Paraklesis Counselling

Although Paraklesis is based on a philosophical and theological foundation of faith-based counselling and adheres to a Christian worldview, we are respectful of individual’s own faith perspective and understanding and will not force our perspective on you!

We do not practice "Biblical Counselling" or "Christian Counselling" per se. We are psychologically sound in counselling and training, and we endeavour to be biblically based and Christ centred—emphasising the Paracletic (Helping) relationship exemplified in the person of the Holy Spirit (the’ Parakletos).

Many therapist do not reveal their foundational belief system or worldview (even though it often directs their counselling approach). Paraklesis believes that clients have a right to know what worldview we adhere to, and that our value system, believes and worldview will not be forced on you. You might be made aware of your own underlying worldview and you will therefore be encouraged to reflect on your own perspectives as you strive for personal and spiritual growth and wellbeing. Paraklesis do use an integrated bio-psycho-social-spiritual approach, and all these aspects will be discussed. 

Please review our Paraklesis statement of commitment concerning "Respect for Dignity and Privacy of Clients" on the "Confidentiality" page.

There are many ‘faith based” approaches to counselling — some totally rejecting the integration of psychology and others totally ’spiritualising’ the counselling. Some reduce all counselling to just one aspect, while others have moved to a secular postmodern spirituality where Eastern, Buddhist meditative principles and practices are rife in counselling today.

Paraklesis strives to remain balanced in its faith based integrative approach - recognising the importance of biological (medical, pharmacological), psychological (emotions, cognition and behaviour), social (family and community), and spiritual (faith and religion) factors.

It’s unlikely that we will ever have one true Christian approach and one definition that says it all, and we certainly don’t claim to have a ‘corner on the truth’, but we want to be transparent, open and honest as we endeavour to be Christ centred, biblically based, and psychologically sound.

Attempts to define Christian Counselling tend to emphasise: The person who does the helping, the techniques/skills used in helping, and the goals of the helping. Paraklesis therefore aligns itself with the definition used by Gary Collins (1993 p21) that states that a Christian Counsellor is:

• A deeply committed, Spirit-guided (and Spirit-filled) servant of Jesus Christ
• Who applies his or her God-given abilities, skills, training, knowledge, and insights
• To the task of helping others move to personal wholeness, interpersonal competence, mental stability, and spiritual maturity.

Paraklesis defines Christian counselling as follows:

It entails a helping-(paracletic)-relationship in which the Spirit-filled counsellor helps (parakalein) people, through theological and psychological insights, to understand and resolve their own problems according to the word, within the caring community of believers, under the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit which facilitates and realises growth towards wholeness in Christ (Dr Mervin van der Spuy, Paraklesis Model 1993).

Our commitment to all our clients is to be transparent about our own belief system and worldview and
respectful of the client's own faith perspective and understanding !