What is pastoral counseling?


Will my counselor preach to me?


Will my insurance cover my counseling?


What does a sliding fee scale mean?


Are all of your counselors ordained ministers?


Do you do family counseling?


Where are you located?


Do you have evening hours?


Will what I say be kept private?


Does this mean that if I have ever felt like harming myself, my counselor will tell someone?


I am a born-again Christian. Will my counselor suggest alternatives which are against my beliefs?

 

 

 
 

Pastoral counseling is very much the same as any other type of counseling you might seek from a psychotherapist, except that our counselors also have training in issues of spirituality and faith. What this means is that our counselors will always respect your beliefs, whatever they may be, and will help you integrate what you believe into how you resolve your current problems. More on the CPC mission.

 

No. Pastoral counseling is about respecting a person's spiritual beliefs, whatever they may be. We see persons from all different faith traditions, and persons who espouse no faith tradition. Whether you are Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or Atheist, you are welcome at Center for Pastoral Counseling, and your beliefs will be respected. Our mission is to allow people to grow into the fullest people they can be, not to convert anyone to our beliefs.

 

 

Many of our counselors are covered by insurance plans such as Champus, Aetna, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and many others. Those counselors who are not covered by insurance are always willing to work with you on a sliding fee scale to make sure that your counseling is affordable to you.

 

What does a sliding fee scale mean?

 

A sliding fee scale, such as the one we use at Center for Pastoral Counseling, takes into account such issues as your income, and your expenses. At CPC we set fees in a professional and pastoral manner taking into account your income and your family size. You can share with your individual counselor other important information that may affect your ability to pay for your counseling.

 

Are all of your counselors ordained ministers?

 

Many of our counselors are ordained ministers in various faith traditions, who are also trained as psychotherapists. All of our counselors, whether ordained or lay persons are certified or licensed by the state and/or certified by their professional organization. In addition to ordained counselors, we also have lay persons who are clinical psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, licensed professional counselors, marriage and family therapists and child specialists. All of our counselors have different areas of specialty which means different types of persons (children, adults, older adults) that they work with, or different issues such as anxiety, depression, family difficulties.

 

 

Most of our counselors work with families, couples and individuals. If you are looking for someone to work with a specific family, relationship or individual issue, let the referral coordinator know that when she answers your call, and she can direct you to the best counselor for your situation. Also, you can check out our specialties page for more information on which counselors specialize in the issues you may be experiencing.

 

 

The Center for Pastoral Counseling has offices throughout northern Virginia, as well as in Washington DC, Sterling and Manassas. See our locations page for a center close to you.

 

 

Yes. Most of our counselors are able to see persons in the evening, in the early morning or on Saturdays, depending on which counselor you see. Speak with your particular counselor to set up a schedule that works for you. The more flexibility you are able to have with your own schedule, the easier it will be for you to set up an appointment with your counselor as evening, morning and weekend hours are usually the fastest to fill up.

 

Will what I say be kept private?

 

Everything that gets shared in a counseling session with a pastoral counselor at Center for Pastoral Counseling is private and confidential. This means that it will not go outside of that room, and that your counselor and you will be the only ones who know what gets shared in your counseling session. It is important that you understand that by law there are certain things that any counselor must disclose if you share them. These include:

  • reports of abuse of a minor or disabled/elderly person

  • an active plan to harm yourself or someone else (such as a plan to shoot someone, or yourself)

  • any information that a court of law subpoenas from a counselor, when that counselor is not able to receive an exemption from the subpoena.  

     
Does this mean that if I have ever felt like harming myself, my counselor will tell someone?

 

No. Only imminent danger or harm is required to be reported. This means that you can safely share any history of feeling suicidal in the past, or abuse in your childhood with your counselor without fear that it will need to be reported. Only issues that place you in imminent harm must be reported. And even those, your counselor will work with you to find ways of keeping you safe that do not involve breaking your confidentiality.

 
I have strong religious beliefs. Will my counselor try to change them?

 

No. Our pastoral counselors are very respectful of all religious beliefs and will not try to persuade you to take any action that is against your relationship with God.

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