The Christian Counselor is part of Gods plan for progressive sanctification of the counselee in such things as coming alongside to help, giving hope and /or leading the counselee to conviction, determining the biblical principles that apply to the counselees problems, teaching the biblical principles, assigning projects that incorporate the biblical principles so that the counselee will be changed in mine and /or behavior through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Counseling Needs Principles and Ethics

By Ceasar L. Felton

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2009 Reverend Ceasar L. Felton, Ph.D
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4389-9661-5

Contents

Chapter I. Purpose of Counseling.............................................1Chapter II. Using the Bible as a Source of Power.............................11Chapter III. Role of a Christian Counselor...................................37Chapter IV. Power of Christian Counseling....................................49Chapter V. Guidelines for Effective Christian Counselors.....................57Chapter VI. Basic Approach to Counseling Situations..........................68Chapter VII. Developing a Set of Biblical Ethics.............................78Chapter VIII. The Importance of Counseling...................................92Chapter IX. Preventive Counseling............................................108Chapter X. Crisis Counseling.................................................119Chapter XI. Grief as a Counseling Opportunity................................130Chapter XII. Conclusion......................................................145References...................................................................149

Chapter One

Purpose of Counseling

Why is counseling needed?

Counseling is used to rejuvenate the mind and the soul. It aids males and females to become ethical in directions. Christian counselors must be sensitive to God's leading as they enter into a relationship with black clients. This will focus on the role of God's leading in the engaging process. The Christian counselor must be in tone to God's leading with the Word and with Prayer.

Counselors seek to establish a rapport with counselees by communicating warm, accepting, uncritical attitudes to help counselees overcome initial fears. Without active listening, joining with not occur and the counseling process will also suffer. Active listening is a basic, primary skill in counseling. Listening is crucial in assessing and diagnosing problems. The counselor must listen to make assessments, gather data, determine affect and feelings, demonstrate empathy, and interpret language.

African-Americans commonly feel that no one listens and empathizes with their plight. The counselor will not be able to right all the wrongs done to the client, but can demonstrate through active listening that they are at least willing to hear of the pain their client has experienced.

Black Americans are in great need of Biblical counseling to help enhance moral values. Forefathers of our native land practices moral values regardless of low poverty levels or acquired wealth. The role of the Christian counselor should be to encourage and facilitate the spiritual growth of the black family, couples, and individuals.

For many African-Americans, the meaning of religion recognizes the inherent relationship between religious faith and the socio-cultural political nature of African-American experiences in the United States (Morris, 1996). African-American churches have long been involved in the teaching of effective coping strategies for day-to-day problems. There are frequent proclamations that every member is "a child of God" and "someone special." These proclamations help to maintain a member's sense of worth along with various church-supported activities designed to meet the needs of the community (Boy Scouts, basketball teams, youth groups, day-care centers, Sunday School).

Counseling is a way for people who are having problems that they can't handle, can't control, or just don't know how to deal with, to find help from a trained professional. There are many types of counseling. One type is talk therapy. A person goes to a counselor because he/she can't find the answers to a problem. A counselor will listen to the problem and ask probing questions to get at a deeper level of what is going on. The therapist will then either explore with you ways that you can change your thinking about the issue or teach you skills so that you can correct this concern on your own.

There are many different kinds of counseling such as career counseling or debt counseling. There are also many types of therapy such as physical therapy or gene therapy. This chapter will discuss the psychological types of counseling and therapy.

Therapy can help alleviate emotional pain and suffering. It can teach you new skills with which you can successfully deal with the problems at hand. It can save a marriage. It can help increase your self esteem. It can give you hope that there is a better way, or a way out. It can do all these things and more. The only thing it can't do is change you. You have to do it by yourself. You have to take the skills or new ideas and put them into practice into your life. Unless one takes what they learn and put it into practice out in the world, counseling will do them no good.

Locating a Therapist

The best way to locate a therapist is through a referral. It can be from a friend, your doctor or your clergy. The best referral will always come from someone who has had a successful relationship with a therapist. They will be able to tell you what the therapist is like and what you might expect from the sessions. Other referrals can be second hand from people who have heard good things about a particular therapist. Some clients get a list of therapists covered by their insurance company. If none of these options have worked, the last resort is to usually head to the Yellow Pages. When you search the Yellow Pages, you tend to have to go on a gut feeling. You call a few people and ask them what they charge, plus a few other questions and base your decision on this brief encounter.

The Cost of Counseling

The range of paying for counseling is enormous. You can pay as little as $10 a session from an agency, or through an insurance co-pay all the way up to $145 per session and more for someone who is very good or well known (they don't always go together). No matter what the cost, there is a wide range of expertise and knowledge within each price range. The most recommended way is to thoroughly research the counselor and make your final decision based upon who you feel most comfortable with when you do your phone interviews. How you feel on the phone will be a good indicator or who you will feel in the sessions.

Fortunately, there are several options when cost is a factor. The first is low cost counseling provided by county mental health departments. They usually have a staff that will see you for a very low fee. They can be looked up in the county government pages of your phone book under mental health. The second is low fee counseling centers. They usually don't advertise, but if you interview therapists and tell them you need something less expensive, they should be able to point you in the right direction. Next are schools. If you have any colleges in your area that have graduate degrees in psychology, they usually have low fee counseling centers where students train to become therapists. Last but not least are your local churches. Ministers and pastors are trained in counseling and usually offer their services free of charge.

What does successful counseling look and feel like?

Successful counseling feels like something has changed, something is different. You feel more hope and self-confidence. You are trying out new behaviors and they are working. The way successful therapy looks is that other people begin to comment that something about you seems different. Maybe they don't know what has...