With God As My Shrink

More Americans are seeking religious counselors rather than signing up for plain old psychotherapy—and a booming industry has emerged to answer their prayers. But can faith-based counseling heal the mind as well as the soul?

By Pamela Paul, published on May 01, 2005 - last reviewed on March 11, 2008

Credential Confusion

Increasing numbers of counselors lack education or accreditation as mental health professionals. The Sarasota-based National Christian Counselors Association requires only that its 5,000 members enroll in either a $3,000 eight-course program it developed or a one-course program with its for-profit arm, the Academy of Christian Counseling. And it urges members to shun state licensing so they may be free to promote their religious beliefs. "If a young woman comes into our offices to discuss her pregnancy, we'll tell her abortion is not the way to go," says Steve Baran, the organization's president. "When you're state licensed [as a counselor or therapist], you can't do that because you can't impose your personal beliefs. But as Christians, we need to be able to do that."

State-licensed mental health professionals are well trained in physical and emotional counseling, Baran concedes, but they aren't trained to deal with people spiritually. "Our counselors speak what the Bible says. When a person comes to see us, first and foremost we have to make sure that person's relationship with Jesus Christ is correct and good."

Not all counselors are so doctrinal. "Our approach is to look at a person's faith and values and incorporate them in the healing process, not to change their theological position," says Ross of Denver's Samaritan Ministry. The religious background of its counselors varies enormously, depending largely on the diversity in a given region. The outpost in Hawaii, for example, was founded by an Episcopalian, a Methodist and a Buddhist.

At the Spiritual Care Department at UCLA Medical Center, anyone who proselytizes on the job is dismissed, says director Sandee Yarlott. "We're trying to develop standards that run across all faiths," she says.

At the Chicago Christian Counseling Center in Orland Park, Illinois, all counselors are state-licensed mental health professionals; few have theological training. "We believe that every life is sacred and meant to bring God glory," says executive director Bruce Frens. "But we also believe every person is an integrated whole-body, mind and spirit." Rather than counsel a battered wife to stand by her man because the Bible forbids divorce, Frens would make her safety a priority and help empower her to confront the situation and leave—not very different from what most secular therapists would advise.

Nevertheless, the greatest growth remains Christian and largely evangelical. Duke University's Harold Koenig cites evangelicals opening their own Christian counseling centers and for-profit clinics, founding Christian hospitals and employing lay counselors in church settings. "There's a large evangelical population in this country, and in those circles Christian counseling is becoming increasingly well known and popular. And while some religious Christians have started seeing professional counselors, what this really is is a backlash against that movement."

But Does It Work?

The big question is whether faith-based counseling works any better than secular psychotherapy—or whether it works at all. Unfortunately, little quantitative or qualitative research on outcomes has been conducted, and the answer depends a lot on the belief system of whom you ask. Most Christian and pastoral counselors are, not surprisingly, true believers.

But faith-based counseling may share one fundamental fact with most psychotherapy: The active ingredient is the strength of the relationship between counselor and client.

Spiritual counseling is clearly the way to go for certain people, particularly highly religious ones, says Koenig. "There's a lot of practical wisdom in the Bible in terms of how to think of oneself, how to relate to others and how to live your life. When you take positive aspects of those teachings, it can be very healing and therapeutic."

Learn More About It

Christian Coaches Network: www.christiancoaches.com, 425-558-1845. Trains coaches through an online distance learning program.

Remuda Ranch: www.remudaranch.com, 800-445-1900. Christian-based treatment center for women and girls with eating disorders.

SmartMarriages: www.smartmarriages.com, 202-362-3332. Hosts programs that train lay couples to teach marriage education classes in churches and synagogues.

Pamela Paul is the author of The Starter Marriage and The Future of Matrimony (Random House, 2002).