I’m often asked, “Do you do Christian counselling?” And my quick answer is, “No, I’m not a Christian counsellor, but I’m a Christian who does counselling. And if Christian clients want to bring their faith into sessions, then I can work with that.”
But my longer answer would involve finding out what they mean by ‘Christian counselling’ because it’s a term that means different things to different people. If someone tells you they do Christian counselling, you really need to ask further questions to understand what they mean. To help you ask those questions, let’s break down what Christian counselling can sometimes mean.
- A ‘Christian counsellor’ vs ‘a Counsellor who is a Christian’.
There is sometimes a difference between these two terms. Most simply put, ‘Christian Counselling’ might refer to a method of counselling that is noticeably Christian.
However, someone who refers to themselves as a Christian who is a counsellor might mean that they take a mainstream approach to counselling, and they just happen to be a Christian. The mainstream approach is what is taught in accredited colleges around the UK and is usually non-religious whilst also being accepting of any client’s religious and spiritual views. Sometimes this is called a secular approach, but that also opens a whole can of worms that we won’t get into in this article!
But even within these two different groups there are a variety of different positions, which I’ll try to outline:
- Different types of ‘Counsellors who are Christian’
A spectrum of how much faith is mentioned in sessions
A spectrum of ‘Christian Counsellors’
───────────────────────────────▶
faith rarely discussed faith discussed a lot
At one end of the spectrum, some Christians will leave their faith at the door to the counselling room. They will strictly use a secular approach to counselling.
At the opposite end will be those who take an integrated or pluralistic approach to counselling and will, at times, use secular counselling methods, but at other times, if the client wishes, will bring in their faith to the sessions.
- Different types of ‘Christian Counsellors’
Again, there is a spectrum here, and at one end are Biblical counsellors:
A spectrum of ‘Christian Counsellors’
───────────────────────────────▶
Biblical counsellors Christian Counsellors
(using only the Bible) (using the Bible & other resources)
Biblical counselling uses the Bible as their main tool in counselling. For example, a Biblical counsellor might use certain Bible verses to help a client deal with negative thoughts.
Some within this group would be hesitant to use secular counselling methods unless they can see the Bible affirming these methods. This type of counselling is usually just for Christian clients who want this specific approach.
Biblical counsellors will often do different training from mainstream counsellors. The training tends to focus on how to use the Bible to help clients with their problems.
There are presently no specific Biblical Counselling groups in the UK that are registered with the Professional Standards Agency. https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/home
Some survivors of abuse critique the Biblical counselling movement as being unhelpful and even harmful for abuse survivors. I myself recommended that survivors seek out counsellors specifically trained in dealing with trauma rather than a ‘biblical counsellor.’ The critiques from abuse survivors sometimes use the term ‘Biblical counselling’ and other times use ‘Christian counselling.’ This, again, is why the term is so difficult to understand, when someone says, ‘Christian counselling’, do they mean ‘Biblical Counselling?’ For this reason, some Christian counsellors do not like the term ‘Christian counsellor’.
At the other end of the spectrum are counsellors who happily call themselves ‘Christian counsellors’, but do not take the ‘Biblical counselling’ approach.
These ‘Christian counsellors’ are usually trained in mainstream counselling, either taking a level 4 counselling course or a degree in counselling. They are comfortable seeing clients of any faith or none. They are comfortable exploring religious/spiritual matters with clients, but they are also comfortable using secular counselling techniques if that is what the client wants. However, one of their specialities is that they have a Christian faith and can bring this into the counselling sessions if a Christian client wants it.
Some counsellors along this spectrum might be part of the Association of Christian Counsellors (ACC). The ACC is a well-known professional body that seeks to promote safe and ethical practices amongst Christian counsellors. The ACC promotes ‘the therapeutic importance of considering a person’s spirituality and religious faith as being intrinsic to their psychological wellbeing, and a person’s psychological wellbeing being similarly intrinsic to the health of their spiritual and religious life.’
https://www.acc-uk.org/about-acc/
The NHS website says that ‘ACC therapists will not impose their beliefs on anyone, but are especially able to help people who have a religious faith and/or are spiritually seeking, to understand their concerns in the light of their religion and/or spirituality as well as their psychological make-up.’ https://www.nhs.uk/services/service-directory/association-of-christian-in-counselling-and-linked-professions-acc/N11013108#:~:text=ACC%20therapists%20will%20not%20impose,as%20their%20psychological%20make%2Dup.
As you can see the term ‘Christian counselling’ can mean different things to different people, and it’s best to ask someone to explain further what they mean by the term.
By Duncan Forbes