When I have the opportunity to talk about my work with others, often I am asked how pastoral counseling differs from other kinds of counseling. I would like to answer that question, along with a few others I am asked about the counseling offered at the Verdery Counseling Center.
Pastoral counseling is a unique form of counseling using spiritual resources as well as psychological understanding for healing and growth. For centuries people have turned to the clergy for a spiritually based solution to the stresses of life. Still today, people who are hurting often turn to their church for help and for answers that hold true to their faith. In fact, a Gallup Poll showed that 81 percent of people who seek the help of a professional counselor want to have their values and beliefs integrated into the counseling process. This has given rise to the discipline of pastoral counseling – counselors who are not only mental health professionals but have in-depth religious and theological training. My personal experience in local church ministry is what led me to pursue pastoral counseling as a vocation.
What happens when you seek help? The counseling process begins with an assessment interview. I will ask you to describe your problem situation or life challenge and to tell me about your personal and family history. Then we will work together to develop goals for your therapy. Throughout the counseling process, I will try to help you solve problems, manage stress and grow in awareness. I will assist you in taking responsibility for your own health: emotional, physical, social and spiritual. Clients often describe therapy as a process of “waking up” and seeing their situations more clearly. Some have told me, “I’m amazed at how my past has affected my present,” and “Now I can see how God has been using this problem to help me grow in faith.”
How long will it take? There is no set timeframe for this process. Some problem situations respond quickly to short-term counseling. Other difficulties, especially those that have developed over many years, may take longer. Counseling is often hard work, but it can lead to greater self-understanding, improved relationships and a new sense of enthusiasm for life.
Finally, people ask me, “Should Christians even need counseling?” I have found that Christians experience the same emotional pain and stress as everyone else. Jesus never promised us an easy life, but He did promise to be with us in our difficulties. Pastoral counseling is one way to help you use the resources of your faith to heal.
— Janet Fluker, director of the Verdery Counseling Center at Second-Ponce de Leon
Site Design: DaLee & Company, Inc.