The Holy Spirit guides, teaches, convicts, and heals God’s children. A Christian counselor needs to be attuned to the Holy Spirit in order to assist in God’s work through the counseling sessions. In order to be able to allow the Holy Spirit to move the counselor should have attributes of a competent Christian counselor. These attributes were defined by Bufford (1997) in Clinton and Ohlschlager (2002). One such attribute is for the counselor to be skilled in “spiritual interventions and resources” (Clinton and Ohlschlager, 2002). In order to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit the counselor should have an intimate relationship with the Lord and to seek His wisdom. The Lord says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). The Holy Spirit can reveal itself through scripture, other people, in prayer or events. This is why it is important to be able to discern the “voice” that is speaking. Spending time in prayer, reading and studying the Word, and consulting with other Christians on the Word supply the counselor with the resources and skills that will assist with the helping relationship. The Lord says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you” (Psalms 32:8, NIV).

References

Bufford, R. (1997). Consecrated Counseling: Reflection on the Distinctives of Christian counseling. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 25(1), 111-122.

Clinton, T. & Ohlschlager, G. (2002). Competent Christian counseling (Vol. 1). Colorado Springs, CO: Water Brook Press.

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