doesn’t always look like a couch and a clipboard. Sometimes it looks like a dog who just gets it.
Credentials
Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) – Florida
Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) – Ohio
Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC)
Over 25 years of experience in counseling, pastoral care, and story-focused mentoring
Specialties
Men & Identity
Men’s issues and identity development
Anxiety rooted in pressure and performance
Faith & Meaning
Wrestling with faith and spiritual disillusionment
Unresolved wounds and lingering emotional pain
Story & Direction
Story-centered work from a trauma-informed lens
Life direction, legacy, and leadership
I specialize in walking with men through shame, faith struggles, and the hard questions of identity, purpose, and legacy.
A Few Personal Notes
I’m Michelle’s husband and a dad…roles that have stretched and blessed me more than anything else in life. And these days, I’m learning how to be a grandpa, too (with joy, humility, and a little bit of trial and error).
I drink my coffee strong, root faithfully for the Cincinnati Reds, and find peace walking wooded trails with Ludo.
Grace changed my life, not with a pat on the back, but by breaking me open, remaking me, and walking with me from the breaking into the becoming.
That same grace now shapes how I sit with others…with presence, compassion, and a deep belief that healing is possible.
A Final Word
I won’t pretend to have all the answers.
But I’ll walk with you toward what matters.
This is your story.
And the best chapters are still ahead.