Frequently Asked Questions

Distinctives Regarding Christian Counseling

 

What is Christian Counseling?

Christian counseling is a ministry for all committed believers within the body of Christ. It is a ministry that ministers one to another (Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 15:14; Galatians 6:1-5). The range of problems biblical counselors deal with is numerous. It includes broken marriages, parent-child relationships, fear, depression, alcohol and drug abuse, tension, anxiety, worry, and other problems resulting in mental and physical distress.

 

What are the advantages of a trained Christian Counselor?

The Christian counselor is trained in the use of Scripture and the principles of biblical counseling. He is committed to the position that Scripture provides the only authoritative rule of faith and standard of conduct (2 Timothy 3:16-17). He does not base his counseling on his own opinions, experience, or concepts of behavior (Isaiah 55:8-11); but seeks to marshal the full range of biblical truth into focus on the counselee's need (Hebrews 4:12). In counseling sessions, he will hold to the essential truths of Scripture without particular theological emphasis on any practice not specifically advocated in Scriptures (Titus 2:1).

 

Who all is involved in the counseling process in a local church’s counseling ministry?

You will find that Christian counselors typically work in teams, since team counseling has many benefits for both the counselee(s) and the counselors (Proverbs 11:14, 15:22, 18:17, 20:18, 24:6; Matthew 18:16). Sessions are conducted with one counselor leading the team and possibly one or two others assisting. You, as a counselee, are a vital member of the team as you seek to overcome the problems in your life. The most important member of the team, however, is the Lord Himself, in the Person of the Holy Spirit. He will provide the hope, enabling, and wisdom (through God's Word) for you to face and deal with your problems (John 14:26; Romans 5:3-5, 8:26-27; Ephesians 3:16).

 

How extensive should be the counseling provided by a local church?

Christian counselors are committed to not only helping you overcome the current situational difficulty in your life, but also to train you to live all your life in a manner that leads to increasing maturity in the Lord (Psalm 119:165; Proverbs 2:6-12a; Galatians 6:1-5; 1 Timothy 4: 7-8; 1 John 5:1-5). Thus, in the scriptural sense, Christian counseling is a ministry of discipleship that teaches you to walk in God's way even in the midst of serious problems (Matthew 28:19-20; 1 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 2:2). During the counseling period, one of the members from the counseling team will be available to answer any questions or give further information. This team member will talk with you on a weekly basis between the actual counseling sessions. Often this same team member will continue to follow up with you for a period of time after counseling has been completed.

 

Will you keep my problems confidential?

A commitment to trustworthiness is an important quality of Christian counselors (1 Corinthians 4:2). Thus, although your counselor may talk with others about a particular situation, you may be confident that the discussion will be restricted to whatever is necessary to help you overcome your problems. In addition the counselor will not use your name in discussing your situation outside the team. (Proverbs 10:18-21, 15:28, 18:8, 25:11).

 

How do you deal with medical issues?

Christian counselors believe in the total health needs of the counselee. Your counselor may recommend that you have a full or specified medical examination. Grace Harbor does not make medical recommendations. The medical doctor will treat and diagnose medical problems.

 

What are the core elements of Christian Counseling?

Your counseling team will use all of their Christian counseling training and skill to help you overcome whatever problem is depriving you of the peace and joy that God desires for you in His Word. Your counselors will concentrate on three basic foundations from God's Word:

 

• Hope - because in Jesus Christ we have a great High Priest who has been tempted in all things, yet in all things, without sin. Thus, because of Him, even though every sin common to man may be tempting you, God has promised that He will not let you be tempted beyond your endurance, but will provide for you the way to escape from sin so that you can endure it (1 Cor. 10:13; Heb 4:14-16).
• Change - because in Christ we can learn how to lay aside the old selfish ways of living, renew our hearts/minds, and put on the new ways of living in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in good work and increasing in the knowledge of God (Eph. 4:20-24; Col. 1:1)
• Practice - because we need to prove ourselves to be doers of God's Word, lest we be merely hearers, forgetting and deluding ourselves. Only in effectual practice of the Scriptures shall we be blessed in what we do, and only then will we please the Lord (James 1:22-25).

 

What is the length of the counseling process?

Normally, counseling sessions are 90 minutes in length and are scheduled on a bi-weekly basis. The number of sessions needed depends on a number of variables, such as the nature and duration of the problem, the strength of the counselee, and whether or not the counselee is functionally isolated or is an involved member of a biblically-active church.

 

You talked about Team Counseling; how does the church become involved in the counseling process if the counselee belongs to another church?

Team counseling should be connected to your local church. However, some church ministries do not offer biblical Christian counseling. If the church does not offer this kind of counseling, we will try to encourage the church to consider developing a biblical counseling ministry. If they do have a biblical counseling ministry, we would recommend, in order to achieve lasting victory over the problems of life, that each person becomes established within the context of their church's ministries.

 

The Lord has provided the local church to help in this process (Heb 10:24-25). Therefore, it is important that counseling sessions be accompanied by church activities that encourage discipleship and fellowship. For this reason, the counseling team should contact your church and request their assistance. One of your elders, deacons, care group leaders, or other appropriate church leader should become part of the counseling team, to provide the most effectual help for you.

 

What are some of the things I will need to bring to our sessions?

Please print, sign and bring the Informed Consent Form to your initial session. In addition to this, you will need a notebook and your Bible at all sessions, including the first. Be sure to bring them each time. Come with high expectations. You will find hope and encouragement even during your first session. From then on, with your cooperation, we are confident that you will find the true, good and acceptable answer to the difficulty that prompted you to contact us.

 

Should a church charge for counseling services?

Christian counseling is a ministry of the local church. With that in mind, a church should desire to provide counseling for their members and those who attend regularly, as well as individuals who do not have a church home, free of charge. If the church's counseling ministry reaches out to the community they may want to ask other local church members and those who attend regularly from other local churches to contribute a fee per session for the use of this ministry. If the church members, attenders, and/or others would like to contribute in addition to this, there should be a way for this to happen.

 

I would caution a local church counseling ministry against counseling people from other churches. Counseling other church members can distract the local church from the welfare of their own people. Obviously, Grace Harbor counsels people from many different churches. We insist that the appropriate local church leadership be involved in these counseling cases.