Providing Christ-Centered Therapy for Teens and Families
Do You Want Christian Therapy for your Teenager?
For Christian parents choosing a therapist, you might wonder:
- How do I know the therapist shares my worldview?
- Does the therapist support my family’s values?
- Will the therapist encourage my teenager to rely on God and the Bible for guidance on their mental health journey?
Every therapist is ethically bound not to undermine a client’s belief system. However, for many families that is not enough. Some parents are looking for a therapist who can help encourage their teenager’s relationship with God, religious community, and Scripture.
Many Christian teenagers tell us it feels like the world is currently against their belief in God and their morals. In essence, Christian teens say having a Christian therapist gives them the space to process thier struggles through a Christian lens and to talk about what it feels like to hold some counter-culture beliefs. These teens benefit from Christian Counseling.
Fears Christian Parents Might Have About Traditional Therapy
Therapy has many roots in secular viewpoints. It theorizes all kinds of explanations for internal human suffering, challenges in relationships, and mental illness. Consequently, the solutions offered by traditional therapy often only give a slight nod to faith-based solutions.
As a result, many parents worry about their teen having a private confidential conversation between their child and another adult. They wonder, “What if the adult doesn’t support our worldview?” Christian parents are also nervous about therapy because, “What if the therapist encourages my teenager in whatever recent trend they have seen online?”
Families of faith are concerned therapists will work from the current paradigm of relative truth. By contrast, the beauty of Christian based counseling is the therapist believes in God’s unchanging truth. A Christian therapist takes into account all psychological training and theories, but still vets them through the Christian worldview.
How Do Your Christian Therapists View My Child?
Another key point is that Teen Therapy OC therapists believe your child is “fearfully and wonderfully made.” We believe your child was “knitted together in [their] mother’s womb,” from Psalm 139.
Seeing your teenager in this light means the therapist believes your teenager exists to serve God and others, not themselves. It means some of the therapy “homework” pushes for selfless actions, engagement with prayer and a church family, and consideration of God’s love.
Much of the psychology world is occupied with loving oneself; conversely, Christ-centered counseling focuses on learning how God’s love sustains us. We believe engaging with a community of loving believers does wonders for your teen’s mental health.
How Does Christian Counseling for Teens Work?
When we talk on the phone before booking an initial appointment, one of the questions asked is whether faith will play a role in your child’s counseling. Once the appointment is scheduled, you are part of the first session. This is another opportunity to talk some about the role Jesus plays in your family’s life.
Your teen’s therapist then typically meets alone with your teen. The therapist will ask your son or daughter about their faith in God. From there, your teen will receive consistent encouragement to go back to the source of life, healing, connection, and joy during the counseling process.
We implement Scripture, prayer, devotionals, and general discussion about faith into Christian teen therapy sessions. We also still utilize traditional therapeutic methods that are tried and true.
For example, cognitive-behavioral therapy does wonders for an array of emotional struggles. However, there are many opportunities to integrate Christian faith into cognitive-behavioral interventions. For instance, maybe your teen believes he is “unloveable” Cognitive-behavioral therapy seeks to evaluate an idea for accuracy, which typically lessens negative emotions. Your teen will be asked to provide supportive evidence for and against the idea that they are “unloveable.” This is where the depth of Christ’s love would be discussed as it is evidence against your child’s belief that they are unloveable.
Teen Therapy OC Therapists who Practice Christian Counseling
There are several therapists on staff at Teen Therapy OC who feel comfortable implementing faith into the therapy room.
