GOOD
NEWS
SPECIALIZED
MINISTRIES, INC.
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GOOD |
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 | Written Clinical Assessments and
Comprehensive Evaluations; a complete 5 axial Clinical Mental Health Diagnosis
based on a current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual; a
comprehensive and current Treatment Plan based on a current diagnosis; and testing
when needed with a
State Licensed or Certified Mental Health Professional. Your chosen
counselor should be able and prepared to share and discuss assessment
and test results with you if you wish. Do not hesitate to ask questions in
these areas. You should be familiar with your written Treatment Plan prepared
by your counselor and in agreement with the procedures and goals listed
therein. |
| Find a provider with access to Complete Clinical and
Professional Counseling Services: Individual, Family, Marital, Child,
Adolescent, Adult, and Group Counseling. Access to medical consultation
should be available to you and your counselor when needed. |
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Christian
Counseling should provide a noticeable difference from secular
counseling and manifest
Biblically Centered Principles of Compassion, Concern, and Love With Respect
for the Total Person and Sensitivity to the Spiritual, Emotional,
Intellectual, and Physical Dimensions of the Whole Person. Respect should
always be shown for your unique denominational beliefs. Your counselor
should not try to impose their own specific denominational or political
beliefs on anyone seeking professional counseling. If prayer is important to
you, check to see if your counselor is comfortable praying with you if you
desire this to be a part of your counseling experience. |
|
Seek Professional
Counselors with Continuing Earned membership in Professional Counseling |
| Strategies to make counseling
affordable are important. It is helpful to find an agency or counselor who
provides mental health services while offering Subsidized Sliding Scale Fees
Based on Individual Need and Income. Your privacy and confidentiality are far
better protected if you do not use insurance to pay your counseling expenses.
Insurance companies will frequently not cover the expenses for numerous mental
health diagnoses. Co-payments for mental health care can be expensive and the
number of sessions allowed can be very limited.
If you plan on using insurance, CHECK with your insurance company to see
exactly what your coverage is and whether or not they will pay for the
services of the counselor you are considering and the condition you have been
diagnosed with. (For instance, most insurance will not cover marital
counseling.) Make sure that your counselor or agency provides Insurance
statements, if desired, to you or your Insurance Company upon request. |
| Your counselor or agency should
manifest an awareness that All People at some time in their
life may need Counseling when experiencing: Depression, Grief, Unhappiness,
Marital Adjustment or
Difficulty, Family Problems, Stress, Transition, Change, etc. |
| Your Counselor should be
currently State Licensed or Nationally Certified (or under weekly supervision
from someone who is) depending on State requirements. They also need
to be qualified by training and experience to treat your particular area of
need or concern. Counselors need to be in accountable professional
relationships and have manifested effective counseling work while
utilizing Holistic approaches to healing. They should be comfortable working
co-operatively with your medical doctor, if you wish, for a
comprehensive approach to wellness. Most mental health diagnoses respond
best to a holistic approach that treats body, mind, spirit, and soul. |
| Trust, respect, willingness to grow, and a good relationship are critical in effective counseling. If you have questions or concerns, you should feel free to discuss these with your counselor. Usually a minimum of 12 sessions are required to see substantial change. If you are not able to establish an effective healing relationship with your counselor after 6 sessions, another counselor should be considered. |
One of the best indications
that counseling may be needed is that you are considering it. Professional
Counseling is a courageous step to take with great potential benefits. While our list is
certainly not
comprehensive
enough to describe ALL indications when counseling may be
needed, Professional Counseling is especially recommended and can be of enormous
assistance in the following situations:
1. Recurrent Marital or Family strain if a current episode has lasted longer than 2 weeks.
2. Difficulty functioning in your job or performing normal everyday life tasks that has lasted longer than 2 weeks.
2. Persistent relational difficulties that are causing you or others pain or distress in spite of your best efforts to resolve the issues.
