I am grateful to the LORD for the opportunity to meet with you and sincerely desire to understand what is happening or has happened in your life.  To get started could you tell me your “storee?”  “Storee” is a way for me to get some general information about what is going on.  Your answers can be as long as you like but please give me at least a few sentences for each letter.  Thank you for your help and I will be prayerfully anticipating our meeting. 

Biblical Counseling

The mission of Cornerstone Church Biblical Counseling is to equip you to meet the challenges of life by the transforming power of Jesus Christ for the glory of God. We offer counseling free of charge as a ministry of Cornerstone Church.  Counselees may donate to the ministry, but this is not expected or required as a condition of counseling.  You have no express or implied obligation to pay fees for the counseling you receive through Cornerstone Church. As Christians, we are called to make disciples, teaching them to observe all that Jesus commanded (Matt. 28:16-20). Our goal in providing Christian counseling is to help you live your entire life in a God-pleasing/God-honoring way. This includes, but is not limited to, providing biblical counsel to assist you in meeting the challenges of your life, shedding sin that so easily entangles, learning to develop, cultivate, and live in relationships that please God, giving thanks to God in all circumstances, living in a community of other believers as you participate in your local church, and learning to rely on the Holy Spirit for direction as you seek to know God through His Word (the Bible). Although the biblical advice we provide is intended to be practical, it is entirely your decision how to (and whether to) implement that advice. We want to help you love God and love others as we walk with you through this process. During the course of the counseling relationship, we may counsel you from the Bible that certain conduct is sinful and must be stopped in order to please God, and we may counsel you in how Scripture directs Christians to put off that sin and, instead, to live a life­­­ characterized by self-control and godliness. By signing below, you are specifically agreeing to such counsel and are affirmatively asking that we provide it. As stated above, we will counsel you from our deeply held Christian religious beliefs, and this counseling is part of our practice of religion.

Biblical Basis: Cornerstone Church counseling is strictly religious in nature, conducted under the authority and leadership of the church. We believe that God, through His revelation in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, has provided His people with thorough guidance and instruction for faith and life (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:3-4). Our counseling is based solely on scriptural principles.  We reject the teachings and methods of modern psychology or psychiatry, whether expressly secular or an attempted integration with biblical principles. Cornerstone Church counselors are not trained or licensed as psychotherapists or mental health professionals, and under Wyoming law (W.S. 33-38-103) no such licensing is required. They do not follow the methods of such persons, and our policy is to not make referrals to them. If you are unwilling to use the Bible as the final authority in counseling or are unwilling to do the homework assigned, you should not proceed with this counseling. However, we do want to help and we pray that you will decide to look to God’s Word for guidance as we follow the loving example of Jesus Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we believe that your life can be transformed.

Other Professional Advice: If you have significant medical, legal, financial, or other technical questions, you should seek advice from a competent independent professional. Our counselors will cooperate with such advisors and help you to consider their counsel in the light of scriptural principles. 

More specifically, we urge our counselees to properly care for their physical bodies and to seek proper medical treatment for all physiological problems. Our counselors will assist you in responding to such problems in a godly manner, but our counsel is not intended to replace the services of a qualified physician where organic problems are present or where medication has been prescribed.

Confidentiality: Confidentiality is an important aspect of the counseling process, but it is conditional.  We will carefully guard the information you entrust to us to the fullest extent possible. There are times, however, when it may be necessary or prudent (as determined in Counselor's sole discretion) for us to share certain information with others. Counselee agrees that we may share information in such instances as, but not limited to, the following: 

1. Where a person refuses to renounce a particular sin and/or refuses to confess it to those impacted, it may become necessary to seek the assistance of others in the church to encourage repentance and/or reconciliation (Proverbs 15:22, 24:11; Matthew 18:15-20).  In such cases, we will reveal only such information as is necessary for such purposes, and only to those biblically required to be involved. Where a counselee is a member of another church, it will most likely be necessary to contact the pastor and/or elder(s) of such church.
2. Where a counselor is uncertain as to how to address a particular counseling issue, he may seek advice from a pastor, another counselor, a supervising counselor, or educator (Proberbs 11:14, 24:6).
3. When there is concern that someone is being or may be harmed unless other persons or protective services intervene (Romans 13:1-7). 
4. When Counselee expresses clear and specific suicidal intent, we may take reasonable measures for the safety of the counselee. Reasonable measures may include notifying police if the counselee will not cooperate to involve him or herself in a watchcare program or facility.
5. If Counselor has reasonable cause to believe that an adult is in need of protective services, Counselor may take reasonable measures to prevent harm. Reasonable measures may include directly advising the potential victim of a threat or intent and/or informing the appropriate protective and/or law enforcement agencies.
6. If there is a claim of, the observance of, or clear reasonable cause to suspect the physical or sexual abuse of a child with whom Counselor comes into contact or who is associated with someone to whom Counselor is in contact with, reasonable measures may be taken to ensure the child’s protection and/or to fulfill the legal mandate to report such harm to the appropriate governmental protection agencies. 
7. When Counselor becomes aware of any other criminal activity Counselee is engaged in and Counselee refuses to bring to the appropriate biblical and/or legal authorities. 
8. When counseling someone who is under familial authority (e.g. wife to husband, child to parent) and if deemed safe by Counselor, Counselor may encourage Counselee to inform Counselee’s familial authority of critical issues and/or Counselor may inform the familial authority (Ephesians 5:22-6:4).
9. When a Counselee makes a complaint against a counselor or Cornerstone Church, handling it biblically may involve sharing information with appropriate person(s) for complaint resolution purposes.  
10. When Counselor deems it appropriate or necessary to discuss information with a training observer or an assisting advocate who is involved or observing counseling. 

