Could you be a counsellor?

Counselling is a carefully arranged opportunity for people to talk through issues that are affecting their life, with someone trained to help.

ACC defines Christian counselling as activities which “…seek to help people towards constructive change and growth in any or every aspect of their lives, through a caring relationship and within agreed relational boundaries, carried out by a counsellor who has a Christian worldview, values and assumptions”.

You could be developing a counselling ministry if you can say yes to most of the questions below.

  1. Do you find that you are able to help and encourage people as they talk to you?
  2. Do you find people often talk to you about their personal problems?
  3. When people talk to you about their problems do you encourage them to talk more?
  4. When people talk to you about their problems do you listen rather than try to escape?
  5. When people talk to you about their problems do you avoid telling them what to do?
  6. Do people talk to you about their deeper problems and you can help them see things differently?
  7. When listening to someone’s problems, do you wish you were better equipped to help them?

A good way to explore if you could become a counsellor is to take an introduction course.

There is a list of training agencies on this web site who offer training courses all across the UK.

As part of the course you will be offered membeship of ACC at advantageous rates and you could benefit from the help and support of others who are on a similar journey. This will help you to explore the subject more fully and confirm is this is your ministry.

ACC counsellors

ACC Counsellors have a Christian worldview, generally expressed in the words of the creed, they are from a wide range of Christian traditions. A fuller description is included on the page What is counselling?

The Association of Christian Counsellors (ACC) is a registered UK charity. Founded in 1992, it is the leading agency representing the voice of Christian counsellors, and pastoral carers, in the UK: people who feel that God has called them to be equipped to counsel or to care for people.