One Tree Psychological is pleased to announce that we are now offering faith-based counselling as a service! This modality can mean many things to different people, and depends on their preferences, the clinician they work with, and their faith. In this blog post, we will explore what faith-based counselling means, what it might look like in-session, and why people may choose faith-based counselling.
Faith-based counselling, in its essence, is a therapeutic intervention that has a focus on an individual’s faith, or brings faith into conversations. Faith-based clinicians have knowledge of the specific faith’s practices, beliefs, and scriptures, that can help people navigate life, personal struggles, making decisions, and solving problems. Different faith-based clinicians will work with different faiths, so not every clinician will be a good fit for every person; it is important that if you want to pursue this modality that you double check the clinician is familiar with your faith.
Faith-based counselling will also look different for every person who pursues it. Sometimes, a person is looking for someone to help them work with a crisis of faith or navigate a particular issue with their faith, such as how it fits into their life, or even a personal difficulty with their faith. Sessions for these individuals can be very focused on religion and spirituality, bringing prayer and scripture into sessions as a primary drive for the therapy. Faith-based therapists can also help individuals with religious trauma; it can be really beneficial to have a therapist who understands the religion or faith practices in this context, whether or not someone wants to keep their faith after a religious trauma.
Sometimes, faith-based counselling is sought out for issues or concerns unrelated to religion, but having a clinician who understands their faith and can discuss these issues comfortably is helpful. For these sessions, therapy will look much the same as non-faith-based counselling but may include prayer, spirituality, and discussions about scripture to help bring clarity, to aid in how people make decisions or solve problems, or bring a feeling of peace or security when they are struggling.
Faith-based counselling can be a mix of these things, can help with a variety of issues, and may be particularly helpful for those who center religion or are healing from incidents or traumatic events related to their faith, and are looking for clarity.
For this new service we’re offering, the clinicians at One Tree Psychological that will be offering faith-based counselling are happy to share a bit about themselves and their approach to faith-based counselling:
Brianna Friesen: I offer faith-based counselling from a Christian perspective. My approach is very flexible, based on your wants and needs for the session. In general, faith-based counselling with me resembles any other counselling, focusing on the issues and goals that you bring forward, with the added perspective of faith. It may also involve using faith-based mindfulness practices such as prayer or meditation or recommending engagement with faith practices (scripture reading, attending services, joining groups, etc.) to support healing and growth.
I understand that some people prefer a therapist who shares their faith background for comfort and common ground, and sessions might include very little talk of faith, or faith may be a primary topic. Whether you feel confident in your faith, are in a questioning phase, or are considering changing or leaving your faith, I am happy to talk with you and process issues of faith or other concerns you have, in a nonjudgmental and safe environment.
Melanie Naguib: As an Orthodox Christian my main approach with faith-based counselling is focusing on faith (our own internal beliefs and values) compared to the overall concept of religion (structural, institutionalized, and organized), as they are two different components that don’t always agree. By recognizing your faith needs we can delve into how you can meet your goals, even if it is unconventional. We might utilize prayers, scripture and readings, and delve into their meanings and how they can be relatable to you. Like with other therapeutic modalities, my focus with faith based counselling is putting your needs first, and developing an internal system that builds upon strengths and hope.
If you are interested in faith-based counselling, you can reach out to us at contact@onetreepsychological.ca or go to our website onetreepsychological.ca to learn more about faith-based counseling and see if our clinicians are the right fit for you.