I have been a pastoral counselor for over 30 years. In 2016 I began a faith based private counseling practice. Since that time, I have worked with the Oregon Board of Psychology to ensure that pastoral counseling does not cross boundaries with the practice of psychology. Pastors have an obligation to offer faith based counseling with clear separation from psychologists.

The Oregon Board of Psychology website states,

“Practicing psychology means rendering or offering to render supervision, consultation, evaluation or therapy services to individuals, groups or organizations for the purpose of diagnosing or treating behavioral, emotional or mental disorders.
 
It is unlawful to practice psychology or represent oneself as a psychologist without first being properly licensed by the OBOP. To “represent oneself as a psychologist” means to use any terminology, title or description of services incorporating the words “psychology,” “psychological,” “psychotherapy,” or “psychologist,” or to offer or render to individuals or to groups of individuals services included in the practice of psychology.” https://www.oregon.gov/psychology/pages/Board.aspx

In my practice I state clearly in correspondence that I am not a psychologist and I do not practice psychology. Specifically, my work does not diagnose or treat behavioral, emotional, or mental disorders.

Although I have used public domain assessments in the past, protected by first amendment rights, I have ceased to use assessments to create distance from diagnostic language. In the place of assessments I use spiritual reflections on Biblical concepts of temptation, fear, sadness, and sexuality.

My email credentials state specifically that my degrees touch pastoral counseling and not psychology.

I offer spirituality through prayer, Scripture, and compassionate support. Specifically, I follow the teachings of Christ in terms of anxiety regulation of Matthew 6:25-34.

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[e]?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Note the compassion of God to regulate worry. My pastoral counselees find this extremely helpful and transformational.

One reason pastoral counseling can be so successful is that people of faith tend to resist humanistic approaches to counsel.

Biblical concerns such as

Addiction

Abuse

Marriage

Sexuality

can be treated with prayer, scripture, compassion, and anxiety regulation.