Why Christian clinical counseling is more effective than secular clinical counseling …

“God, if you just help me out of this terrible situation I’ve gotten myself into, I PROMISE I will never do this again!”

If you haven’t personally prayed something like that during a difficult time in your life, you likely know several people who have.

What usually happens if we make it through bad circumstances?

We often wind up doing the same foolish things that got us into trouble the first time!

Scripture addresses such behavior rather bluntly:

“As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness,” Proverbs 26:11.

That’s leads us to why Christian clinical counseling is more effective than secular counseling. Every human being is first a spiritual being, and if you do not address the spiritual part of any person’s life, you largely miss the person!

For lasting change to occur, we must experience a transformation from the inside out. That requires the work of God in our lives, and it’s a work God wants to do in each of us but we must first enter into a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ so that we have access to the Father and so that the Holy Spirit will come and take up permanent residence inside us. Without the covenant relationship, we don’t have direct access to God or the life-transforming work of the Holy Spirit.

Without that component as part of any therapy you engage in, you’re limited to only what a human being can accomplish as far as change goes. Human beings are naturally bent toward sin, so foolishness will be the routine outcomes of living by the flesh rather than living by the Spirit.

God really wants to change all of that!

He wants to start by changing the way you think …

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect, “ Romans 12:2.

“With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes,” Ephesians 4:17-23.

As desperately as you might want to change your thinking and behavior, until you are set free from the power of sin and its consequences, you will be a slave to sin. No human being has the power to fully and permanently defeat sin; on your own, you will wind up being like the dog who returns to its own vomit. Transformation requires the power of God, and that is something God wants to provide us when we make peace with Him …

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline,” 2 Timothy 1:7.

Because the Christian clinical therapist understands the biblical teaching of salvation and transformation God offers, he or she can best help you address your spiritual life, as well as provide clinical counseling skills as part of your overall treatment plan.

I should add a “however” to provide full notice here — there have been times when I have recommended a Christian see a secular clinical therapist. Not all Christian clinical counselors are competent, and when you don’t have access to a competent Christian clinical counselor, you would be better to pair working with your pastor on your spiritual life with also meeting with a competent secular clinical counselor who respects your Christian beliefs and will serve your clinical needs in cooperation with the work you’re doing with your pastor. One more note, a “biblical counselor” or “Christian counselor” isn’t a clinical counselor and cannot address and serve your clinical needs, so if you need help with more than just your spiritual life, you will want to seek out a Christian clinical counselor.

A key point to be made is getting the help we need to change our lives is a whole-life process — assessing and address our spiritual, mental, emotional, relational, and physical needs as a whole. A Christian clinical therapist is especially skilled to help you do that, but you still need to cooperate with your church leaders, your physician, and possibly others. But don’t expect to make permanent, life-transforming change without making a priority your spiritual condition.

Scotty