Goal of Christian Counseling

A counselor’s job is to journey along with their client and to provide insight and support to those who are at risk and those who are hurting and searching for comfort and acceptance. If the counselor is a Christian they will also want to share our Heavenly Father’s love with the counselee and help guide them on a path that will lead them to Christ. There are several different techniques that can be used to break through the walls of some people in order to help them recognize the basis for their feelings whether it is such things as sin or faulty

How can a Christian counselor effectively counsel clients while holding to their convictions of faith? This question is one that many have to think upon. In reading the textbook for this class, the author takes the secular theories and breaks them apart. As a counselor, Christian or not, it is very important to pull from different theories rather than devote solely to one theory. Each individual coming in to the therapist’s office is wired differently in personality and belief system. As a Christian therapist, it is important to know the individual in the client’s chair. Being open with them about where one stands spiritually is a priority. The goal is to be able to take any theory and “think” Christianly. Every counselor is different, but there are central characteristics that one must focus their practice on while working with clients. The main goal as a Christian therapist is to integrate psychology, professional ethics, Scripture and the very character of Jesus in a way that never compromises the authority of God.

“Christian counseling, in its purest form, is a covenant between a caregiver and a care seeker to labor collaboratively for the possession of the soul—through the power of the Holy Spirit, under the authority of the Word of God” (Hawkins & Clinton, 2015, “Possessing

There are many views held among Christian counselors about how to Scripturally approach changing human behavior. For some who seek to base the motivation for change on Biblical grounds, an approach to counseling is geared toward changes that would allow one to conform more

Hull, Suarez, and Hartman (2016) reports, the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Issues in Counseling (ASERVIC, 2009) are moral standards that aid the counselor in developing ethical awareness when discussing spirituality in a creative context. The study also brought to light spiritual/religious rooted in academic learning and how the competencies are “taught, used, and evaluated” (as cited in Hull et al., 2016, p. 112). In the inquiry as written in the American Counseling Association [ACA, 2014] Code of Ethics “counselor respect the diversity of clients and not isolate the client’s belief system on spirituality/religion” (Hull et al., 2016, p.). Further summarizes the 14 competencies created by ASERVIC across six subject areas to balance the ACA Code of Ethics (2014) in guiding counselors to better talk about religious/spiritual issues in counseling (Hull et al., 2016, p111). Such as “Cultural and Worldview, Counselor Self-Awareness, Human and Spiritual Evolution, Communication, Assessment, and Diagnosis and Treatment” (as cited in Hull et al., 2016,

Highlighting some theological assumptions that are critical for Christian counseling will be done in this section. The term counseling should be considered in the broadest of definitions such as counselor, helper, advocate, giving advice, teacher, and one who is called

In addition, the new Christian counselor is committed to imparting truth available to humanity through biblical scripture concerning sin, the brokenness and damage people experience because of sin (Hawkins & Clinton, 2015, p.33). Additionally, the Christian counselor is also devoted to knowing God deeply and to the certainty that transformational change is a challenging process that involves specific attention to all components in the human

Dr. Larry Crabb’s book “Effective Biblical Counseling: A Model for Helping Caring Christians Become Capable Counselor” Crabb, (1977), this book models how counseling can be gracefully integrated into implementation of the local church. The Goal of Christian Counseling that Dr. Crabb states within his book Crabb, (1977), is “any approach to counseling that is truly biblical will work most effectively when carried out into the context of a local body of believers” (pg. 13). As Dr. Crabb states within his book that “The goal of biblical counseling is to promote Christian maturity, to help people enter into a richer experience of worship and a more effective life of service” (pg. 31), This allows them grow

Every person over the age of 19 can honestly say they have been a teenager, and as we all know the teen years can be pretty tough years. Being able to talk with an adult about these challenges is key to their future successes; unfortunately, many parents fall short on the explanation of God’s physical, emotional and spiritual design for them. This is where the Christian counselor comes in. It is my dream and goal to ultimately become a Christian counselor specializing in at-risk teens and families. To become a licensed Christian counselor, one must start the journey by setting solid academic goals and pursuing the education required for such licensure. For me, these educational goals include Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Christian counseling.

Chapter two starts off with the author talk about his education of true christian counseling before settling on one called the discipleship approach (Collins, 23). Readers explore some people-helper principals; starting with “the helper.” This principal starts out citing Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia in which Paul instructed the leaders there to “restore” the individuals who were apparently struggling with sin and other issues (23). Paul instructs that only those who are spiritual may help the struggling individuals so that the struggling individuals may get the real help they need by means of healthy, loving caring relationships. In principal two, we learn how to help people that can be difficult to penetrate

In the book Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality, the author Mark R. McMinn (2011) chooses to focus on how to shift from interdisciplinary integration to intradisciplinary integration. He defines interdisciplinary integration as the mixture of two or more different disciplines in order to find commonalities among them; however, intradisciplinary integration takes place within the discipline itself (McMinn, 2011). Using two different types of integration, faith-praxis and experimental, McMinn (2011) argues that the goal of his book it to be able to be a theologically and spiritually sound resource for those in psychology and counseling. In order for Christian counselors to effectively help their clients, it essential to understand that their goals are multifaceted because they focus on both the physical and spiritual make-up of a person (McMinn, 2011).

In today’s society many disorders may arise. Some of these issues include eating disorders, anxiety, gender-identity disorders, depression, addictions, and many others. However, there is another issue that brings individuals in the counseling setting, and that is the issue of sex and sexuality. Issues stemming from sex and sexuality can arise from same-sex attraction, pornography, infidelity, hormonal issues, and/or negative, inadequate beliefs and perceptions concerning sexuality. Licensed professionals, such as psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, etc…, are trained and usually prepared for these types of disorders, however, certain types of counselors, licensed or not, are not trained in this area. There are various distorted views on sexuality, and these distorted views are across the board. So it begs the question are Christian counselors equipped to handle these types of disorders and many others. If so, what models do they follow in order to help an individual struggling with these issues? This critique will interview a Christian counselor/Addition specialist concerning her viewpoint on human sexuality and her personal model for decision-making in dealing with individuals who struggle in the area of sexuality and/or in any of the other aforementioned areas.

In order to go forth with any counseling session; one needs to study the Bible passage carefully to discover biblical principles applicable to each person and what they are going through, then one will need to utilize said Godly principles. Consequently, one will need to be creative in how the Bible is used in each counseling session. One will need to ensure that they get to know the person that they are counseling, the issues that they face, and what their spiritual belief is.

The primary goal of Dr. Crabb is to give the new counselor an effective way to ministry to their clients in an easy step by step method. Dr. Crabb focuses his method on the client building their relationship with Christ to develop healing and wholeness in the view of what Christ created them to be. His focus is totally on the client’s personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The counselor’s role is to assist the client in growing in identifying their own problems and solutions based in light of God’s great mercy

Rogers, C. (1959). ‘A theory of therapy, personality, and interpersonal relationships, as developed in the client-centered framework’, Psychology: A Study of a Science. vol. 3, pp. 184-256