There is a great need to provide Christ Centered counseling in our world. At some point this necessitates training. Here are three key to training counselors or three keys to helping you take a big step of growth in your counseling.
#1. Kill your pride … all of it.
Let’s face it; you (counselor) are the least significant person in the counseling room. The Holy Spirit is there … and like that’s a really good thing. Your counselees are there … and that’s a good thing as well. After all, it is their life. Then there is you.
Far too many counselors they see themselves as the solution. They are the almighty experts. They are the ones who have what the counselee needs. In reality, the Holy Spirit is the expert and he knows exactly what your counselees need. Those counselors who think too highly of themselves minimize the significance of the Spirit at the same time.
I would like to suggest that the counselor is a tool in the hand of our great and wonderful God. Not much more … not much less.
So, if you are seeking to grow in your counseling skill or you are training others; please kill you pride. Serve with joy, gain in skill and wisdom, but shoot any hint of pride that wells up in your heart.
James 4:6 says that God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.
#2. Emphasize Christ … in every session
Jesus is king, Jesus is Yahweh, Jesus is wonderful counselor, Jesus is savior, Jesus is high priest, and Jesus is head of the church. Need I go on? Jesus is like … everything! So every session of counseling must at some point emphasize Jesus. Your counselees walk with their savior is a crucial component of the counseling process. So talk about Jesus often.
Emphasizing Christ in the session can take many forms. Here are just a few of them:
- It could be calling a person to repentance due to the finished work of Jesus
- It could be confessing sin to the Lord knowing that Christ will forgive them and cleanse them.
- It could be helping them suffer by leaning into Christ and receiving help (as Heb 4:14-16 explain).
Regardless of the particular set of circumstances your counselees must see those circumstances in light of the person and work of Jesus. For some reason or reasons your counselees had not been able to make those connections simply through the worship service.
#3. Remember that talking about Christ and focusing on the Word will not mess them up.
When we counselors are just starting out or when we deal with a situation we have not seen before, sometimes we get intimidated. We do not know what to say. We don’t have a clear picture in our mind of what to do each step of the way.
While these feelings should cause us to ask other counselors, read additional material, or research more, please remember that they are coming to counseling because they are struggling.
Talking to them about Jesus and focusing on the Word of God is not going to make matters worse. Helping them see how God might be working in their lives will be a benefit to them, even if you need to do some additional learning to be in the best possible position to help them.
So, how do you grow as a counselor or train other counselors.
- Help them kill their pride
- Help them Emphasize Christ in every session
- Help them have confidence that talking about Jesus and his word will not make matters worse – even if you have more learning and studying to do.
If you have other ideas, we would love to hear them.
