Over the years I have received numerous e-mails asking the same question:\u00a0 What must I do to become a Christian counselor?\u00a0 I thought it would be well to provide my response for others who might have the same question.<\/p>\n
As in any pursuit, here are two very important steps:<\/p>\n
You also need to determine where you want to go with it, how you want to use it.\u00a0 Do you want to become a professional counselor or do you want to do lay or peer counseling, perhaps as a ministry in your church?<\/p>\n
This should become clearer as you invest prayer into it and gain a greater understanding of counseling.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The answer to that question will point you toward your next steps:<\/p>\n
If lay counseling,<\/em> a certificate program could be sufficient.\u00a0 A good starting point could be the site of the AACC, the American\u00a0 Association of Christian Counselors<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 They have some courses that could be of great benefit to you.<\/p>\n
If professional counseling,<\/em> you will undoubtedly need to have a degree, probably even a Master’s Degree, to get licensed in your state.\u00a0 Each state varies in\u00a0their requirements and procedures so you should check with your state government with questions you have about state requirements.\u00a0 It could be helpful to network with a Christian counselor or two in your area to learn from them what procedures they followed.<\/p>\n
An example:\u00a0 As of the writing of this post, Pennsylvania requires you have both a\u00a0 bachelor’s and master’s degree to get licensed.\u00a0 The Master’s degree must be 60 credits. You also have to do 3600 hours of supervised counseling and take and pass the National Counselor’s Exam. — Where you are located\u00a0could be different.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
If you do not get licensed, then you should be careful in calling yourself a counselor as with that can come liabilities.\u00a0\u00a0 People who are professional\u00a0counselors usually purchase liability insurance.\u00a0 Those who live in the United States can\u00a0 get some ideas on that at the American Professional Agency<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Some use the term “Biblical Life Coach.”<\/p>\n
Some put it under the umbrella of discipleship.<\/p>\n
At minimum, you should refer to your counseling as “lay counseling”\u00a0and not just “counseling” so as to denote that you are not doing this as a professional.<\/p>\n
Getting More Help Pursuing a Counseling Ministry<\/h2>\n
Here are some additional helps on the MinTools.com site:<\/p>\n
Counseling Ministry Training<\/a> – This is primarily for lay counseling, not professional counseling.<\/p>\n
Counseling Ministry Resources<\/a>\u00a0– Most of these links will take you to other sites.<\/p>\n
Also be sure to scroll down and read through the comments. Many of your question may be answered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Over the years I have received numerous e-mails asking the same question: What must I do to become a Christian counselor? I thought it would be well to provide my response for others who might have the same question. Continue reading So You Want to Become a Christian Counselor!<\/span>