• Insight Counseling Intake Form

  • I understand that this form does not in any way create an agreement to receive counsel, advice or any other interaction from Aletheia Bible Fellowship.

  • ABOUT ME

  •  -
  • MARRIAGE INFORMATION

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  • BRIEF HISTORICAL INFORMATION


  • At anytime, have you:

  • BASIC HEALTH INFORMATION


  • RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND


  • BASIC QUESTIONS TO GET US STARTED

  • Program acknowledgements

  • Our Goal - Our goal in providing counseling is to help you meet the challenges of life in a way that will please and honor the Lord Jesus Christ and that you will find joy in following His will for your life. Much of our counseling is provided free of charge as a ministry of Aletheia Bible Fellowship’s Insight resource.


    Biblical Basis - We believe that the Bible provides thorough guidance and instruction for faith and life (II Timothy 3:16-17 II Pet. 1:3). Therefore, our counseling is based upon scriptural principles rather than those of secular psychology or psychiatry. Our counselors are not trained or licensed as psychotherapists or mental health professionals. Nor should they be expected to follow the methods of such specialists.


    Not “Professional” Advice - We provide counseling as to the spiritual nature of life and how it affects all other things. If you have significant legal, financial, medical or other technical questions, you should seek advice from an independent professional in those technical fields. Our counselors will cooperate with such advisors and help you to consider their counsel in light of scriptural principles.


    Confidentiality - Confidentiality is an important aspect of the counseling process and we will use appropriate discretion regarding the information you entrust to us. There are situations, however, in which it may be necessary for us to share certain information with others such as:

    1. When a counselor is uncertain about how to address a particular problem and needs to seek advice from another pastor or counselor.

    2. When there is a concern that someone may be harmed unless others intervene.

    3. When abuse or another crime must be reported to the authorities.

    4. When a person refuses to renounce a particular sin and it becomes necessary to seek the assistance of others in the church to encourage repentance and reconciliation (Proverbs 15:22 24:11 Matthew 18:15-20).

    5. When observers sit in on counseling sessions to assist the counselor or for training purposes or resolution of conflicts with the counselor:


    Arbitration - On rare occasions, a conflict may develop between a counselor and a counselee. I Corinthians 6:1-8 forbids Christians from bringing lawsuits against each other in secular courts of law In order to ensure that any such conflicts will be resolved in a biblically faithful manner, we require all our counselees to agree that any dispute which arises with a counselor or with this church will be settled by mediation, and if necessary legally binding arbitration in accordance with biblical principles. The arbiters will be the Elders of Aletheia Bible Fellowship. If the Elders of Aletheia Bible Fellowship are a party in the dispute then three arbiters will be selected from among Elders from churches in the Christian Resource Cooperative (CRC) with each party in the dispute choosing one arbiter and the two arbiters selecting the third.


    It is expressly understood that by agreeing in advance to arbitrate that the counselee is giving up his right to a trial in the civil courts. Having clarified the principles and policies of our counseling ministry, we welcome the opportunity to minister to you in the name of Christ and to be used by Him as He helps you to grow in spiritual maturity and prepares you for usefulness in His body. If you have any questions about these guidelines, please speak with a pastor or elder. If these guidelines are acceptable to you, please sign below.

  • Session Rules for Success

  • All counseling/teaching sessions will include the following presuppositions

    A counselor/teacher is:

    Biased toward your biblically defined success: They are with you because they are invested in your success in Christ. Their only personal gain is the joy a parent receives when they see a child succeed, or a teacher receives when they see a student’s success.
    Informed in their opinion: They are reasonably and superiorly educated in the matter in which they have been asked to give a biblical perspective. Therefore, their opinion carries an authoritativeness for the circumstances they are speaking on.


    Their perspective is based in godly wisdom: They are active in seeking what is most biblical and godly for the circumstances and problems in discussion. Their intended outcome for the dialogue is parallel to the will of Christ for his people as outlined in the Bible.

    A counselee/student remembers:

    An invitation to teach/counsel: The person being counseled will always remember the fact that the mentorship relationship was one which was agreed to. Therefore when sessions become tense, as is normal and common in these circumstances, they must not forget that they invited critique and biblical counsel and they must be gracious in receiving it.


    An active submission: The person being counseled must actively submit to the above presuppositions of counselor/teacher. If he does not do this, he will find himself impeding the process of counseling by forcing the counselor to devote their time and energy to reestablishing counselor presuppositions rather than focusing on the counselee/student. In most cases, this will be a reasonable ground for advancing a counseling session to the affirmation stage and creating an early termination of that session.

    A counselor/student acts with self-control and restraint:

    No loaded answers: A counselee will not answer a question with the intent of using their answer as a starting point to begin their own line of thought.

