Finding the Licensed Christian Counselor Who is right for You
The best approach to finding any effective service whether it is a plumber, a lawyer or a Christian Counselor is word of mouth. Many people do seek out counseling at least once in their lives, so the best thing is to ask a trusted friend, relative, ministry worker or other health care provider if they know of a Christian Counselor they would recommend.
Chances are if they do not know someone personally, they know someone who knows someone! If you cannot find a personal referral try our Christian Counseling Services Directory.
What if you do the above and come up empty?
Another option is to consider one of the newest trends in counseling-- phone counseling. This trend is driven by two facts. First, some area's of the country are limited in Christian Counseling services. The second fact is that...
People are busier than ever. Many people now work from their own home. We are all enjoying the convenience of purchasing goods and services through the internet. Some professionals are also offering services like counseling and personal coaching by phone because it is more convenient and accessible for many people.
Go to our Christian Counseling Services Directory and see if you can locate a Christian Counselor in your area. All of the counselors listed in our Directory are in agreement with our statement of faith.
Ask About a Statement of Faith
You may still be wondering if you can be sure that the counselor you find will truly be a Christian Counselor. Well, instead of tossing a coin to make a decision, here's a few more tips to make sure you're getting what you're looking for....
Ask about their statement of faith. And by the way don't worry about asking the faith question...any Christian Counselor should be more than happy to answer the question "Do you have a statement of faith?"...If not, you may want to take your business else where!
At this point you may be thinking "a statement of faith is important, but how do I know if they are competent to counsel me?" Well, let's talk about that...
A license is some protection for the consumer to ensure that counselors are competent. At least that's the theory. It's still academic however and does not say anything about the counselor's personality or whether they will be a good fit for you. Also, there are many fine Christian Counselors out there who are not state licensed. So don't rule them out.
The best thing to do at this point is to select a few, call them, describe your problem in 2-3 sentences and then ask a few questions like....
- Do you feel comfortable working with people with my kind of issues?
- What would be your approach in working with me?
Then ask yourself the following questions...
- How do I feel about the answers I received?
- Did I feel that she really listened to me?
- Did I feel that she answered my questions or was she evasive?
- Was she responsive in getting back to me (if you had left a message for her?)
