Counselling

"Counseling" actually is practiced by a wide variety of practitioners who may best be viewed as on a continuum from relatively basic services to the most complex. a variety of studies have shown that most high end operating practitioners say that a large percentage of the people they see could just s well have been dealt with by somebody operating at a less esoteric level. At the very top level, there is usually a filtering system of referrals in order to free the practitioners to deal with situations which they are best equipped to address, referring less complex cases to other workers. There is also the matter of situations deteriorating through lack of timely assistance, resulting in their having to be dealt with by someone farther up the continuum.

At the most basic end of the continuum:

These people provide front line support and often serve to get people to the help they require when circumstances warrant it.

A mid-range level of practitioner

These people really offer an equivalent type of assistance but find a compatible context within which to operate, which has the added benefit of one stop shopping - assistance with an appropriate flavor - legal, medical, spiritual, educational, etc. so they are listed on no particular order:

High end practitioners dealing with the most complex situations

These people usually are trained to deal with complex diseases and disruptions of the mind and emotions, far beyond the ability of even most of them to deal with:

Of course, some people may be credentialed to work only at a lower end of the scale, but actually provide the help that is usually available at a higher end. At the same time, there are people who are credentialed to operate at a higher end who couldn't give assistance if their life depended on it. And all this says nothing of the activity of God in the healing process. It is a situation similar in many respects to what more than one doctor has noted, "I pull the skin together and clean it up, but it is God who does the healing". Credentialing is an imperfect system designed to offer at least a bit of protection to the community, but it is by no means perfect.

Prevention of problems by way of "healthy families and communities" is of course to be desired more than having superb ambulance services at the bottom of the cliff, which is where both ministry and community development fit in...as well as so many other initiatives.

Examples Further Resources (not necessarily endorsed by site)

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