    Often times a counselor must help a counselee/student to draw conclusions by guiding them through a series of questions that bring the student to drawing conclusions which were before hidden from that counselees/student's view. The active part of this process is not verbal. It is active listening and self-reflection with a submission to the guidance of the counselor. Remember, the very reason that guidance and insight are being sought by a counselor is to add something which was unclear or missing from a counselee’s perspective in the first place. To challenge this presupposition is to severely cripple, if not destroy the entire counseling process.


    No cutting off the counselor: A counselee will not usurp a counselor’s speech to make their own point. To do so is inherently disrespectful. At the point the counselee or student impedes a counselor from finishing their thought to start their own, they are implying that they know the insights of the counselor before he has given them. This is not following the above presuppositions. Remember, the very reason that guidance and insight is being sought by a counselor is to add something which was unclear or missing from a counselee’s perspective in the first place. To challenge this presupposition is to severely cripple, if not destroy the entire counseling process.


    Allow people to finish their thoughts:

    People’s thoughts move at different speeds.

    People’s abilities to process their thoughts also move at different speeds.

    People’s ability to articulate their thoughts also move at different speeds.

    To have a meaningful dialogue, all three variables must be taken into account. Always assume you might not know what another person is trying to say. This simple rule will keep the conversation as a dialogue and help remove misunderstandings caused by people assuming and cutting people off.


    Do not argue Presuppositions: Arguing presuppositions with your counselor is a waste of time. It will seriously cripple the process and be seen as immediate grounds to move to the affirmation stage of the session. Remember, the very reason that guidance and insight is being sought by a counselor is to add something which was unclear or missing from a counselee’s perspective in the first place. To challenge presuppositions is to severely cripple, if not destroy the entire counseling process.


    Give evidence not bias: Dialogue will be had through evidence. The presence of a counseling session implies that not all factors are known and that new insights are to be gained from the outside perspective of a counselor gathering all the facts. Therefore, all conclusions that are prefabricated before counseling sessions cannot be, in good conscience, trusted. Remember, the very reason that guidance and insight is being sought by a counselor is to add something which was unclear or missing from a counselee’s perspective in the first place. To challenge this presupposition is to severely cripple, if not destroy the entire counseling process.


    Expect critique: A counselor is there to provide a reasonable critique based upon information gathered from counseling sessions, their own educational experience, their uninvested position in the stressors, and their bias toward a Godly outcome. Expect them to draw conclusions, critique yours and to do this authoritatively and unapologetically. This is why you asked for their help. Remember, the very reason that guidance and insight are being sought by a counselor is to add something which was unclear or missing from a counselee’s perspective in the first place. To challenge this presupposition is to severely cripple, if not destroy the entire counseling process.

  • Counseling Process

  • STAGES OF COUNSELING


    The flow of counseling sessions will include some form of the following stages in order:

    Prayer
    A time of intercession specifically asking for a productive time in a session where God is directly involved in the process.

    Discovery
    A time of exploring the narrative of events and ideologies with the purpose of finding a true understanding of where work in the relationship needs to be accomplished.
    -This process will always include a dialogue between the counselor and counselee.
    -This process will include difficult and often intimate questions that help the counselor determine ideologies such as:
    What is your problem?
    What have you done about it?
    What do you want us to do?

    Insight
    A time where the counselor closes the discovery session by asking the counselee a series of questions that are meant to be considered by the counselee. These questions are not necessarily meant to be answered in the moment.

    Conclusions
    The counselor draws conclusions based on discovery about what type of work needs to be done in continuing counseling. These points are largely rhetorical. They are not meant to be commented on.

    Affirmation
    A time of relational affirmation where the counselor affirms his intent and investment in the success of the counselee.
    counselees affirm each other as well.


    Assignment
    A time where the counselor assigns relational work
    -This can be work for next sessions
    -This can be work for the current week


    Prayer
    A time of intercession to close out the session and to ask for God’s interaction in the time between sessions.

  • Cost of Counseling

  • Counseling and Counsel are two different things. Counseling is a long term process and Counsel is momentary advice.

    The Insight Program offers momentary advice with a Counselor at 30-minute intervals at no more than once a month.

    This allows to focus on clients with deeper needs of care.

    The Counseling process is meant to be a problem-solving exercise and not a system for medical care. It is our intention that clients be able to solve problems and move past needing Counseling as quickly as is healthy for them. To this end, we do not encourage a sustained model of Counseling but instead, encourage learning problem-solving skills in Counseling that can be supported and applied in discipleship relationships present in the local church. To this end, our services have an escalating price attached to them to deter anyone from becoming attached to the Insight program. They are as follows:

    -The First 3 Sessions are free

    -The next 3 sessions are $25 a session

    -The next 3 sessions are $50 a session

    Only 9 sessions are allowed in a year's worth of a single Counseling process.

    All payments must be processed before the Counseling session begins.

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