Biblical Christian Counseling Ethics & Code
Our goal, in counseling, is to protect the emotional, spiritual, and physical health of our clients above all else. This comes before the preservation of the marriage or concerns for the church. Our staff are a qualified group of caring individuals that love what they do. Our staff are certified and licensed as Christian Counselors, and Pastoral Counselors through the National Association of Christian Counselors and the American Association of Christian Therapist. We are in partnership with Rejuvenation Counseling Coaching Consulting & Training Institute LLC.
Mission: Our mission is to restore, renew bring healing and strength to individuals, families and marriages.
Vision: to minister to the heart, mind and soul of individuals, families and marriages to bring clarity and understanding to their situation with the help of Holy Spirit and bring them to know who Christ is in all things.
To that end, we counsel using these values:
1. We consider all our counselors, whether they are paid or not, and whether the law requires it or not, to be mandatory reporters in the case of suspicion of abuse, including, but not limited to, child abuse, spousal abuse, or elder abuse.
2. We consider any sexual contact between a counselor and a client to constitute clergy sexual abuse, and we will report it to the authorities.
3. We recognize that while we have been trained in biblical counseling, there are many areas in which we are not well-equipped. We will refer clients who suffer from trauma, mental illnesses, depression or anxiety, or other things that we know we are not equipped to handle to other mental health professionals. We may counsel them simultaneously, but we will also advise that they get further help.
4. We recognize that mental health professionals and physicians have areas of expertise that we do not have, and we will not advise clients to contravene doctor’s orders, or discourage them from seeking medical attention if the client wishes. If we have concerns about medical treatment, we may advise that the client seek a second opinion from a medical professional, but we will not speak against medical treatment.
5. We believe that client confidentiality is vital to the health of a counseling relationship. Confidentiality will not be broken except when necessary to report crimes; to report suspicion of abuse; or if the client poses a harm to him/herself or others. In these cases the concern will be reported to legal authorities. Other than these exceptions, what is disclosed in counseling will be kept private. The counselor will be the only one with access to files concerning the client, unless the counselor is under supervision for the purposes of training, and then only that supervisor would also have access. These files will be kept locked up where other church employees will not have access. If digital, the files will be kept password-protected.
6. We recognize that in cases where marital abuse is the reason for counseling, couples counseling at outset is inappropriate. Abuse is not a relationship problem, but an individual issue. We will refer the offender to a trained counselor specializing in abuse, who understands the abuse cycle and narcissism, and is familiar with appropriate counseling methodologies in the case of abuse. We will support the abused spouse and any minor children in the interim, and will also look at referring the abused spouse for specialized counseling where appropriate.
7. We recognize that while many issues have sin at the root–such as addictions or pornography use–that sin, when practised over a long period of time, often leads to emotional issues which also have to be addressed in order for full healing to occur and freedom to be found. We realize, too, that much sin has its roots in brokenness, and thus healing will only be achieved when the initial brokenness is also dealt with. Thus, our focus will not only be on repentance, but on full healing at all levels. In some cases, this may also involve referring to further professionals.
8. We recognize that in the case of sin, confession and repentance must be accompanied by the fruits of repentance for relationship restoration. We realize that these fruits must be visible over a period of time, the length of which is commensurate with the degree of the offense. We recognize that the offended party has insight into the offender that we may never have, and thus the offended party will not be pressured to reconcile at any timeline other than the one he or she chooses.
9. Should disputes arise between the counselor and the client, the client can bring those concerns to the leadership of the church. If the client is still not happy with the way that counseling was handled, and believes that some of these values espoused above were violated, the church will hire an independent, third party licensed counselor in the area (such as PERSON YOU INTEND TO HIRE) to review the case and offer recommendations. This report will be given to both the church leadership and the client simultaneously.