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Faith and Faith-Based? What's the difference?

KING'S CROSS COUNSELING seeks to integrate psychological expertise with the deepest Christian principles to offer genuinely holistic support. We understand that mental health is an essential part of your overall well-being, and our goal is to help you achieve clarity and peace.

Do you know that Christian counseling and Christian psychotherapy, though both valuable, are different?  See below.

King’s Cross Counseling Christian Depth Psychology

While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message:
“Have nothing to do with that innocent man,
for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.”

Matthew 27:19

It’s such an odd detail, provided only in the Gospel of Matthew.

Pontius Pilate’s wife, Claudia, has a nightmare.
While Jesus prays, in the garden of Gethsemane, that “this cup might pass from me,” Claudia dreams about “that innocent man” who was soon to be crucified.  Then, in anguish, Claudia tries to protect Him.
But Jesus had foretold that“the Son of Man must suffer.”

Suffering …

We all wish to escape it, and relief is a goal of psychotherapy.

But dare we view those who suffer as failing or falling short?

Dare we deny suffering’s value, message, or meaning?

Treatment

Imagine Claudia being referred for “treatment."

Would she be …
Prescribed medication to prevent nightmares?
Offered relaxation, meditation, cognitive restructuring, sleep hygiene?
Taught to erect a boundary between herself and Pilate’s politics?
Assessed for traumatic history and offered trauma-informed care?
Called a “treatment failure” if her anguish over the crucifixion continued?

Dignifying Suffering

Why not take Claudia’s suffering seriously?

Claudia saw her dream as an encounter with “that innocent man.”

What if Claudia were chosen, if her dream were a gift?

What if Claudia was permitted  to suffer with Christ?

When we suffer, and search for support, what exactly are we searching for?

What is Christian Depth Psychology?

Christian Depth Psychology

King Lear                 

Doth any here know me?  This is not Lear …  Who is it that can tell me who I am?

Fool                           

Lear’s shadow. 

Earl of Kent             

This is not altogether fool, my lord. 

Shakespeare, King Lear

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The Fool speaks difficult truths to the king -- who does not readily hear them.

There is a King Lear in all of us.  One can sometimes feel a mere shadow of oneself.  One can also find oneself in one’s shadow.  The Christian can even discover Christ in his or her shadow.  Paul calls it "Christ in you, the hope of glory."  This is where Christian depth psychology begins.

The Fool is more loyal to King Lear than any other character, except for Lear’s daughter, Cordelia, whom Lear tragically rejects for refusing to flatter him.  Alas, she tells the truth.

In real life we have no Shakespearean “Fool” to help us.

What is Christian Depth Psychology?

"Let no man deceive himself.  If any man among you seems wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise" (I Corinthians 3:18).

Depth psychology refers to idea that there are always crucial things we don’t yet know about ourselves.  Our suffering often arises from these crucial unknowns.  Our suffering baffles us.

Christian depth psychology refers to the idea that “Christ in you” (Colossians 1:27) and “His Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:22) can transform us through suffering (Romans 8:17, James 1:4)— if only we can learn to cooperate.

Symptoms can be invitations.  By allowing ourselves to “become fools” (for example, by not rushing to “make it go away”), we open ourselves to learning something new about ourselves in an intimate encounter with Christ.

No one else can have your encounter with Christ for you.

My role is to search with you, to listen with you.

Read More....

Integrating Faith: Counseling vs. Psychotherapy

A man wearing headphones sits on a couch, gesturing while looking at a laptop in a bright living room.

Faith-Based Counseling

Christian counsel or counseling blends biblical wisdom with proven psychological techniques, providing suggestions for a faith-driven path toward healing. It integrates spiritual teachings as part of the dialogue-- the content of therapy.  The goal is to provide a new and distinctively Christian framework for understanding oneself and others. 

A person holding a rosary in their hands.

Faith-Based Psychotherapy

Christian depth psychology (or psychotherapy) taps biblical principles about ourselves as dwellings of Christ, and about our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, to learn to hear God in and through our affliction.  It integrates the Scriptures as part of the experiential process of therapy. The goal is to create a new and living experience of oneself in relation to Christ-- of His power manifesting in and through our weakness.

Take the First Step

Starting your journey toward better mental health and spiritual well-being is just a step away. Allow us to guide you through this transformative process. Reach out to book our Christian psychology services.

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