A Quick Counseling Checklist

November 17, 2014

Take a deep breath! We’ve reached the end of this series at last.

Here are some final suggestions and recommendations to help you achieve a healthy and beneficial counseling relationship:

1. Ask others for recommendations. Friends, ministers, family members, even professional acquaintances might have the information you need.

2. Ask God for guidance. He knows exactly what you need, and He knows the best person for you to work with.

3. Don’t expect a new counselor to be just like someone else. No matter how successful a previous relationship was, the new one can be just as successful while still being different. You have changed. Your needs have changed, too.

4. Don’t judge a new counselor too soon. I like to meet with people a couple of times before we decide that we aren’t meant to work together. (Of course, I ask God for guidance first, but sometimes I don’t listen well. 🙂

5. If you’ve had formal training as a counselor, try to put it to one side. Your training can get in the way. It can keep you “in your head” when God wants to engage your heart.

6. If you’ve had informal training as a counselor, or if you’ve been through it enough that you’ve absorbed knowledge and techniques, see number 5. God is in charge. Let Him speak to you.

7. Prepare for all your sessions with prayer. Your counselor will also pray for you, but do your part. It will smooth the way.

8. Don’t be afraid to minister to someone else. God likes to use us even during the journey. We don’t have to be completely healed to help others. You may have just the encouraging words they need.

9. Don’t cut off communication if you get angry with the counselor. He or she is human and perfectly willing to listen to your side. Talk it out. You will learn from the experience.

10. The most important thing to remember is this: always look to Jesus before looking to people. One of His names is Wonderful Counselor. Let Him prove it.

May God bless you on your journey!

This is part 26 of a series on abuse recovery

Part 1| Am I Alone in my Pain?