The counseling process is not universally understood. Many feel that needing counseling means something is broken or wrong with you. We are physical, mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual beings. No one judges you if you see a professional because your physical domain isn’t working properly. It’s just a part of life, you get sick, you go to a doctor. Life (and sickness) happens to all of us. In the same way, when things go wrong in the mental, emotional, or relational domain (and we all know they will), there is nothing wrong with seeing a counselor. Counselors specialize in helping you process and heal.
At Counseling for Hope, we believe the following is necessary for successful outcomes in counseling:
1. Relationship:
The relationship between the counselor and client. The research tells us that the counselor client relationship is the number one determinant of positive outcomes in therapy. As a result, we want to make sure you find the right counselor for you and that impacts how we show up in the relationship. We commit to modeling healthy relationship skills inside the client/counselor relationship which means we are open to feedback, we repair relational ruptures and collaborate together on our goals.
2. Holistic:
We view the counseling process as a collaboration between both client and counselor that addresses the problem the client brings in a holistic way. This means that in counseling we will consider the whole person: physical, mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual. We will start in the area that is causing the most present-moment distress but ultimately work toward healing and wholeness.
3. Change:
The client’s readiness to change. Most of us want change but not everyone is ready to take the steps necessary for change. A counselor will hold up a mirror to things you may not be ready to see and address. That’s okay because in counseling we will give you space to get ready and deal with the roadblocks to change that are present. Staying invested in the process and committed to pursuing goals of change are an important part of healing.
4. Process:
We believe that the healing happens in progressive stages and that is how we approach all our clients. Our conceptualization of the change process is from STABILITY → PROCESSING → INTEGRATION.
- Stability is our first goal. Usually a client comes in with some sort of presenting symptom (anxiety, depression, anger, relational conflict, grief etc). Our first goal will be to help you find stability from that symptom using evidence based skills and techniques. These are immediately practical steps you can take to find relief from symptoms.
- Processing is the next goal. This is where we process past hurt, wounds, and traumas that often underlie the original symptom. At Counseling for Hope we use a variety of evidence based processing modalities from a variety of therapeutic traditions. We want to use what will work best for each individual client.
- Integration is the final goal. This usually means the client has met their goals and is now integrating the new insights and learning into their life. This is often the time we begin spreading out the frequency of sessions as we approach client graduation.
5. Expertise:
We believe that to have a good outcome in therapy that your counselor must be competent. We pursue regular continuing education and consultation to ensure that we are safe, competent, skilled counselors who can help you meet your goals. All of our counselors have a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional certification and advanced EMDR training. We also each have other areas of expertise. Our experience is that many of our clients have experienced hurt either in a faith or therapy situation from people who are well meaning helpers but do not truly understand trauma or healing trauma.
6. Faith:
We are all passionate, faithful followers of Jesus Christ and students of the Bible. We have a love for God’s word and heart for helping our Christian clients understand how their faith can be a powerful part of their healing. We want to equip Christians to live free from the lies that develop in the fire of trauma.
We view the counseling process as a collaboration between both client and counselor that addresses the problem the client brings in a holistic way. This means that in counseling we will consider the whole person: physical, mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual. We will start in the area that is causing the most present-moment distress but ultimately work toward healing and wholeness.
Find the Right Counselor for You
The counseling room is a safe, non-judgmental place to step out of the world and reflect on the problems that have you stuck. We have three different counselors with a variety of training and life experiences. Read more about their personal counseling process on their page.
Finding the right counselor for you is important and we know it can be a scary process. We offer free 20 minute phone consultations to ensure that you are comfortable with your decision to work with us. This is an opportunity for you to ask questions and learn more about the counseling process. If you are interested in setting up a phone consultation or an appointment, please contact us.
