An Expanded Refuge Center Opens its Doors

Twenty years ago, when local counseling students were finishing grad school and beginning their work in therapy, the norm was to land a job at a private practice.

“You could graduate, charge $125 per hour out of the gate and be golden,” recalls Amy Alexander, a 2005 alumni of Trevecca’s master’s in counseling program.

But Alexander wasn’t interested in following the norm. Before completing her degree at Trevecca, she’d taken a year off to live in South Central Los Angeles to work alongside ministries serving the homeless, youth in gangs and women affected by violence. While finishing her master’s program, she worked at a domestic violence shelter for women and children in Nashville. 

Her heart was for the marginalized—those whom she believed greatly needed therapy but were at risk because they couldn’t afford it. This vision eventually gave birth to The Refuge Center, a clinic she co-founded in 2005 with fellow Trevecca graduate Jennifer Thames-Hamilton that has grown to now become Williamson County’s largest counseling center.

“We saw a gap in our community,” Alexander says of what she and Thames-Hamilton realized as they neared graduating from Trevecca. “There was a need for a place that could offer affordable counseling to an entire family under one roof. We resolved to serve the poor and those who would never have access to counseling otherwise.”

The payment plan they devised has remained consistent for the past two decades. Those who are uninsured and fall below the poverty line—now about twenty percent of The Refuge Center’s clients— are eligible for free counseling with the support of a state grant, while others use a sliding-scale fee, paying between $25-$125 per session based on their income. As a nonprofit, the center relies on gifts from corporations, churches and individual donors to offset costs, seeking to raise $1.3 million annually. 

From the start, Alexander says she felt God asking her to trust Him with Refuge’s business model and vision. “I heard a quote years ago I’ve repeated to myself again and again: ‘Let us tend to the depth of our ministry and let God tend to the breadth of our ministry,’” she says.

This is what Alexander set out to do, not knowing that The Refuge Center would grow by 1,000 percent in its first five years. Today, it offers counseling sessions to around 4,000 people a year who come from 18 counties across Middle Tennessee. Ten percent of the clientele utilize a telehealth option. The center regularly hosts interns from Trevecca and employs a growing number of alumni who are now counselors. 

In late 2024, after years of dreaming, planning and fundraising to accommodate growth, The Refuge Center relocated to its newly built home—an expansive 15,000-square-foot facility in Franklin, Tennessee, that resembles a lodge in the Pacific Northwest. The design is a nod to Washington state where Alexander was raised. 

“We worked to bring the outside in,” Alexander shares. “We know that nature and beauty are healing.” 

On the grounds of the center, earthy tones, warm woods and stone give way to soaring ceilings with inviting fireplaces in the center lobby of the building. Artwork and photographs of the outdoors are displayed throughout offices and hallways. A fire pit, herb garden and cascading patio waterfall were installed in a peaceful outdoor area behind the facility. Clients can also take advantage of a prayer labyrinth, walking trails and an outdoor prayer chapel.  

Inside the building, a variety of therapeutic options are available. In addition to cognitive behavioral or talk therapy, clients can benefit from neurofeedback; EMDR; music, movement, or expressive art therapy; and yoga. A dedicated wing houses counseling areas for children and adolescents. The center welcomes children as young as age four.

Areas of reflection throughout the building were designed so clients have space to linger after their sessions. “We learned from a recent study that what people do in the hour following their counseling session greatly influences the overall effectiveness of their therapy,” Alexander says.

The design of both the indoor and outdoor spaces is a result of years of careful planning and research. “We worked with focus groups who helped us see the benefit of all the elements we decided to install,” explains Alexander, noting as an example how the extensive use of natural light throughout the building creates a sense of calm.

Hanging from the ceiling in the center of the building is an expansive, airy chandelier that resembles a grouping of wings hovering in midair. The fixture—a gift from a donor—is based on the French word for butterfly, “papillon,” and is meant to show the fluttering creatures at rest. “They are pausing, but they will fly,” Alexander says. “It’s a metaphor for the work that happens here in individual lives.”

The $13.1 million facility is an impressive accomplishment for both its thoughtful design and the breadth of therapeutic services it offers. It’s especially a rarity considering that its purpose is to serve clients from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. 

“In the nonprofit world you don’t see a lot of spaces like this,” Alexander says. “We wanted this new building to communicate to our clients that they deserve the best. We wanted it to say to them: ‘You are valued. We honor your integrity and dignity in this place.’”