The Art of Listening
Author: Susan Thomas
Category: Uncategorized
Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. James 1:19, NLT Every counselor knows a big part of the job is listening. We are talking Counseling 101. We may remember the first time we sat in our mock counseling appointment and...
Keep ReadingThree Reasons We Encourage a Woman To Lie and Pretend That her Marriage is Better than it is
Author: Leslie Vernick
Category: Marriage
As Biblical counselors, is there ever a good reason to encourage our client to lie or pretend something is other than what it is? You might immediately think no, but I believe the Bible does give us a time when we might not tell the truth. That reason is safety. For example, in the Old...
Keep ReadingThe Struggles that Overwhelm Us
Author: Robert Cheong
Category: Counseling, Ministry, Relationships
You love people. You love to help people. Given your heart for others, you can be overwhelmed by the brokenness around you, especially with those who share their struggles with you. As you sit and listen to their story, you grow uneasy as God reveals similar heart struggles within you. You don’t look at pornography,...
Keep ReadingOrdinary People Do Heavy Lifting
Author: Edward T. Welch
Category: Relationships
In a culture of experts and specialists, it is easy to get the idea that only specially-trained people can do the hard stuff. But that’s not how the Church works. We’re the body of Christ and there are no unnecessary or unimportant parts. We are all called to bring the love of Christ to bear...
Keep ReadingProfessional Boundaries. Do we need them?
Author: Leslie Vernick
Category: Blog, Counseling
Over the past year I have worked with a number of individuals who have been wounded by counselors who have not maintained good or clear boundaries in the counseling relationships. Licensed counselors have more professional guidelines that they are required to adhere to but many church based counselors as well lay counselor need more help...
Keep ReadingThree Ways to Spot a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
Author: Leslie Vernick
Category: Blog, Counseling
One of the methods bank tellers and merchants learn in order to distinguish real money from counterfeit bills is to examine genuine $100 bills over and over again so that they more likely to spot the counterfeit bills when they see them. In the same way we can learn to recognize destructive people by knowing...
Keep ReadingGod’s Glory in Counseling: 5 Daily Reminders
Author: Jeremy Lelek
Category: Blog, Counseling
As a member of the Association of Biblical Counselors my prayer is that you are continually strengthened and encouraged in your ministry to others. Walking through the difficulties and hardships experienced by those God sends into our lives is one of the most amazing privileges to which we have been invited (Gal. 6:2). However, this...
Keep ReadingWhen Our Counseling Seems Futile
Author: Jeremy Lelek
Category: Counseling
I have served as a counselor now for fifteen years. I would like to say that during those years I have perfected my craft to the point that I witness stunning results with every person I serve. To make such a claim, however, would wreak of dishonesty. The fact remains that even with fifteen years under my belt I continue to encounter people and situations where my perceived effectiveness as a counselor is less than impressive.Whether you are new to the world of counseling or a seasoned veteran my assumption is that you can relate to being ineffective in your work with others...
Keep ReadingLiving In Fear Or In Faith?
Author: ABC
Category: Uncategorized
Our country is in mourning over the hateful act of a husband and wife who forever changed the lives of the people attending a company Christmas party in San Bernardino, California. A few weeks ago, terrorists in Paris, France murdered 130 people. The world is becoming a scary place. A soccer game, a pub, a...
Keep ReadingHow do we Help a Woman Become More Like Christ?
Author: Leslie Vernick
Category: Identity/Roles
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 Until Christ is formed in you. Galatians 4:19 One of our main goals as Christian counselors is to help people have a passion for Christ and for him to be formed...
Keep Reading