4 Tips For Churches To Decide on Which Counselor To Refer To

Christian counseling has exploded.  Many counselors look to attach themselves to churches.  Some churches maintain a list of referral sources.  Some have even closed their list of referral sources since there were so many counselors looking to get on them.

Being a counselor, I am biased as to how I would encourage churches to choose.  So please sift through this post with that in mind.  I will start with how I hire counselors and see if this aligns with who your church may want to refer someone to.

The Gospel First

The first thing I look for is how well they can articulate the Gospel.  How well can they integrate parts of the Gospel into their clients’ lives?  The reason for this is: in 29 years of doing some form of a helping profession, including counseling, the issues that clients often see me for have a belief at their root that is not in line with the Gospel.  Once discovered, a therapist can use what they know about Scripture, the client, their skills, and even their personality type to help them understand how to dispel the false beliefs and replace them with the truth.  Implied in this is that the therapist stands on the Bible being their ultimate source of truth and will align all other knowledge, insight, and discernment through the filter of Scripture.

Training

Training is really important.  There are over 1500 schools of thought as to how to facilitate counseling.  A counselor who is adept at one of these schools that doesn’t contradict Scripture will help their clients move through a framework to get results.  Their training can come from a master’s level or doctoral level graduate program, or it can come from a Biblical counselor who was trained by a reputable source like CCEF.  The idea is that they are well-grounded to help.

Their Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to detect what one is feeling on the go and regulate it, along with the ability to detect what someone else is feeling on the fly and influence it for good.  EQ is a skill that is responsible for 58% of all job performance.

In the counseling realm, a therapist needs to empathize, listen, ask questions, and truly connect with the client.  Then, no matter what level of intensity the session contains, they need to be able to stay focused on the client and transition well to the next client.  As you interact with the therapist, do they show signs of higher EQ?  The stronger the EQ combined with solid theology and training make the therapist more likely to be successful in the long run.

Unfortunately, the burnout rate for therapists is high.  Therapists with higher emotional intelligence can also discern if the client wants to change.  Since our clients are the ones who have to do the work, if a client doesn’t want to change, a higher EQ therapist would tactfully and graciously stop the engagement so that they do not play a role in making things worse for the client, the church, and themselves.

Rates Vary; Choose Who Would Best Connect

Therapists rates vary.  They vary by the therapist’s years of experience and/or specialization.  Some therapists accept insurance, and others don’t.  Receiving a diagnosis can at times raise the cost of insurance.  When a church is referring, sometimes there is a specific budget they are willing to contribute towards payment.  If the church has narrowed the list based on Gospel orientation, training, and EQ, then it is a question of who the church believes will best connect to the person being referred.  This connection is extremely important since it will help the client feel safe and understood, and there will be confidence in the process.  The more those pieces are in place, often the faster the work will go.  

Unfortunately, many churches have chosen therapists who were just the cheapest without looking at the other criteria we listed above and have been frustrated with the lack of results.  Some churches have also chosen a more expensive option and also experienced frustration assuming that more expensive meant better.  The need for churches to discern based on Gospel orientation, training, EQ, and how well the therapist would connect to the person being referred is often a combination that leads to healing, growth, and sustained health.

Chew On This:

• What results have you seen from the therapist your church refers to?