My wife and I own two Christian counseling practices in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex: SoulCare Counseling in Colleyville and Christian Counseling Associates in Grapevine and Plano. Both practices are Christian based and do Christian counseling. But at a meeting of our counselors a few weeks ago, one of them asked, “What is it that makes counseling ‘Christian counseling’?” That is a great question that has different answers, depending on who you ask. Some people think that Christian counseling means the counseling sessions are basically Bible Studies. Others think it means non-Christians are not welcome. Others think that the counselors are good Christians but not professional counselors. There are all kinds of misconceptions about Christian counseling. So, let’s dispel some of those incorrect ideas about Christian counseling.
Christian Counseling IsN’t A counseling Model
There are hundreds of therapeutic models and approaches for doing counseling. You may remember some of them from Psychology 101 in college. There’s Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Attachment-Based Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Emotionally Focused Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, and on and on. It may surprise you to know that there is no “Christian Counseling Therapy.”
The closest would be something called “Nouthetic Counseling,” also called “Biblical Counseling.” This is counseling in which the client’s wrong beliefs or behaviors are confronted and corrected with Scripture. It is similar to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in that it seeks to change behavior by changing beliefs. Some of our counselors at Christian Counseling Associates use a form of this approach.
However, there are thousands of Christian Counseling practices that do not do Nouthetic Counseling, yet what they do is still considered Christian counseling. So, if “Christian Counseling” isn’t a counseling modality or therapeutic approach, then back the original question: “What makes counseling ‘Christian counseling?’”
the Definition of Christian Counseling
The Association of Christian Counselors defines Christian counseling as activities that “seek to help people towards constructive change and growth in any or every aspect of their lives, through a caring relationship and within agreed relational boundaries, carried out by a counselor who has a Christian worldview, values, and assumptions.” The first part of that definition would be true of any counselor, Christian or not. All counselors seek to help people toward positive change and growth through a caring relationship within agreed on boundaries. But what makes counseling Christian is the last part of the sentence: “carried out by a counselor who has a Christian worldview, values, and assumptions.”
What makes counseling Christian isn’t the modality or approach. It is the counselor. Where the counselor is a Christian who believes the Bible, who has a biblical worldview, who holds to Christian values and assumptions, and funnels whatever modality or therapeutic approach he or she uses through that Christian lens, that is Christian Counseling.
Christian counselors are not Christian counselors because they all use the same methodology such as Nouthetic Counseling. The Association of Christian Counselors’ definition of Christian counseling continues: “…Counselors use different methodologies or models for their counseling depending on their training and what they find to be effective.” Counselors are Christian counselors because they filter their counseling model through their Christian faith.
SoulCare’s Approach To Christian Counseling
At SoulCare Counseling, all of our counselors are born again, Bible-believing Christians who are either working on or have earned their Master’s Degrees in counseling and are licensed by the state of Texas. They all funnel their therapy through the lens of Scripture. Whatever the therapeutic model has that does not line up with Scripture, we filter out and don’t use. But where the model lines up with Scripture and is true, we use that to help you make positive changes in your life. After all, there is no such thing as biblical truth and scientific proof, as though they are competing truths. Truth is truth, and all truth is God’s truth. We don’t surrender any of God’s truth just because a non-Christian discovered it, proved it to be effective, and used it in a counseling model.
We use Emotionally Focused Therapy as our counseling model at SoulCare Counseling because we have found it to be one of the most effective and biblically consistent counseling models. In Genesis 2:18, God said, “It is not good that man should be alone.” That is the basis of EFT, that humans are created for connection and seek it above all else. When connection is threatened or broken, conflict and dysfunction results. The key to healing the disconnection is forgiveness, reconciliation, and reconnection. Sounds very Christian, doesn’t it? It is! Christian themes run all through EFT: humbling oneself, considering the other as more important than self, being honest and speaking truth to one another, forgiveness, love as the bond of unity, and more.
And because Emotionally Focused Therapy has a foundational assumption that corresponds with biblical principles, it works. Studies show that 92% of couples who complete EFT show significant improvements. No other counseling model can say that. If you are struggling with your relationship, or with anxiety, depression, trauma, I urge you to read more about Emotionally Focused Therapy and reach out to us to schedule a free thirty-minute consultation for Christian counseling at SoulCare Counseling.
Dr. Mark Riley is co-owner and Executive Director of SoulCare Counseling. He holds Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry degrees, and retired after 44 years as a senior pastor.