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PASTORAL COUNSELING
By Dr. R.K. Hester
There is no greater field of labor for the Pastor than in the ministry of counseling.
It has not been until recently that pastors are realizing how important this part of their ministry really is. In the past,
most pastors only had to concern themselves with preaching and the administration of the church affairs. This is frankly not
the case today.
The pastor is not only called upon to teach, preach and administer the affairs of the church, but,
he is often
called upon to fill the roll of a counselor. Not only to those in the congregation, but many in the community
as well. The roll of the pastor as a counselor is ever expanding, and pastors are facing a greater demand upon their time.
They must prepare themselves to meet these new and pressing needs in the area of counseling.
The word "counsel" is
defined as: "To give advice; to recommend, or to the urge the adoption of." Pastors have always been counslers according to
this definition. It has been their responsibility "to give advice" and "to urge the adoption of", certain facts concerning
both the physical and spiritual good of others.
Today the roll of pastor comtinues to expand. It is imperative that
the pastor have an understanding not only of who to help, but how to help them. The pastor who is not trained in the area
of counseling will become more of a hinderance instead of a help to the kingdom of God.
SUPERVISION... "Oh No!"
"Oh No Not more verbatiums and process Recordings." If these
thoughts flashed through your mind as you read the words, "Supervision Requirements," you can breathe a long sigh of relief.
AACT supervision is built on the belief that every counselor must be accountable and willingly submit their counseling practice
to review by peers. Accountability is the key to good practice and effective ministry.
Accountability for the Certified
Advanced Pastoral Counselor and the Certified Clinical Pastoral Therapist may be demonstrated in a variety of creative ways.
Two factors are considered: (1) how is outside review accomplished; and (2) how does the counselor demonstrate continuing
education for remaining current in counseling ministry.
Some Certified counselors and therapists teach courses in
counseling. These counselors submit sample lesson plans or lecture notes to meet supervision requirements. Other counselors
are members of local peer review groups. These counselors submit a statement refleecting the number of hours that they have
met with the gourp. Still other members submit copies of flyers and a copy of the attendance sheet for seminars that they
have presented or attended. The idea behind the supervision requirement is to demonstrate and document accountability, not
adhere to rigid and inflexible rules. if you are in doubt about the requirements please call the Granbury Office at 817-326-8342
and speak with someone about your supervision.
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INSURANCE
With increased willingness on the part of the general public
to sue for anything, counselors are more and more concerned about professional libility insurance. In response to several
requests for information we have been able to determine that individual counselors and counseling centers not a part of the
church organization are not covered under church policies. Insurance is now offered through AACT at a nominal cost to you
for your protection. You will receive a brochure and application for insurance when you receive your certificate. Think ahead....IT
CAN HAPPEN TO YOU.....
Words from our President
Greetings in the Lord's Name
I sit here putting together our online newsletter.
I hope many of our members have read the excellent articles that have been offered for our past newsletters. I hope that all
of you who visit this page will visit all of the rest. I hope you will see that the AACT is a strong, viable, growing association
that has the goal to help those who help.
If you have an article to offer please email it to me and we will consider
placing it on our newletter. If you send something that would benefit the association we would also consider placing that
on the web page.
We are also offering those with web pages the opportunity to link to us or us to them. I believe
this will help all concerned. Drop us an email and let's get connected.
Remember you can now call or email for a catalog.
Or you can print out the necessary web pages and mail that to us with all of the required information. We want you to decide
to be a part of an exciting organization but we don't wish it to be hard for you to join.
There will always be changes, putting
articles here and new information throughout the newsletter and web page.. .. .. .. .. come back often and read the changes....
Allow God to touch you as you read thoughts from your peers about Pastoral and Christian counseling.
Drop me an email
at aact@zipmail.com and let me know you have read our newsletter.
Blessings in Christ Name
Our Counselor....
Dr. Barkman
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