Counselling

Christian Counselling                         

While there’s little hesitation for someone to schedule an appointment with a family doctor when they’re under the weather, there seems to be great pause for most people before considering talking with a therapist.

This hesitation seems to run deepest within Christian circles. From a need to portray a perfect life to feeling like a disappointment to God for needing help, a Christian can feel a lot of guilt in seeing a medical-mental professional. But the truth is, God never expected us to be perfect. If he did, he wouldn’t have sent Jesus! He also never thought we could do life alone because he makes it quite clear that together, with those around us, we are the body of Christ.

So, to remove the stigma counselling is enshrouded in, let’s address the 10 most common myths that are keeping Christians from the counselling they need.

1."If the Lord is my strength, I can't be weak."

The Lord is your strength—that’s true! (Psalm 28:7) But where it gets dangerous is confusing his strength with our strength.

2."I need to have it all together."

“If I don’t have my life completely together, how will people ever be brought to Christ?”

Our perceived perfection isn’t going to be the thing that brings droves of people to church. In fact, quite the opposite! Pretending to have your life completely together can be such a turn-off and it makes people feel guilty about the less-than-glamorous parts of their lives.

3."It's going to hurt more to deal with my past than to ignore it and move forward."

There’s a chance that therapy will, in fact, hurt. When you’re working through a situation that’s rooted in pain, it could sting to dig up its roots. But, avoiding therapy because it might hurt is like refusing to get a broken bone set. The pain of fixing the issue is well worth the healing that comes from it.

4."If I just pray harder..."

Prayer is powerful and can very much bring you healing. But so many people who feel embarrassed to talk to a professional because they assume it’s all their responsibility to fix and it’s up to them to pray their way out.

5."I can talk to my small group/family about my problems."

Relying on your loved ones to fill the role of your therapist can be damaging to your relationships.

6."God is good, so the problem I'm going through is fine."

Many Christians fall into the trap of believing that our problems take away from God’s goodness. The fact is we regularly have issues, but God is still good.

7."The therapist is just going to shame me."

A therapist should never, ever shame you. If you’re seeing a professional and you leave feeling more so like it’s your fault, you did something wrong, or that you should be ashamed of who you are, then you need to find a new therapist. A therapist’s job is to help you better understand yourself and to shine a light (and the truth) the situation.

8."Counselling is only for serious problems."

Therapy isn’t just for someone who went through a traumatic experience like a sudden death of a loved one, fighting in a war zone, or escaping an abusive relationship. Counselling is just talking with someone trained to assist you in working through your thoughts and feelings.

9."There's no way I could afford to go to counselling."

Remember churches may be able to provide you with some support or signpost you to a professional service.

10."There's nothing I can do to change the past."

You’re right: the past is the past, and there’s nothing you can do to change it. But therapy helps with the events of the past in two critical ways.

First, seeing a counsellor and talking through what happened changes your perspective on things. Next, counselling allows you to move forward in freedom.

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