3. An unusual amount of stress or change in the last few months.
4. Persistent feelings of sadness, unworthiness, despair, hopelessness, or weepiness that have lasted longer than 2 weeks. If this is accompanied by a change in your eating habits, sleep disorders, or difficulty getting started in the morning, a clinical depression may exist which requires professional treatment, in most cases, for improvement to occur.
5. Feelings of "wanting to die" with any intent to attempt suicide require immediate emergency room care along with with extensive follow-up counseling. This is also true of attempts or intent of violence to self or others.
6. Persistent internal feelings of anxiety or panic that are out of proportion to the circumstances and that causes discomfort to self or others .
7. Persistent Recurrent nightmares or difficulty sleeping.
8. Continuing parent/child problems or persistent reports of problem behaviors about your child from school or other officials.
9.
Eating patterns that include Bingeing/purging, excessive exercise with extreme
restriction of food intake, or excessive eating.
10. Any experience of events in the last few months that have involved any physical or emotional trauma including, but not limited to: assault, molestation, rape, robbery, man-made and natural disasters, death of loved ones, or loss of areas of your life that have been important to you such as health, job, home, etc.
11. Personal concerns or ANY expressed concerns of others about your alcohol or non-prescription drug usage.
12. Always seek immediate help if you are feeling unsafe for any reason
Good News exists to promote the highest quality of professional counseling possible to those who wish an alternative in an increasingly secular world that often ignores spiritual dimensions. We encourage people to seek Christian Clinical Counseling from sources which provide comprehensive services to people of all religious persuasions and offer respect for the uniqueness of a person’s belief systems. Many seek help from Christian Counselors because of strong ethical beliefs and family values while seeking effectiveness and Holistic approaches to healing.
GOOD NEWS believes Counseling to be
a confidential process based on a relationship of trust with
your counselor that
leads to learning and new growth. While dealing with emotional pain and
life-coping problems, the goal of the counseling relationship is to move the
person toward total healing and maximum realization of their own unique
potential and individuality so that life may be lived more abundantly and true
freedom realized. (Rom. 8:1-2; Gal. 5:1; John. 10:10) We believe that
Christianity has something unique to offer in healing and that the counseling
ministry of the Church Universal should be based upon the model Jesus gave us as
Healer and "Wonderful Counselor" (Isaiah.). We believe that the Holy Spirit is the
"Comforter" and "Mighty Counselor" described by Jesus in the Gospel of John.
We believe that Christian Counseling can offer unique resources for healing
mental, emotional, and spiritual disorders and is frequently effective where
other approaches have failed.
Resources For Locating Professional CHRISTIAN Counselors
While Good News does NOT endorse or recommend any particular agency, counselor, denomination or organization, access for resources that may help you in the process of choosing a counselor from a variety of professional Christian Counselors may be found by contacting the organizations listed below. The final choice is yours!
American Association Of Christian Counselors www.aacc.net
American Association For Pastoral Counselors www.aapc.org
Catholic Charities www.catholiccharitiesinfo.org (Phone in NH is 603-669-3030)
You may directly contact Good News by writing to:
Good News, Inc.
PO Box 10059
Swanzey, NH 03446
services
about Professional Counseling based on over 22 years of extensive experience at
Good News as a direct provider of comprehensive clinical counseling services. If
you are unsure as to whether or not you may need counseling, please scroll down
to read "INDICATIONS COUNSELING MAY BE NEEDED". If you are already searching for
a counselor in your area who is a Christian, please go to the bottom of this
page to read "RESOURCES FOR LOCATING PROFESSIONAL CHRISTIAN COUNSELORS". If you
are wondering how to choose the right counselor please read the following
article on:
Associations and some dual training in theological areas who have Masters or
Doctoral level degrees and are in accountable consulting relationships with
their professional peers. If your
counselor is not state licensed or nationally certified in an area of
professional Mental Health work, they should be making progress towards this
requirement and be under weekly supervision from a State licensed mental
health professional who is qualified to supervise. Do not hesitate to ask
specific questions of any counselor you are considering seeing in all these
areas. Professional credentials and qualifications are a matter of public
record and should be fully disclosed to you.