Christian Counselling

friend of said:

Hi I was wondering if anyone here is a CHristian Counsellor. How did you get that job, what were the requirements, how long have you been one, how rewarding is it. I was thinking about this for myself as I'm not sure what I want to do for the career portion of my life (29 yo).

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It would be better if you looked at becoming a properly qualified professional counsellor. Once you have the qualification and a practicing certificate, then you can advertise yourself as a Christian counsellor. By doing the study for the qualification, you will learn the professional ethics and practice of counselling. Then you will avoid the many legal and moral pitfalls that an untrained and unqualified amateur may fall into - and there are many of those!

In a church I went to, the elders did the counselling, and then shared details with their wives through "pillow talk". As a consequence, confidential details began emerging in the ladies' prayer meetings, and then before you know it, these details were gossiped around the church! You won't get that from properly trained and professional counsellors, because there is a code of ethics as part of their practising certificate.

I agree with what Oscarr said. Most Christian Counselor's I know are professionally licensed and trained first, and had their start as therapists in secular agencies. Re-branding themselves as a "Christian Counselor" came later, when they attached themselves to agencies that promote themselves as Christian counseling centers. Therefore I am always skeptical that the label less represents a change in technique than it represents at attempt to gain market share providing a niche service to a particular market segment.

You should be aware of any applicable laws of your country or province governing how one labels oneself. In some places it is illegal to call oneself a counselor or therapist without a professional license. Therefore, in the U.S. we see the emergence of "Life Coaches" who avoid such restrictions and may be unregulated.

As for me, I'd much rather be a counselor who is a Christian than a Christian Counselor.

Training as a counsellor and being qualified and registered would give your would-be clients assurance - and there is the whole accountability/supervision side of it, as well as, possibly, insurance. Untold damage could be done by people who just set themselves up as counsellors without training. They may be unable to deal with the issues that could arise in a session.

Even seminary trained ordained clergy have very little training in pastoral counseling. Smart clergy refer to licensed professional counselors before getting in over their heads.