I get the question frequently from non-Christians and from devout Christians alike, "What is Christian Counseling?" The problem with the question is that there is no one answer. What Christian Counseling is depends on the counselor. Depending on what you want or need, if the answer matters to you, then you need to ask some questions.
But, let me explain the problem. There are many "classically" trained counselors that happen to be Christians, so they call themselves Christian Counselors. Then you have pastors or other Christian ministers that happen to counsel. They may or may not have training and their training could be any kind from anywhere. Now, I am not trying to disparage any counselors of any stripe. Indeed, it is a helping profession and these are all my colleagues. Some of them may indeed be right for you. Let's look at the first group. When I say classically trained, I'm talking about trained in psychotherapy or non-directive counseling or something like this that you might find in any secular clinic or counseling practice. These folks will usually be state licensed and be limited in terms of faith-expression according to the laws in your state. They may toss in scriptures if meeting with Christians or they might even pray with the counselee. One benefit is that they usually can take insurance. But, the downside for Christians looking for spiritual support as part of the counseling process MAY be disappointed here. Pastors and Ministers obviously are going to come at things from a scriptural angle. Some are good at working with non-believers as they don't necessarily try to convert every counselee. Others though, know nothing else. Here's the other thing to consider. Whether the pastor has a degree or is not college trained, their primary focus is usually on Pastoral duties. Unless they are specifically a Pastoral Counselor or Counseling Pastor, only they can tell you if they really have the time to commit to counseling. Even educated pastors usually have the bulk of their education geared toward pastoral duties and very little gets spent on counseling. As a pastor friend of mine says, "All I know how to do is say, 'There's the Word, do what it says and everything will be OK.'" For issues that are specifically faith centered, they may very well be the perfect answer for you. The third group that I haven't mentioned yet is a group that is truly trained specifically to be Christian Counselors or Pastoral Counselors. Most of us see ourselves as Counselors, abiding by a set of ethics that is similar to other counselors. Many or most of us include in code of ethics whether written or personal a strict commitment to counsel the counselee for whatever they came for. In other words, if a Christian comes in and wants spiritual guidance to be part of the process, great. If however, a non-Christian comes in with a specific issue, we will do our very best to help wit that issue. We would be lying if we hid who we are and much if not most of our advice is indeed based on the Bible. But that doesn't necessarily mean that we will quote chapter and verse on a regular basis. For myself and for some of my colleagues, we are glad to meet you where you're at. No matter who you are, those of us that are solidly Christian and keep our faith as our focus, but choose to meet you where you are, we might just be the right choice. No matter who you are, you know the Bible is full of wisdom and good teaching. So, you know a true Christian Counselor is committed to what YOU need and has the tools to help. Obviously, there are any number of qualified and quality Christian Counselors out there. Ask about their licensing and training. There are multiple licensing organizations out there, but knowing that you counselor is endorsed by one of them lets you know that they have met and kept at least a minimum standard of training and ethics. The National Christian Counselors Association is one of those licensing bodies. I myself hold a MA in Clinical Christian Counseling and am a Professional Clinical Member of the NCCA. Through them I am a Licensed Clinical Pastoral Counselor and Certified Temperament Pastoral Counselor. You can reach me at 513-454-7223. [email protected], or bit.ly/graceift. I currently work online. I also recommend Rev. Lori Hechler at Spirit and Truth Ministries. She is also a Professional Clinical Member of the NCCA and through them is a Certified Pastoral Counselor. She works online or in person in Warner Robbins, GA. You can reach her at [email protected] or 478-235-5251. Rev. Matthew Hogan Grace for Individual and Family Therapy
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AuthorRev. Matthew Hogan is a Certified Temperament Pastoral Counselor, Licensed Pastoral Counselor and is a Professional Clinical Member of the National Christian Counselors Association Archives
March 2021
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