THE THREE MAJOR MODALITIES OF CHRISTIAN COUNSELING

“Christians never operate from a deficit, but rather from fullness” (Crabb, 1977, p. 84).
 

Premarital Counseling
 

Christians believe that marriage is a sacred institution ordained by God.  Preparing couples for marriage can be an intimidating task for Christian counselors.  The purpose of preparing couples for marriage is to facilitate communication and promote hope for the future ensuring a strong and healthy relationship.  Christian premarital counseling provides Christian couples with the tools needed to carry out important responsibilities in marriage.  Christian premarital counseling addresses many important components like: conflict resolution, communication, expectations, finances, gender differences, sex and power.  

Christian Marriage Therapy focuses on hope-focused intervention which focuses on building hope “hope involves a motivation to endure when we cannot change circumstances” (Worthington Jr., 1999, p. 31). This approach helps couples to reach their relationship goals and it helps couples understand that marriage is derived from the Scriptures.

See AACC Code of Ethics Standards 1-124 Application to Divorce and 1-125 Application to Premarital and Extramarital Sexual Behavior
 
Sexuality and Sexual Therapy

Sexuality is an important aspect of our lives, especially in marriage. However, “God’s gift of sex is badly distorted and misused, and many people are deeply wounded in the sexuality” (Clinton & Ohlschlager, 2002, p. 490).  Christian Sexual Therapy approach treats sexual dysfunctions and helps couples to build intimacy in marriage. Christian counselors utilize a four-step model to help clients deal with sexual concerns.

The DEC-R Model:
D – Dialogue. Therapist starts introducing the subject and creating a dialogue.
E – Education. Dialogue progresses to education as needed information is shared.
C – Coaching. The therapist coaches the couple through basic self-help steps to address more specific problems.
R – Referral. Therapist needs to know when and to whom to make a referral for professional treatment is he/she cannot offer.

See AACC Code of Ethics Standard, 1-126 Application to Homosexual and Transgendered Behavior

Family Therapy

Christian counselors work on helping family members find their voices, define their beliefs and communicate better during their conflicts.  Family therapy also works with the present and past of the family members and looking for habitual behaviors and roles within the family.

See AACC Code of Ethics Standards: 1-540 Working with Couples, Families, and Groups; 1-541 Safety and Integrity in Family and Group Counseling; 1-542 Confidentiality in Family and Group Counseling.

Other modalities of Christian Counseling are:

• Pastoral Care
• Child Therapy
• Counseling Adolescents
• The Second-Half Marriage: Helping Couples Transition into the Empty Nest Years
• Crisis Intervention
• Substance Abuse and Behavioral Addictions
• Grief and Trauma Intervention

References

American Association of Christian Counselors. (2004) America association of christian counselors code of ethics. Assessed from http://www.aacc.net/about-us/code-of-ethics/

Clinton, T. & G. Ohlschlager. (2002). Competent Christian Counseling. Waterbrook Press: Colorado.

Crabb, L. (1977). Effective biblical counseling: a model for helping caring Christians become capable counselors. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Worthington, E. L. Jr. (1999). Hope-focused marriage counseling: a guide to brief therapy. InterVarsit Press: Grove, IL.