A Counselling Process for Christians?

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As a Christian who works as a counsellor, I have always been keen to combine both in my professional and personal life.
This blog reflects my aspiration to do that.

I am primarily writing this blog for those who call themselves Christians. I expect there may be others who are curious to know what secular psychology can offer Christians. It would be interesting to hear what you think.

I hope this piece will encourage Christians to view counselling as an acceptable part of their support structure.

As I discuss counselling theories in a Christian context, I am doing it from the basis of my own understanding of how Christianity works. God knows it’s limited, but that is not a reason to avoid writing this blog.

”For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”
1st Corinthians 13:12 NIV

Deciding to enter Counselling: A Christian perspective

The process for a Christian deciding to enter counselling is much the same as for a non-believer.
The difference is that the Christian must first decide what role their faith and Church group will have in that process.

In this blog, when I refer to a client’s faith, I mean how they relate personally to God and the practices they use to support that.

A Church community, group, or fellowship, I consider a close group of people who come together regularly to encourage one another and practice their faith together.

For a Christian to decide what role their faith or church community will play in their decision to enter counselling, and in their work in counselling, is a very personal one.

Some Christians may decide that it is best not to involve their church fellowship or directly mention God or Christian practice in any way. This may be because their group has hurt them or they feel personally distant from God.
The client may want to explore counselling separately from a religious connection, as they may prefer a more secular experience.


If a Christian’s issues stem from a spiritual misunderstanding of God, they are best addressed within their Church community.
If the laypeople in the group believe they need help providing spiritual support, they can request it from the Church leader.
Sometimes, clarifying their relationship with God can have a very profound effect on improving a client’s mood and mental state.

Some clients may decide to go directly to therapy without involving their church. They may already believe their problems require professional support or believe church support is unhelpful.

The person’s problems may already be apparent to the group, or they may have disclosed them to their church friends. In this situation, the people within the client’s close church family will collaboratively decide the best option for the person.

Deciding whether the person’s problems are best addressed within the church group or through a service provided by the broader church depends on the person’s area of difficulty and its severity.

Does the Church have the resources to provide the needed help?
If not, then utilising professional therapy can be the next step.
The person should be involved throughout the process and agree to it.

The person deciding to attend an accredited counsellor can still avail of Church support.
Prayer support is very helpful for a Christian client engaging with therapy. It helps them to know they are not alone and are cared for. It also engages their belief that God is involved in healing them of their pain and upset.

Support from their Church fellowship connects the client to their faith in God and assures them of God's ongoing care. This can sustain them during unpleasant times in their counselling.

Should a Christian go to a Christian Therapist?

That’s down to them.
In theory, a Counsellor who does not have a Christian faith should be able to work with a Christian client.

Unconditional Positive Regard is a core condition of most counsellors’ practice.
UPR means that a therapist accepts the client as they are and works within the client's worldview.
To learn more about this, click here.
In the context of this blog, it means the counsellor would accept their client's faith and religious practice.

A secular counsellor will encourage a client to use their faith and the support of their church to heal hurts and promote positive change.

A Christian client may automatically prefer to attend a Christian counsellor.
If that is so, they shouldn't be in the same church community, i.e. with people with whom they already have a preexisting personal relationship.

Maintaining personal and professional boundaries is a key to successful therapeutic engagement.
Prior experience with each other outside the counselling room will interfere with work in the counselling room.

Working with a Counsellor from outside your faith group may mean working with a different culture in practising the Christian faith.

This is likely because the Irish Church is now more ethnically varied.
The client should believe the therapist supports their faith practice.

The therapist can ask the client how they want to engage with their own faith during therapy sessions.
Also, would the client be comfortable with the Counsellor sharing their own spiritual observations?
Such sharing can enhance the client’s spiritual skills for managing their situation.

How do Christians use their Faith in Counselling?

“There is a time for everything under Heaven” Ecclesiastes 3:1

The Church in Ireland is very varied in how it expresses faith.

Christians from traditional Churches may appreciate using set liturgies or sacraments. This may be part of their overall therapeutic experience.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation can be very helpful for Catholics during the therapy process.

The client would usually access sacraments and liturgies through their church, but it is possible to have them as part of a session.

Christians from newer evangelical churches may ask their church to support them via spontaneous, lay-member-led, one-to-one prayer and scripture sharing.
It is individual to each congregation how much the laity will direct church ministry.

There must be a consensual agreement between the counsellor and client for any direct religious activity that happens in a session.

Prayer is a key therapeutic tool for Christians to use in counselling.
Whatever style of prayer is used, it should be acceptable to the therapist and be relevant to the client.
It may be appropriate for the client or the therapist, or even both, to pray. The timing of prayer in a session should be agreed upon.

