Our History
Dr. Rentz (left) and Dr. Pruett (right). June 1987 at the dedication of the Alabama Street Location.
EMERGE’s story begins in 1980, when Dr. Jim Rentz and Dr. Jim Pruett founded WestGate Training and Consultation Network, now known as EMERGE Family Therapy Center & Teaching Clinic.
Dr. Jim Rentz and Dr. Jim Pruett had been trained in counseling in the late 1960’s through the 1970’s, but each had a personal interest in the relatively new idea of working with people from a systems (or family) perspective. They believed that treating a person while taking their whole life experience into account would be more healing than just looking at the individual problem at hand. They discovered that there were others as well who wanted to know more about this approach. In 1980, the two doctors founded WestGate Training and Consultation Network.
Newspaper article. Circa 1987. Opening of the new family therapy clinic.
In 1987, WestGate TCN moved to 167 Alabama St in Spartanburg. Today, EMERGE is located in Spartanburg at 138 Dillon Dr, and at 225 S Pleasantburg Dr Suite D5 in Greenville.
Painting of WestGate TCN by Tricia Pressley (2016).
Soon after its founding, WestGate TCN became a COAMFTE accredited Post Degree Institute. This meant that clinicians who already held an advanced degree could come to WestGate to take additional coursework, receive a certificate of advanced training, and go through the process of being licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of South Carolina.
In order to grow the program and offer a more comprehensive training program, Dr. Rentz sought out colleges in the state to see if any were interested in such a degree program. Fortunately, Converse College believed in Dr. Rentz’s vision and agreed to sponsor an Educational Specialist Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy.
Emerge continues to provide students with excellent training as they pursue a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy (MMFT).
EMERGE also supports The Emerge Post Degree Institute, which offers MMFT graduates a path to full licensure as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) or a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).
Today, we continue to grow our footprint by investing resources in collaborative partnerships across the Upstate. Through these community partnerships, we are on the precipice of rolling out additional practicum opportunities for students from various other higher education institutions across the Upstate and virtual programs.
EMERGE currently serves the community by following Dr. Rentz’s vision to train therapists using the family systems approach and provide quality, affordable counseling to clients. We continually hold fast to the heart of what Dr. Rentz and Dr. Pruett set out to accomplish – the healing of those in our community and the simultaneous training of new clinicians in our field.
