What is Relational Care?
Relational Care is coaching and practical teaching that focuses on communication. The principles are the same for and can benefit every relationship. These principles come from Bible verses which can be applied practically. When we have struggles in our relationships we often have difficulty communicating to each other in a way that can be understood. Relational Care gives us a common language which allows for communication and problem solving skill development.
Why Relational Care?
Traditional counseling sessions of 50 minutes often don’t allow time to address issues and counsellees often leave feeling frustrated.
We often begin relationships thinking that we have so much in common only to find out just how different we really are. One of those differences is how we deal with stress or conflict. Relational Care gives you the tools to address these issues in a healthy manner.
Learn....
- how to communicate your hurts, needs and desires without anger or argument.
- heal hurts and experience full forgiveness
- eliminate anger, worry, fear and anxiety
- how you unknowingly hurt others...
Some Benefits...
- getting along great with your spouse, friends or family
- healthy relationships with your children!
- live an abundant life!
CHOOSING A CHRISTIAN COUNSELOR (borrowed from CCEF Counsellor Listing page)
Qualities of a Good Christian Counselor
A good Christian counselor is someone who
- loves people, perseveres through tough times, and is confident that Jesus works redemptively through suffering and struggle.
- believes that God's Word is sufficient to counsel for all of life's issues (2 Pet. 1:2-4; Heb. 4:12; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).
- gives clear evidence of a vital personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
- your pastor (or trusted Christian friend) believes would provide wise, biblical, loving, and faithful counsel.
Questions to Ask
It's important to ask prospective counselors about their theoretical orientation, their use of Scripture in counseling, and how Christ figures into the way they think about helping others. The questions below will help you get a clearer picture of what a counselor believes and how he or she conducts the counseling sessions.
With your pastor, elder, or wise Christian friend, discuss the counselor’s answers in light of God’s Word.
- How would you describe your approach to counseling? How do you understand people's problems? How do you help them grow and change through counseling? Please describe the process.
- What books or other resources do you recommend on a regular basis? What books have most influenced your approach to counseling?
- Are you a Christian? How does your faith affect your view and practice of counseling?
- Do you bring Christian truth into your counseling practice? How? What role does Scripture play?
- Do you pray with those you counsel?
- Do you attend church? If so, where? How long have you been a member?
- What is your educational and professional background? What role does it play?
- Are you married? Do you have children? Have you ever been divorced? How does your marriage and family situation affect how you counsel people?
Counseling is an interactive process. It is established and maintained on the basis of trust. Open and honest dialogue between a counselor and a counselee is the most important component of building trust. If you cannot establish this foundation early on, and are not confident that the counselor will be wise, biblical, loving, and faithful in your interaction, you may need to look elsewhere. If you find a wise counselor who uses God's Word to help you grow in your Christian walk, your marriage, and your family, Scripture says you will be blessed!
This page draws from material developed by CCEF's David Powlison and Family Life Today of Little Rock, AR.
Disclaimer
- Although trained in Relational Care principles, we are not in any way legally affiliated with Relational Care Ministries, Inc (d.b.a., The Center for Relational care) based in Austin Texas
