Author: Dr. Howard M Sarkela

The Holy Spirit is the counselor. He will direct you with wisdom and wise counsel as you minister to others. Just remember that the anointing breaks every Yoke.

Always be prayed up and ready for a counseling session. It is good if you have studied and are familiar with the writings of: Crabb and Adams and Tournier they are great counselors and teachers of counseling.

A key function in counseling involves our ability to listen and take quality notes.

We must never rush or hastily give counsel.

All psychological behavior problems relate to SIN. More specifically most behavior problems relate to the client having made a wrong assumption concerning how to achieve either SIGNIFICANCE of SECURITY, and then taken inappropriate having action on that wrong assumption. Your job is to listen and prod until you cause the client to realize that they have made a wrong assumption and acted upon it, what the wrong assumption was and when they made this wrong assumption, should be clearly identified.

In other words, behavioral problems relate to wrong thinking. As a man believeth in his heart, so is he. We must listen, identify and help the individual to see when a how and why they made this wrong assumption, or formed this wrong belief system, and then acted upon it.

That is the easy part. The tough part is in how long it takes for the counseling relationship to build to the point of trust, so that the client will open up and reveal their true inner feelings and not try to hide or mask them. We must first build a relationship and earn the clients trust. This can be difficult because of hurts that the individual may have suffered when trusting others in their lives.

But, when you reach this point of trust and the client opens up and becomes truthful, this is when healing can begin. This is the breakthrough period. Tournier calls this COMMUNION.

Our goal in counseling is to form a trusting relationship and to achieve COMMUNION with our clients. Our prayers should be directed toward this outcome which will bring about healing as you peel back the layers of protection one at a time and the client then has confidence and a willingness to expose their true feelings, to become vulnerable while trusting you with the truth about their lives.

Prior to the close of your counseling session, you should give a home work assignment to your client. Perhaps to read a scripture text relative to their problem area, they should be required to study the scripture and then write a short essay applying what they learn from the reading, to their lives. It is of crucial importance to instruct the client on the value of prayer and the need for regular prayer to establish a communicative, intimate relationship with Jesus.

Each session should end with your praying in the authority of Jesus name, binding the strong man and asking for the Holy Spirit to fill the client and to force out all that is not righteous and holy in their lives. You can lay hands on your client and command that they be FREE in the name of Jesus by the power of His shed blood and call on the Holy Angels to protect and fight of demonic influence.

Even if you are an experienced counselor, I strongly advise that you read the Jay Adams Books on Christian Counseling. If you maintain a close walk with the Lord, the Holy Spirit will operate through you in His capacity as the ultimate Counselor to others. Your strong faith in knowing that He will tear down every strong hold, and break every yoke, will help many during your lifetime, ahead of counseling in and through our Lord’s Great Love.