introduction
I like visual aids. I created this visual to help conceptualize and place into one frame how I think about counseling from a Christian worldview. As we move from stage or process to the next, this is often what is at work in my mind’s eye. This helps me remember to keep the main the main thing and helps me have reference points when I may feel stuck or when I need to check-in about certain areas of a person’s life, etc.
Counseling is not static, however. That is to say – counseling is not a simple, straightforward linear dynamic where you come in on day 1, complete a program in 5-10 sessions and you’re done…all better. Rather, counseling is fluid; meaning, that it is possible we spend an entire session (maybe two or three) just on unpacking why in the world service to God matters when we are suffering or how exactly does the gospel actually connect to our specific difficulty or pain. That feeling of being “stuck” is not only a common phenomenon but is expected, and so if we have a reference tool that helps us see where a person is or how to not become overwhelmed as a helper, then hopefully our client(s) and us can benefit as we seek to make the most out of the counseling process.
Over the next several days, I will write a blog about each area hoping to paint a fuller picture about this theology of counseling from a Christian worldview.
