Our mission is to approach counseling from a Pastoral Counselor, Clinical Chaplain perspective. This practice is inclusive of a wide range of individuals (children, adolescents, and adults) as well as couples and families that come from various lifestyles. We welcome the uniqueness that each person brings into the counseling relationship. We are fortunate to have experience providing services to very diverse populations in a variety of settings. When working with a client, we are ultimately headed towards creating a trusting environment that is conducive to exploring and decreasing emotional distress, maladaptive behaviors and increasing personal wellness. The instillation of hope is fundamental to clients in order to acquire the motivation needed to make change. We embrace cultural competency, and am committed to understanding the importance of the client's worldview, which we believe is vital to the therapeutic process. We welcome the opportunity to assist children, adolescents, adults (individuals & couples), and families with issues that may surface in the cycle of life. Many things can bring a person into counseling/therapy.
As a practice, we at RNLF Counseling Services strongly believed that the only place for a Christian mental health professional to begin is to adopt an unwavering confidence in biblical basics. We further suggest that the Scriptural standard is authoritative and final. Developing total confidence in the Bible does not negate the need to study secular systems, nor does such confidence alone render one competent to counsel. What it does do, however, suggests that there is something wrong with the person who is to be confronted biblically. It arises out of the fact that there is a condition, which God desires changed. The fundamental purpose of biblical confrontation then is to effect personality and behavioral change-- conformity to the image of Christ. God wants change. All counseling aims at change. Without this element whatever we might be doing, it is not counseling. In the word, "restore" we had a term which required change. Usefulness was lost. The change must take place because of the Christian who is caught in sin (Galatians 6:1). The change that is contemplated in the restoration to usefulness is a change in life patterns in which sinful beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors are replaced by righteous ones (see Ephesians 4:22-24).
Pastoral counselors are clergy and others who have received graduate training in both religion and behavioral science for a clinical practice that integrates psychological and theological disciplines. A typical program includes a three-year professional degree from a seminary and a master's or doctoral degree in pastoral counseling, with supervised clinical experience and one's own personal psychotherapy. Many pastoral counselors are certified by the American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC), which also accredits pastoral counseling centers and approves training programs. Pastoral counselors also practice in other institutions and in private offices, and they do consultations for community clergy. In most states, no license is required to perform pastoral counseling, and many persons practicing under the title are parish ministers, priests, or rabbis who are not affiliated with AAPC. A national licensing examination is being developed by AAPC, whose members are also accountable to their faith communities.
What is distinctive about pastoral counseling as a form of psychotherapy? Most pastoral counselors believe there is a God or divine power in whose image we are created. They believe that we yearn for a transforming connection with the divine and that psychotherapy can mediate the loving and healing nature of being itself Some AAPC members believe in a therapeutic role for spiritual values but not in a divine being. Pastoral counselors may also make therapeutic use of traditional religious resources such as prayer, Scripture reading, and participation in the worship and community life of a congregation. They often pay special attention to the religious history of the client and the client's family, noting how it may contribute either to the pathology or to the resources needed for coping.
As part of our Specialized Pastoral Ministry, we reach directly into the primary social structures and institutions
of our world. As they encounter people in the midst of these everyday settings, those who serve in chaplaincy, pastoral counseling and clinical education seek to extend the love of God in Jesus
Christ to all people at the point of their deepest need. Specialized pastoral ministers are witnesses of the Gospel in a context of mercy.
We extend into such settings as health care, long-term care, mental health, corrections, pastoral counseling, clinical education, rehabilitation and physical medicine, hospice, substance abuse, developmental disability, emergency services and workplace ministry.
Our specialized pastoral ministers assist persons in their relationship to God, to others, and in understanding themselves in the midst of need. Those involved in these ministries declare and
demonstrate Christ’s love by providing spiritual and pastoral care, advocacy and opportunities for service.
As part of our continuing outreach to our community, to request a visit, feel free to contact us.
From my observation from working with various people over the years in a counseling ministry, I think that people are motivated by three basic dynamics or controlling factors in their lives. There are those who basically are 1) behaviorally motivated. 2) For most people their thought life, (beliefs and misbeliefs) is the controlling dynamic which brings about their behavior. Still others are 3) motivated predominately by their emotions as they react emotionally and then think about their sinful behavior later.
The acrostic- P R E A C H has traditionally served as a great model.
The Bible-believing pastor must make certain that their counseling is either directly based upon Scripture or is in harmony with it. One's theological tenets will greatly affect his counseling. Thus, the following general presuppositions are very important to RNLF Counseling Services:
1. System’s Guiding Principle’s
2. Goal’s
3. Steps and Sequence of Implementation
Counseling is a planned, coordinated process where clients can learn new ways of thinking and behaving. The information gained from the case study is used to establish a behavioral baseline from which both the counselor and the patient can measure future progress to the presenting problems identified earlier in the chapter. This plan contains the client's treatment objectives, goals and measurable outcomes, all laid out in a clear, detailed process.
It is important to recognize the family system. The family system is organized for stability, when its structure is threatened; the family’s sense of stability is threatened. Societal norms and expectations governing behavior and attitudes regarding marital and family life in the U.S. have shifted significantly in the last several decades. These shifts have resulted in several well documented trends during the last half of the 20th century including: decreases in the rate of marriage, increases in unmarried births (especially among minorities), young adults waiting longer to marry, more couples deciding not to have children, and increases in divorce. Unfortunately, the negative aspects of these trends (e.g., economic hardship, single parent homes, etc.) have been felt disproportionately among minority and low-income populations.
It is therefore our approach to focus on relationship and marriage education programs intended to help couples form healthy relationships that lead to marriage and reduce divorce rates. Because we believe, marriage is a divine institution established by God for man’s good.