Counseling Boundaries

The first boundary, I would implement is that the leader needs to be committed to the counseling sessions, transparent, and honest. There is no need to go through this journey if the counselee is not going to be transparent, and honest about their issues. Secondly, I would explain to them that someone will always be nearby during our counseling sessions, as a witness to our interactions with one another, but your information will still be kept confidential. Thirdly, I would help them to understand that their issues will not be solved in one visit, that it will be a process, but if they are committed to the process, then we can expect amazing results. Lastly, I would reiterate to the leader, as a reminder that if I see any signs that symbolize

The Bible tells us “we eat the fruit of our lips” (Psalm 13:2, paraphrased), therefore, since power lies in the tongue, implementing a positive affirmation or positive word challenge will be beneficial. When a person is used to speaking so negatively over every situation, it becomes challenging for them to change their language, but not impossible. The positivity challenge begins to help them to see, how often they blow up unnecessarily, and realize how many negative comments they recite during the course of a day. It allows them to be more aware of their actions, and take responsibility to begin to change and take back control over their lives. It is helpful for them to journal this process, and to be able to reflect on how far they have come, and to keep track of their emotional stability or lack thereof when they do speak positively or negatively. The benefits of the short-term counseling model are the ability to start the counselee on a journey to wholeness right away; immediate steps can be taken to address the issues, and an action plan can be implemented to achieve results, when all parties are dedicated to the healing process. In all instances, I strongly encourage individuals I mentor or minister to, to create a prayer life; with the implementation of prayer life, they will deepen or develop a relationship with Jesus Christ. Furthermore, the risk to short-term counseling is possibly misjudging an issue to be short-term, when long-term counseling methods need to be implemented. As counselors, we must make sure, we are not so eager to get the counselee out of pain, that we miss underlying issues that coincide with their problems (Smith, 1992, p. 84). Therefore, we need to be cautious and mindful that if the counselee is not making progress that we refer them to someone more suitable to handle their