I think this has gone off-topic a bit, but I just wanted to add something about finding counsellors. (Maybe we need another discussion board for getting help?)
I did a year-long course in General Counselling (A Christian model of Counselling) with the Australian Institute of Family Counselling (AIFC). This does NOT qualify me to be a counsellor, by the way!
It was a Christian course, but drew from "secular" models. The belief is, "All truth is God's truth". No matter that an insight was made or research was done by an atheist or an evolutionist. If it's true, it's of God. AIFC tries to take a balanced approach, integrating Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality.
The reason I say all this? I think "secularly" trained counsellors are good value and can be very helpful. On the other hand, lay-Christian counsellors can possibly do more harm than good. A Christian counsellor who has filtered their training through a Biblical worldview has the potential to add a spiritual and Biblical-theological dimension to their counselling model. This can be helpful.
All counselling models have their drawbacks and failures. I think a broad knowledge of different models makes for a good counsellor.
In the end, however, the client-counsellor relationship is one of the key aspects of successful counselling.
And we must not forget the work of our Master Counsellor.
End ramblings. If there is another discussion specifically regarding finding help, I may contribute in a more lucid manner.
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