Christian counseling is a therapeutic approach that involves various secular and faith-based methods to help patients with specific issues they are dealing with. Assisting patients in dealing with problems is usually done through a Christian worldview. This is important as it is a key differentiator between Christian and non-Christian or non-religious counseling. Some examples help illustrate this key difference:

• Christian Counseling tends to incorporate spiritual components of well-being. It focuses on the whole person: mind, body, and spirit. This involves viewing how much faith plays a role in their client’s mental health and viewing it as a tool to help them.
• It also consists of ideas of redemption, Christian terms and viewpoints, and understanding negative and positive emotions, behaviors, etc.
• Christian counseling uses techniques standard to Christian worship such as prayer, reading of Scripture, and service attendance. They do this alongside secular methods such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) (Houston Christian University). 

Christian counseling can help with a variety of issues such as marriage issues, anxiety and depression, grief, trauma, infidelity, etc. Many clients prefer a counselor with a similar value system and they would choose Christian counseling primarily if a Christian counselor reflects their value system and beliefs.. Multiple studies have shown that incorporating religious and spiritual advice and methods helps with mental health issues and issues stemming from trauma (American Psychological Association). 

The best way is to search on the web for “Christian counseling near me” and find counselors that show up on the first page. There are, however, other ways to get potentially excellent services. 

ChristianCounselorDirectory.com provides a list of Christian counselors closest to your home. You can enter your zip code and state, and the directory will provide you a list of counselors and how far out they are located from your area. 

Another way can be to ask your local pastor if they can recommend a specific person. Your Church itself may offer counseling services, so it is worthwhile asking if they have someone to help you with any issues you may be dealing with. 

Like general Christian counseling, Christian couples counseling incorporates religious methods and worldviews alongside secular methods to help couples navigate the marital issues they are dealing with. As discussed earlier, spiritual integration is a key part of this form of counseling and prayer. Marriage in the Christian tradition is seen as a sacred covenant designed by God. Christian couples counseling uses this idea and other Christian beliefs as a framework to help couples solve their issues (American Institute of Health Care Professionals). 

If you and a loved one are dealing with relationship or marital issues, Christian couples counseling can be a great way to resolve them. As discussed earlier, incorporating religious and spiritual ideas and methods has yielded positive results for many.

Similarly to Christian counseling in general, the Google search bar is your best friend. Type in ‘Christian couples counseling near me’ to find couples counselors that specialize in scriptures-based therapy.

However, there are other ways to find services. One such method discussed earlier is asking a local pastor if they know or recommend anyone. Your Church may also provide these services, so make sure to ask them as well.

While this depends on the individuals and circumstances involved, Christian couples counseling is absolutely one of the ways in which a struggling marriage can be saved. Processes grounded in Christian teachings and philosophy can help couples solve their issues and restore connection and trust (American Institute of Healthcare Professionals). 

No, you do not need to be a Christian to attend Christian counseling. Christian counseling is simply another way of helping you deal with your issues. If you are not a Christian but believe that the approach and techniques of Christian counseling help you, then you can absolutely attend Christian counseling.

Christian counseling uses faith based techniques alongside secular methods to help their clients. These methods include prayer, reading scripture, attending mass, etc. Secular methods can include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). 

At Crossroads Counseling, we offer Christian counseling services for people who seek to turn to faith-based therapy. Our Christian counseling therapist, Emily Burrows, is someone who has a passion for Biblical counseling and has worked with people of all ages, beliefs, etc. If you or anyone you know is in need of this kind of therapy, feel free to visit our website or call us at (815) 941-3882. 

We do not offer virtual sessions. However, Emily Burrows, our Christian counseling therapist, offers sessions at our Ottawa office on Mondays and Wednesday and at our Morris office on Tuesdays and Thursdays.