Spiritual Counseling

What is Spiritual Counseling? by R. Scott Sullender, Ph.D.

Spiritual counseling is a one to one conversation that focuses on the spiritual dimensions of a client's life or a client's difficulties.

Spiritual Counseling does not exclude conversations about a client's cognitions, relationships and feelings, but also more distinctively focuses on what meanings the client draws from his or her experiences.

Essentially we humans are meaning-making creatures. We need meaning as much as we need food, water, self esteem and intimacy. Our lack of meaning or faulty meanings can make us sick or well as surely as a lack of food or poor food nutrition can.

Spiritual counseling should be provided by professionals who are dually trained in both psychological counseling and theology/spirituality, having both academic and clinical training in both of these areas. At the Lloyd Center Pastoral Counseling Service, our staff includes certified pastoral counselors, certified by the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, and spiritual directors, who have earned at the least a Diploma in the Art of Spiritual Direction. By definition and by provision of our Code of Ethics, we are not here to proselytize or impose our theology upon clients, but to work with clients within the client's spiritual frame of reference.

Spiritual counseling is an important element in this program because often the "meaning" or purpose clients derive from their difficulties is a crucial element in reinforcing or releasing them from such illness. In the case of depression, clients sometimes experience a deep meaninglessness or despair(hopelessness) about their lives, or their disabilities or relationships that contributes significantly to their depression. In turn, when clients can identify a positive purpose, find some good in, learn lessons from or see where they have grown from their difficulties, they are better able to transcend their depression, learning to live beyond it.

The Lloyd Center Pastoral Counseling Service, is a division of San Francisco Theological Seminary. We have three offices throughout the Bay Area. We have a staff of over 12 persons, mostly certified pastoral counselors, spiritual directors and a variety of licensed mental health professionals. For more information about our service, about what we mean by spiritual counseling, and how we practice spiritual counseling, please contact me directly at lloydcenter@sfts.edu.