Our Approach to Christian Counseling
We have been trained in the art of integration, in which the disciplines of psychology and theology are woven together to best help hurting people, and to provide mental and emotional health.
We believe that all truth is God’s truth. However, Scripture is the ultimate authority, and we will help you to seek out Scripture which can be applied to your life.
For example, consider what the Bible says in Psalm 62:8:
Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. (NIV)
There is much in this verse to focus on, however, we encourage you to pay attention to this part of the passage first, “pour out your hearts to him”. The Psalmist tells us to pour our hearts out to God. In other words, tell him what is in your heart – everything that is in your heart. Not just the ‘good’ stuff. It doesn’t say, ‘clean it up then pour it out’ it says, “pour out your heart”.
We should come to God with everything in our hearts, all that we’re feeling, all that we’re holding onto, all that we’re afraid of, all that we’re not okay with, all that we are okay with – everything. And why should we do this? The answer is in the same verse; “Trust in him at all times…for God is our refuge.” He can be trusted. He is a safe place, a hiding place. A place where we can and should run to when we’re in trouble. This is what we will encourage and help you to do in therapy – trust God, pour out your heart to him and discover that he is your refuge.
Christian Counseling will help you:
- Identify what values are important to you and what goals you would like to accomplish in therapy.
- Learn to let go of or change thoughts and behaviors that you recognize are destructive and ineffective in your life (by examining them and discovering the ways those patterns have served you) and to learn new and healthy ways of relating.
- Help bring you wholeness while having an honest grip on the reality of what it is to live in an imperfect, fallen world.
- Restore your image as a reflection of our Creator and Redeemer.
- Discover acceptance for ourselves and others. Ultimately finding peace and healing and reconnecting with our ability to love self and others.
- Help free you from past hurts so that you will be able to develop relationships that are mutually fulfilling.
We believe everyone:
- Has a thought process that significantly affects their behavior and choices in life. Through counseling, we have seen that, by a person changing their thinking, or renewing their mind (Romans 12:2), the person’s life will inevitably change, and most of the time for the better.
- Must think through and wrestle with the ultimate meaning of life in order to find a greater purpose outside of him or herself. Although we believe this greater purpose is God-given, we challenge all clients (Christian or not) to think through what they believe.
- Has been significantly affected by their past experiences, and that many times, it is only through facing the truth of their past, and eventually accepting (and forgiving) the things that have happened to them and the decisions and assumptions they have made as a result, that a person can find emotional healing in order to move forward in life.
None of this is easy, but that’s why we’re here. You’re not alone. Reach out today.