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A review of the chapters reminds me of how important the counselor as a person and the counselor characteristics are in the helping process. Counselor characteristics play an important role in the helping process. For the counselor, it is vital to know the client .Just as a shepherd knows his flock, Jesus Christ knows his sheep. The Bible affirms this in John 10:14--15,(New International Version) ). “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me. Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” According to Thomas and Sosin (2011), Effective counselors possess clinical wisdom which helps them understand the client and the situation. Understanding of the situation helps the counselor to intervene and accurately assess and treat the clients. It also enables the counselor to help clients with their difficulties.
The counselor seeks to imitate Christ like behavior and becomes an instrument of the Holy Spirit through whom he can provide guidance. Thomas and Sosin (2011) indicate that “As the Holy Spirit indwells and fills and equips you, the counseling will naturally follow from God’s absolute truth and principles of living” (Thomas & Sosin, 2011, page 85). Just like Christ, the counselor seeks to reach out to those in difficulties as demonstrated in Luke 19:10 “for the son of man came to seek and to save the lost.”
The counselor not only provides guidance, he shows compassion, comforts and advocate for the clients. The effective Counselor has a set of good characteristics such as love and trust that reflect upon Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus Christ loves his own church, the counselor shows love to those who seek help. The love enables the counselor to accept individuals as they are. With love, the counselor can display empathy and unconditional positive regard. The bible illustrates Jesus Christ’s compassion for the helpless. "When Jesus Landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things (Mark 6:34)."
I continue to seek guidance from Christ in this journey.
Reference
Thomas, J. &Sosin, L. (2011). Therapeutic expedition: Equipping the Christian counselor for the journey.
Ruth, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog. I love how you highlighted on the importance of the counselor’s characteristics and how those characteristics can affect our client. It is very important that we understand who we are as people and followers of God. This understanding can then help us to better understand and connect with our client. “As the Holy Spirit indwells and fills and equips you, the counseling will naturally follow from God’s absolute truth and principles of living” (Thomas & Sosin, 2011, p.85). I relate with this quote completely! Sometimes as a counselor I search for the words of phrases to say when I should just relax and let God take control of the session and give me the words to say. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tiffanie, how comforting it is to know the love of God and abundance for the Christian counselor. God equips believers with knowledge and strength to help others.God uses the Christian counselors as an instrument to help others. According to 2 Timothy 2:21 (NIV),"Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work."
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