Christians from Pentecostal traditions may be comfortable with long prayers, expressions of emotion, and the laying on of hands.

Christians from evangelical settings may practice silent prayer as a contemplative exercise for a client. Bible study material related to the client’s issues would be helpful for use in between sessions.

Regardless of the circumstances, whether they are seeing a Christian Counsellor or not, the client should be assured that God’s Holy Spirit is with them.
Their work in therapy is ultimately part of God’s work in them for their good.

“..in all things God works for the good of those who love him..”
Romans 8:28

Counselling Principles in Christian Practice

The subheading to Prevail is Renewed Mind Transformed Life.
I adapted this from the Biblical passage, Romans 12:2.
It reads;

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

A cognitive behavioural perspective

I take from this a call to test whether our thoughts are true or based on what we believe we are supposed to think because of our life experience.

We are called to transform ourselves by changing how we think.
Christians will be able to see this transformation is successful by observing whether their thoughts, emotions, and behaviours are more in line with God’s principles as outlined in their Church’s teaching.

This focus on renewing the mind is a central principle of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
CBT is based on the principle that our thoughts dictate how we feel.
It is the primary therapeutic approach I use.

For a more detailed description, you can read a blog on it here. To read a more general introduction from the website, read this.

How the Irish monks invented therapy?

In early Church history, the forgiveness of sins involved public confession and penance.
The focus was on external behaviour to conform to perceived church teaching.

This was considered harsh.
It was Irish monks who started the practice of private confession. They emphasised a confessor’s internal disharmony with God’s ways, and that confession was to reconcile them to God.

According to Rodden 2022this made the person receiving the confession a soul doctor. The purpose was to rescue the confessor from the sickness of their soul.
This sounds like a crude form of therapy to me. Perhaps Freud wasn’t the first after all, :-)

The Bible as a tool of healing

The Bible is primarily a call by God for people to come to him by faith.

The book of Psalms contains many reflections on the author striving to be faithful to God.

In Psalm 55, King David of Israel describes feeling anguish, terror, fear, and horror in his heart because of others' actions toward him. When David calls out to his Lord, he is cared for, heard, rescued, and sustained.

In First Thessalonians, Saint Paul says in chapter 5, verse 11 that Christians are to encourage and build each other up.
In verse 14, Paul urges Christians to adapt their care for each other according to the individual needs that they present.

The Bible presents God as a loving father who offers grace to his children in this life and the next.
The Bible outlines that Christians are to love one another equal to how they should love themselves, Leviticus 19:18.

I propose that the Bible and Church practices are very supportive of psychological care once they are aligned with the principles that the Bible upholds.

This very brief overview of therapeutic principles within Christian practice highlights that counselling theory is not something Christians should be fearful of.
I would suggest that just as most Christians accept medical care, they can also accept psychological care.

Christian Counselling and Prevail

I am happy to work with people in a Christian context. I welcome clients actively expressing their faith in the counselling room.
If it is an expression I can not personally engage with, I will inform the client.
Only if I have a strong reason to believe that a religious practice may psychologically harm a client would I discourage them from it.

I believe the hope that faith gives can be a true anchor, getting people through the troubled waters of their lives.

As a native Irishman, I would learn from a client from a different ethnicity how their faith works for them.
I personally enjoy that kind of process. Broadening my experience of Christianity, I beleive is healthy, even fun.
I am open to sessions containing prayers, Bible discussion, and even singing.

My life experience makes it easy for me to facilitate either the Catholic or Protestant practice of Christianity.
What matters is the genuineness of the client’s faith practice.
A genuine Christian faith from whatever background is always helpful in the healing that can be done in a counselling room.

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:7

All Bible verses used in this blog are from The New International Version.

Other Related Christian Counselling Material

Christians choosing therapy

Many Christians don’t consider professional counselling as an option for helping them with emotional pain.
They may feel their Church provides them with the support they need.

Some Christians may believe a counsellor will disregard their faith. Fear of a self-oriented healing message might make Church attenders automatically say no to therapy.

This blog defends therapy as a positive addition to the care Christians receive from their Church.

Click here for a blog on this.

Secular clients working with Christian Counsellors

A secular client may not trust a Christian counsellor.
Stereotypes of overly zealous Christians using therapy to convert vulnerable clients come to mind.

This blog defends the role of a Christian as a suitable therapist for a secular client.
This is based on the therapist being accredited by a professional association.
This means they adhere to the professional standards of all accredited counsellors.

Click here for a blog on this.