San Jose Christian Counseling

Christian counseling is the provision of guidance and assistance in resolving personal, social or psychological problems from a Biblical perspective. To put it simply, a Christian Counselor assesses the mental and spiritual needs of an individual using a process in which the Christian Scriptures are the guide. Proverbs 15:22 states that, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” Proverbs 19:20 further states to, “Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.”

San Jose churches and pastoral staffs provide Christian counseling, however, despite their best efforts, they are often unable to provide this kind of longterm help due to staffing and/or financial limitations. Even if they do provide the counseling, or the church offers a San Jose Christian counseling center, most of them cannot sustain an ongoing professional, therapeutic help, which is why a Christian counselor can come alongside the church and provide the necessary help.

Although counseling has its roots of origin in the Bible, as evidenced by some of the scriptures above, there are those that wonder how psychology and Christianity can be integrated. The Bible is the living word of God and, “is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Psychology is just a tool that upholds precepts ordained by God. For instance, when the Word of God in Ephesians 5:33 says, “...each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband,” it does not really reveal the “how” part of this instruction; it is a command. This is a perfect example of how psychology can come in as a “tool” and provide the “how” part to help the husband and wife uphold this precept. Again, Christian counseling at San Jose Counseling uses sound psychology to bring about healing, change and promote integrity while honoring God’s Word. It is done when people are held responsible for their behavior and encouraged to refine their thinking to correspond with Biblical truths.

What is the goal of San Jose Christian counseling or San Jose Christian Counseling centers and the core issues that are addressed?
Dr. Townsend, in his 2009 article on “What is Good Christian Therapy?” writes that Christian Counseling “is an active and specific involvement in your sanctification. It’s not about restoring your innocence; it’s about redeeming you. People sometimes come to counseling because they want to restore life to the way it used to be. The Bible, however, is not about God returning us to [The Garden of] Eden, but about Him redeeming us--buying us back. We aren’t innocent any more, but once redeemed, we are integrated, and integration is actually a higher state than innocence. Innocent people repeat the same mistake (such as innocently dating the wrong person twenty times!), whereas integrated people are aware, understanding both good and bad.”

For example, an individual may exhibit symptoms of depression. Depression is, more often than not, about loss (death of a loved one, end of a marriage, termination of a job, etc.): something prevents the individual from adequately grieving. He/she becomes restless when there’s nothing to do, so the goal becomes to stay active and busy at all times. This may mean working at the office long nights for decades. There comes a day, when the individual physically and mentally gets so exhausted that his/her body just gives out, he/she starts drinking and discovers that his/her life is out of control.

In the above example, a Christian Counselor would have to hone in and ask, “What is it about loss that’s so challenging or painful that you cannot go in the ‘house of mourning’ that Ecclesiastes 7:4 talks about?” Put in another way, what an individual is learning in church should be congruent and match what he/she learns in Christian Counseling, whether with a Christian counselor or a Christian counseling center. If one attends a healthy church, then he/she will see what the Christian Counselor is saying as a confirmation.

Christian Counseling consists of not only solid truth, but also grace. It is a process where the individual is helped by having parts of him/her “held together” by the Christian Counselor. Dr. Townsend says that “a good therapist is able to help you by containing aspects of your self that you are unable to tolerate, unable to grieve or feel or experience, talk about, or even recognize in yourself. [The Christian Counselor] is like a good parent who sends the message, ‘I can deal with this black hole part of you. And my being able to deal with it and talk about it means that, in time, you’ll he able to deal with it, too.’ This containment of a person’s emotions can make all the difference between competent and incompetent counseling. A therapist who doesn’t have the capacity to be emotionally present with you is not going to do you a lot of good, no matter how theologically sound his or her counseling may be.”

Call 408-920-1730 now to schedule your free consultation and start your healing journey today.