How to Describe Your Counseling Ministry to a New Counselee 

I’m often asked, “What forms do you use to orient a parishioner or new counselee to your counseling?” 

Or, “How do you explain your counseling to a first-time counselee?” 

Or, “What information do you require new counselees to read, understand, and sign before you begin counseling?” 

The Biblical Counseling Ministry Welcome Form 

In Equipping Counselors for Your Church, I provide a two-page “Biblical Counseling Ministry Welcome Form.” 

It includes the following sections: 

• A brief welcoming paragraph describing the focus of our counseling.

• A description of ministries offered.

• A confidentiality statement.

• A statement about scheduling.

• A definition of biblical counseling.

• A description of the goals of biblical counseling.

• A statement outlining what they commit to in counseling and between meetings.

• A signature and date component. 

Confidentiality 

Here’s a sampler: The Biblical Counseling Confidentiality Statement. 

Confidentiality is an important aspect of the biblical counseling relationship, and we will carefully guard the information you entrust to us. All communications between you and our Biblical Counseling Ministry offices will be held in strict confidence, unless you (or a parent in the case of a minor) give authorization to release this information. The exceptions to this would be: 1.) if a person expresses intent to harm himself/herself or someone else; 2.) if there is evidence or reasonable suspicion of abuse against a minor child, elder person, or dependent adult; 3.) if a subpoena or other court order is received directing the disclosure of information; 4.) if/when LEAD Biblical Counselors consult with their supervision; or 5.) if a person persistently refuses to renounce a particular sin (habitual unrepentant rebellion against the Word of God) and it becomes necessary to seek the assistance of others in the church to encourage repentance, restoration, and reconciliation (see Matthew 18:15-20 and our Church Discipline Policy). Please be assured that our counselors strongly prefer not to disclose personal information to others, and that they will make every effort to help you find ways to resolve a problem as privately as possible. 

More Resources 

For the rest of the two-page document, The Biblical Counseling Ministry Welcome Form, in PDF format, click here.

For more information about Equipping Counselors for Your Church, including over two dozen free resources, click here.  

Join the Conversation 

What do you include in your counseling information/welcome statement? 

What do you include in your counseling confidentiality statement? What would you add, subtract, or change from the sample in the post? 

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth