Practical Skills and Issues

As a Pastoral counselor I see the means to supply our exceptional resources to those with various mental health concerns ranging anywhere from bereavement and terminal illness, to spiritual beliefs and more. Qualified and skilled Pastoral counselors can offer a service to those that are in need of counseling on a spiritual level. Whether long term or short term, distorted spiritual beliefs do create a certain amount of dysfunction within the lives of patients. These counselors can focus on Scripture, prayer, forgiveness, and even some types of deliverance if necessary.
The book of James speaks about “Genuineness.” I see that, coupled with the knowledge of scripture, counseling skill, a relationship with Christ, and loving kindness for the client. Putting them first is necessary to care for those that are in need of assistance, and sometimes this focus on the client’s needs can involve recommendations tailored to that client, like specific passages from the Bible that relate to her situation or even suggesting she attend a Bible study to gain more knowledge about the Bible and her faith. Ideally, reading the Bible and other spiritual books will help increase her faith, as will developing a spiritual community.
As we listen with love to those irrational and behavioral problems, we are constantly praying for God’s understanding, their spiritual growth, and a healing in which the patient mind, body, and soul becomes at liberty to resume a long and health life. My intervention hopefully would allow me to operate on the client’s behalf by separating the individual’s current perception of reality to that of a healthy and more appropriate way of viewing reality, viewed through a spiritual lens.
I would like to hear some of your views.