Christian Counselors Need to Know

Before a counselor can begin to work with hurting individuals there are specific things they need to know. First, what do people coming into their office really need? What are they looking for? Crabb states that all people are looking for is a sense of personal worth. They want to be whole and accepted. In order to achieve this sense of personal worth individuals need significance and security. Significance comes from feeling important and having real meaning and purpose in their lives. Security at its most basic level is the need to for unconditional love and acceptance.

Next counselors need to understand the motivation individual have to do what they do. Motivation is best viewed as the energy behind an individual’s actions. When an individual’s needs are not currently being met, they are motivated to take action. Crabb feels counselors need to understand that when a need is not met individuals function from a deficit motivation. If the client cannot find a way to met the need they will be motivated to protect themselves. Unfortunately, most of the behaviors chosen at this point are those designed to “anesthetize or compensate for the emotional pains of fleeing worthless (p. 85). They may choose drugs, alcohol, food, or one or more of many other behaviors designed to help them hide from the deficit, failure, or loss.

Finally, a counselor must understand what makes a person tick. Here Crabb describes the person or breaks down the personality into the unconscious and conscious mind, the heart (or basic direction), the will, and emotions. When a counselor understands how events are processed and the affects it has on a person’s basic assumptions. It is how he feels about the event to determine the individual’s reactions/behaviors. Wrong assumptions result in anxiety, guilt, or resentment. Anxiety, guilt, and resentment can lead to crisis and problem behavior. When the goal for change is biblically aligned is promotes complete transformation. Romans 12:2 says “do not be conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of the mind, that you may prove what is good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” [KJV]. Well-prepared counselors can, with the help of the Holy Spirit move the person towards transformation.