Please be assured that our counselors strongly prefer not to disclose your personal information to others (if not needed), and they will make every effort to help you find ways to resolve a problem as privately as possible.  

Nothing shall impose any obligation or legal duty on a counselor to disclose or maintain confidential any particular information.

Attendance/Training/Education: Please make every effort to attend every scheduled session. Further, please encourage your pastor from your local church or one of those in its leadership to accompany you in counseling sessions. In fact, depending on the situation, we may require such attendance as we recognize and respect the authority and the discipline of the local church in your spiritual life. In addition, this makes transfer back to the pastoral care of your church much easier to implement. If you are not attending a church, we expect you to attend a Bible-preaching and believing church weekly for your own benefit and for the benefit of the Body of Christ.

We believe that all believers should strive to make disciples for the Lord Jesus Christ. With that in mind, we not only seek additional training and/or education for ourselves, but we seek to train and educate others in the biblical counseling arena. To accomplish both counseling and training, we may have others assist us in counseling sessions and/or preparation who will have access to your personal information. Further, there may be times when we deem it appropriate to use what is learned in counseling sessions to seek input from educators and/or students, or to convey what is learned to educate others, either in person, online, in print, or through other means. If this happens, care will be taken to protect your identity.

Termination/Records: At any time and for any reason, the counselor (as well as the counselee) may terminate counseling. However, termination of counseling will not preclude the counselor from making the disclosures set forth above (in the paragraph entitled, “Confidentiality”) if deemed appropriate by the counselor, or if compelled by other legal means. It is agreed that counseling sessions, in whole or in part, may be recorded by the counselor by writing, video, audio, or other non-electronic or electronic means and consent is hereby given by the counselee for such recordings. Although it is understood that we may (but are not required to) keep records of sessions and their subject matter, it is expressly agreed that we may destroy any and all such records of any counseling sessions or issues at any time that we deem appropriate, without incurring any liability.

Conflict Resolution - Arbitration: On rare occasions, a conflict may develop between a counselor and counselee. First Corinthians 6:1-8 forbids Christians from bringing lawsuits against one another in secular courts of law. In order to ensure that such conflicts are resolved in a biblically faithful manner, we ask that you agree to the following steps. First, the parties agree to participate in biblical mediation to be conducted by an individual (or individuals) agreed upon by the parties or, if no agreement is reached, by a member of the biblical counseling faculty at The Master’s University and Seminary or the Expositors Seminary, or, if one is not available, by a pastor or if one is not available, by a Christian, biblical mediator who is certified by The Institute for Christian Conciliation and/or by the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. The parties agree to participate in and mediate in good faith. Second, if mediation is unsuccessful, the parties will submit their dispute to legally binding arbitration in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Institute for Christian Conciliation (a copy is available upon request). Initially, the parties shall split the cost of the arbitration equally between the two sides. In light of the fact that this counseling is voluntary and not for compensation, counselee waives all rights to special and consequential damages of any nature and waives all claims for negligence arising out of any act or omission of the counselor or anyone working with him/her. This agreement and the issues raised in counseling are not matters of public interest; they are private and relate to personal faith and scripture. Judgment upon an arbitration award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction so long as the terms of this agreement were followed. Each party will be responsible for his/her own attorneys’ fees, although the prevailing party in any such arbitration shall recover his/her arbitration costs (not attorneys’ fees). The determination of “prevailing party” shall be made by the conciliator/arbitrator after taking the circumstances and claims into consideration. This entire agreement shall be binding upon the counselee and his/her family members, assigns, and heirs.

It is expressly understood that, by consenting in advance to such arbitration, the counselee is waiving his right to a trial in the civil courts. By signing this consent, you agree that you will not attempt to subpoena or require any counselor to appear in any legal proceeding related to any matters discussed during counseling; nor will you attempt to subpoena any notes or records related to this counseling.

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 grow in spiritual maturity and prepares you for usefulness in His body.  If you have any questions about these guidelines, please speak with your counselor.  Your signature below indicates your informed consent to these guidelines.