Don't Panic: The Christian Counselor's Resource Guide Wikia

## Welcome to the Christian Counselor's Resource Guide Wikia

The Christian Counselor's Resource Guide, or CCRG, is a resource wiki to help Christian counselors keep it together in the therapy room. There are so many theories, so many cultural considerations, and so many things to keep track of while in session that it can be at times overwhelming. But don't worry and most importantly, DON'T PANIC!

Therapists aren't suppose to know everything, but they are expected to find things out. That's were the CCRG comes in. This wiki is a collection of guides, resources, advice, treatment plans, and general knowledge to allow the Christian therapist to be a competent and confident therapist. So go ahead and save this link and bookmark it at the top of your browser! Use it when your lost with a new client or need a refresher on a certain theory. Don't rely on it in session of course, but let this be part of your prep time before the next session!

The CCRG nor the site's moderator do not claim to own any of the presented material. Writen summaries are developed by the moderator, but credit will be given to the researcher, developer, or author that the information is taken from. If you have any questions or would like to contribute to the wiki, contact the wiki's moderator Myles Schutte at mylesschutte@gmail.com.

## Topic Categories

Since this guide covers such a veriety of counseling subjects, it is helpful to seperate these subjects into different categories. Listed below you will find a list of the different categories CCRG offers. Simply click on the category you are interested in and from there you will be redirected to a list of subjects that are within that category. A sort of "Table of Contents" for each subject. If you wish to return to this list simply come back to the home page.

* Book Reviews
* Class Notes
* Cultures
* Counseling Theories and Models

## How to use the Wiki

This is the CCRG's home page. No mater where you are on the CCRG, if you click the hyperlink at the top of every page that says "Don't Panic: The Christian Counselor's Resource Guide Wikia" you will be redirected to this page.

What makes wiki's such a great resource format is that you can have links within text to allow you to discover more about a specific topic if you wish. For example, if a page mentions the theory of CBT, the words of CBT themselves will be hyperlinked taking you to a page solely dedicated to CBT. This way pages will pertain to the specific information it is devoted to, but allows you to continue reading on through connected ideas and sources.

Many sources have been used to create this guide. Throughout the culture section the book *Ethnicity and Family Therapy* heavily used and summarized to outline each culture presented.

Throughout the entire guide, the CCRG strives to show an integration approach to counseling and the Christian witness. Each page will touch on how either how a therapy model is consistent with Bible truth or how to effectively witness to a specific culture. If you'd like more information on how to address tougher theological questions, check out this other wiki that is partnered with the CCRG called the Dr. Bob Wiki. The Dr. Bob wiki is for those wanting to know more about the Christian faith, or who are seeking answers, or who are trying to make a determination about what to believe and why. It's a great resource to have on hand when you need to good logical argument for things like existence of God or why bad things happen to good people.

## In Conclusion: Why have a guide?

A therapist has a responsibility to know theory, have a general understanding of methods, and be familiar with historical and cultural considerations before staring therapy with any client. The client's expectations must be meet explicitly in session, not assumed, and some cultural awareness is needed in order to connect with the client. This means monitoring nonverbal signs of disagreement or confusion while at the same time encouraging verbalization of such internal feelings so that issues may be clarified.

Keeping in mind specific consideration for every client can be no more important for the Christian therapist who, for the sake of the Gospel, is to try to understand those they help. As the Apostle Paul stated:

> For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the Gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23, ESV)
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The Christian counselor is called to meet the client where he or she is. Like Paul, the therapist is to place him or herself at the same level, understanding the client's world and seeing it through their own eyes so that the client may be saved. If the therapist is willing to be a servant to all, be weak while the client is weak, and becoming all things to all people, then the therapist opens him or herself to share in the blessings God provides to the client.