| The decision to see a counselor is not an easy one. Whether you’re struggling due to the pandemic or have dealt with mental health issues for a while, you may have decided it’s time to seek help from a professional mental health provider.
A starting point when selecting a counselor is ensuring that person is trained, experienced, and credentialed. When you find a counselor, that type of information should be on his or her website or searchable through their state’s credentialing board. While all credentialed counselors are educated in mental health practices, not all have the exact same educational background.
At Faithful Counseling, all their counselors are psychologists (PhD / PsyD), marriage and family therapists (LMFT), clinical social workers (LCSW / LMSW), or licensed professional counselors (LPC). All went through extensive training to become qualified and certified by their state's professional board. This includes at least three years and 1,000 hours of hands-on experience.
While these credentials are important, we also encourage Christians to consider a qualified Christian counselor rather than a secular counselor or someone from another faith. A non-Christian may be equally qualified with credentials and experience, but the differing worldview is important.
Consider the origin of life. How did we get here and why are we here? If we evolved and the only life for us is the one we see, there’s no real hope. We do the best we can until we die and believe that’s the end. A Christian counselor knows we are created by God with a unique purpose and the promise of an eternal home. That provides hope and serves as a guiding light in today’s tough times.
What about who we serve? If there is no God, we can do whatever we believe will make us happy. We make our own rules based on how we feel. However, if there is a God, we believe that He authored the Bible which is our guidebook for living. As Christians, should remember Philippians 2:5 that tells us to have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Christian counselors will help clients examine behaviors that are not in line with God’s will and apply biblical solutions.
A client of Faithful Counseling noted the importance of this in a recent review of one of their counselors:
Her foundation in the Bible guides our sessions to help me focus on God's truth even in my difficult situation. In just 3 sessions with her I am already feeling much more peace and confidence in Christ. I have a clearer picture now of how God wants me to move at this stage of my life. I thank God for her and for the Faithful Counseling service.
Faithful counseling’s statement of faith affirms the Christian values of their counselors. If you are ready to seek counseling from a fellow believer, Christian Post readers can get started with 10% off the first month. While Christian counseling may be of interest primarily to Christians, clients are not required to be Christian to benefit from this approach. |
