Hiram Keith Johnson, MA, LCSW

Hiram Keith Johnson, LCSW, has spent over 20 years providing clinical/pastoral counseling services in the greater Mobile/Eastern Shore area. His areas of interest and some specialties include relationship issues, communication skills, anxiety and depression, self-esteem and co-dependency, adolescent behavior, grief and trauma, blended family issues, infidelity, ADD testing, substance abuse, anger management and sexual issues.

Hiram received his undergraduate degree from Florida State University, a master’s in Social Work from the University of Kentucky and a master’s degree in Parish Counseling from Asbury Theological Seminary.  He is officially endorsed by the United Methodist Church, and is licensed in both the states of Alabama and Florida.

He has worked innumerous settings i.e. psychiatric hospitals, churches, public schools, and private practice. Hiram is often invited to speak at various seminars, workshops, conferences, and numerous churches throughout the country.

He is the author of Tragic Redemption:  Healing the Guilt and Shame.   The book focuses on the Christian perspective of responding to and overcoming adversity.  It is endorsed by Bobby Bowden, former football coach of the Florida State Seminoles.

Hiram and his wife, Jill, have been married for 28 years and have two daughters, Hannah (21), and Sarah (18).

Posted Articles:

Grasping Grace & Forgiveness in Times of Guilt and Shame

Tragic Redemption: Healing the Guilt and Shame

This book was tremendous. I saw the author on God's Learning Channel being interviewed and had to have the book. He's walk through the process of emotional healing is at times very difficult to read, but very eye-opening for anyone that needs help understanding and dealing with different types of tragedies.

This review is from: Tragic Redemption: Healing the Guilt and Shame (Paperback)

This poignant story unfolds as a fun loving college student is driving a car full of other fun loving students. The carefree students live in the trust of an innocent bubble where life is good and the future is bright. Their bubble is suddenly punctured when the driver loses control of the car which results in the death of a young high school student, Tina. Author Hiram Johnson's heartbreaking experiences prove the power that tragedy has to shape one's life.

"Tragic Redemption gives us a great insight as to how to break life patterns of guilt and shame so you can lead a more positive life and walk with the Lord. It is a must read!"
Bobby Bowden, Former Head Football Coach, Florida State University
 
"Hiram Johnson's experience reminds me of a guy precariously backed up and pinned against his own goal line. Through a series of penalties, fumbles, and mistakes, he was on the verge of being knocked out and of losing the game. But upon further review, he called upon the Holy Spirit to enter the game and to quarterback the team. The Spirit not only gets the team away from the looming shadows of their own goalposts, but more important, He begins to use Hiram as His loving vessel to show others how to rally their team to victory. Through an incredibly difficult set of circumstances, God reveals His mighty grace and forgiveness."
Bill McCartney, Founder of Promise Keepers
 
"Hiram Johnson has dealt with the issues and questions that plague us most: guilt, shame, resentment, acceptance, forgiveness, peace, superficial understanding of wholeness, and destructive orientation. His own experience is the lens through which he provides us a redemptive glimpse of transformation and wholeness. The reader is in for a blessing offered by the Lord through a person who is genuine in his own commitment  and his passion to offer hope."
Dr. Maxie Dunnam, Chancellor, Asbury Theological Seminary
 
"It is thrilling to read of Hiram Johnson's step-by-step process of healing from emotional and spiritual pain, pain that was so great that there was no human answer. In Hiram's search for God, the Holy Spirit met him over and over again in a supernatural way, thus bringing light into every misconceived concept that he had and peace to his body, soul, and spirit. This is a powerful story where God meets the writer at every turn. This book will help many people in their processing from woundedness to wholeness."
Margaret Therkelsen, Teacher and Author of books on prayer, The Love Exchange and Realizing the Presence of the Spirit.

This review is from: Tragic Redemption: Healing the Guilt and Shame (Paperback)

Tragic Redemption: Healing The Guilt and Shame
By Hiram Johnson, Austin, Texas: LangMarc Publishing, 2006. 181 pages, paperback.
Reviewed by James W. Pruett, Ph.D.

In his reflective autobiography Hiram Johnson tells his story with both courage and transparency but also models how to reframe the "dark side" of personality in order to claim redemption. His story mirrors everyone's search for wholeness, meaning, purpose, and hope.

The autobiography begins with Johnson as a college junior drinking and driving and getting distracted by a friend. The result was a tragic accident in which a high school girl was killed. Johnson resultantly experienced sustained depression, shame, guilt, doubt, and recapitulated family of origin issues that led to psychiatric hospitalization. Midst his "dark night of the soul" Johnson found grace, his deeper Self, transformation, re-contextualization of life, and both personal and professional formation.

The author models the value of engaging the forbidden at new depths of the soul while finding new insights regarding how God is actively present in the process. He describes his fears, loneliness, questions, and emptiness drawing the reader into his chaos, confusion, and pain. He finds meaning by utilizing Christian scriptures, stories of others such as Abraham Lincoln, and writings of theologians. Pertinent themes addressed include the role of alcoholism, the need for God's power, guilt as bondage with unconscious payoffs, conquering shame and receiving the blessing, common grace, forgiveness midst self confrontation at the cross, positive responses to adversity, and meaningful suffering.

This reader experienced tears of sadness and joy connecting with the writer's soul and inspired by his reflections on his journey. Thus, clients have been encouraged to read Tragic Redemption. Client reactions to Johnson's story have included identification, increased ability to articulate feelings and interpret personal process, self-confrontation of guilt and shame as well as acting out behavior, the cost of tragedy, redefinition of grace, and hope. They have recommended the book to others.
Tragic Redemption is far more than mere autobiography, sad story with a good ending, or guidebook with simple platitudes. It provides an opportunity to gauge the authenticity and integrity of one's life while asking very important questions. To what degree do I engage myself and the transpersonal? How do I use tragedy to purify and find courage? Have I been willing to travel to places where I facilitate others to go? How do I model by word, deed, and presence the ability to go to life's frightening, forbidden places? Johnson's bibliography offers excellent resources for readers to reflect further on these questions.

Baldwin County Marriage Counselor