If you missed yesterday’s post, Help, God, I’m Not a Counselor, you may want to read through it for encouragement in helping friends through tough times. In some cases, a friend will need to be referred to a professional Christian counselor to best help them.
According to the American Counseling Association (ACA), we should seek professional counseling when we need help addressing problems and issues that cause emotional distress or make us feel overwhelmed.
“Good indicators of when you should seek counseling are when you’re having difficulties at work, your ability to concentrate is diminished, or when your level of pain becomes uncomfortable,” says Dr. Gail Robinson, past president of the ACA. “However, you don’t want to wait until the pain becomes unbearable or you’re at the end of your rope.”
Joyce Breasure, past president of the ACA and a professional counselor who has been in private practice for more than 20 years, recommends counseling when you:
Spend five out of seven days feeling unhappy
Regularly cannot sleep at night
Are taking care of a parent or a child and the idea crosses your mind that you may want to hit that person
Place an elder in a nursing home or in alternative care
Have lost someone or something (such as a job)
Have a chronic or acute medical illness
Can no longer prioritize what is most important in your life
Feel that you can no longer manage your stress
Robinson points out you don’t have to be “sick” to benefit from counseling. “Counseling is more than a treatment of mental illness,” she says. “Some difficult issues we face in life are part of normal development. Sometimes it’s helpful to see what you’re going through is quite normal.”
About Kelly Stigliano
Kelly J. Stigliano has been writing and speaking for over 3 decades. She and Jerry have celebrated more than 30 wedding anniversaries together—all proof of God’s redemptive power! Kelly made bad choices for years and shares the lessons she’s learned along the way, hoping to keep others from making the same mistakes. Because no one benefits when we wear masks, she tries to stay transparent. “Everyone has skeletons in their closets, but my closets don’t have doors on them!”
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