Our Philosophy of Biblical Counseling
Prayer:
· Prayer is an acknowledgement that God’s wisdom and presence is needed in the counseling relationship. The counselor has limitations regardless of the amount of education and experience he/she has achieved.
· We pray before a counseling session to prepare our minds and hearts and ask God for guidance and insight.
· We pray with the counselee at the start or at the conclusion of a counseling session. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all under-standing, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. (Philippians 4:6-7)
· We expect counselees to be in worship for additional spiritual help and guidance.
Scripture:
“All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (II Timothy 3:16)
· We use Scripture only after we understand the needs of a counselee. The Bible can be used to short-circuit the counseling process. We do not believe in throwing out verses to a person like sugar pills from a pharmacist without knowing the specific spiritual and emotional needs of a person. Scripture must be used in an intentional way.
· We use Scripture not to condemn but to outline a new direction for the counselee.
· We often use Scripture for home-work assignments. Using Biblical outlines for personal study in the areas of need is an excellent way the Holy Spirit can work between counseling sessions. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring about correction and spiritual growth.
Small Groups:
· Small groups must be intentional and confidential. Groups that focus on specific needs can be beneficial for healing and growth. Examples of small groups for growth are: eating disorders, single parents, caring for an aging parent, grief recovery, divorce recovery, etc. These groups become circles of concern for people within the church.
Boundaries in Counseling:
· Note Taking: We often take notes in a counseling sessions and keep them until the counseling process is completed. They are then destroyed or given to the counselee. They help us to remember exactly what we talked about in a counseling session (s) and to recall any projects that were assigned to the person when we last met together.
· Propriety: In formal counseling situations we work hard to prevent being alone in a building with a female counselee. The secretary, a member of the pastoral staff, our spouses or other people will be in the building. This provides protection for both the counselor and the counselee. We guard against visiting a female counselee in her home if she is alone. Serious counseling will usually take place at the church.
· Confidentiality: Trust is essential in a counseling relationship. We make a commitment to confidentiality about what we talk about in a counseling session. If something is to be repeated it will be the counselee who makes any information known.
· Preaching and Teaching: We will not use counseling situations at the New Hope Church as illustrations in sermons and teaching. Counseling experiences prior to coming to New Hope may on occasion be used to illustrate a point in preaching or teaching. Even when this happens confidentiality of the person will be maintained.
· Limitation: We will limit the number of counseling sessions a week to ten. We must guard our mental health and balance the counseling load with other responsibilities that we have at the church.
Finances and Gifts:
· There will be no financial charges for counseling people from the congregation. This is part of our ministry to the New Hope Church. Individuals from the community who are not members or friends of the church may make a financial contribution to the New Hope Church as an expression of appreciation but it will not be mandatory.
Ethical Issues in Counseling:
Confidentiality is probably the most difficult ethical issue of the pastor-counselor relationship. Breaking trust is serious. Counseling and church leadership decisions can be very difficult. The pastor has knowledge that he can not communicate to the church. The possibility of a decision producing negative results is a risk that must be taken because of confidentiality.
· Consultation and referrals.
There will be times when we must get a person’s permission to talk with another person who has more expertise regarding a problem that is beyond our abilities and training to handle. An illustration may be a form of sexual addiction. We would need to refer this person to a sex specialist.
· Legal limits to confidentiality.
There are three issues people can bring into the counseling experience which ethically and legally transcend a counselor’s commitment to confidentiality. As counselors we are required to disclose rather than conceal these issues because they involve behaviors of potential acts of violence. The three issues are:
1. Child abuse
2. Contemplation of suicide
3. Contemplation of homicide
· Giving testimony.
It is not unusual for a pastor to be placed in the middle of other people’s court battles. A prominent situation is the battle for child custody when there is divorce or separation. A pastor may be subpoenaed by the court. A pastor can decline to testify unless the counselee gives a written release.
· Lawsuit.
A pastor can be sued if he becomes sexually involved with a counselee or manipulated the counselee for financial gain. A pastor can also be sued for malpractice if he attempts to give counsel in an area where he has no expertise (Mastering Pastoral Counseling, p. 37).
· Liability insurance.
When pastors do significant counseling the church needs to provide a minimum of one million dollars in liability insurance coverage.