Our Practice
I am a National Christian Counselors Association (NCCA) Board Certified Temperament Pastoral Counselor and I hold a Ph.D. in Clinical Pastoral Counseling from Colorado Theological Seminary.
The NCCA believes that because psychology is the study of the human mind and its functions and God created the mind, there is no one better suited to the study of psychology than the Christian. And the NCCA believes that the Bible must be the foundation of every therapeutic method. Psychology can be extremely helpful, but psychology in and of itself cannot do what Scripture can do without inspiration from the Word of God. Natural revelation from scientific data can be helpful, but no scientific knowledge can produce results equal to those produced by the Word of God. The Bible is divine revelation. It is central to our techniques and always holds the final authority.
Our Counseling Approach
In 1983, Drs. Richard and Phyllis Arno began conducting research and developing a scripturally based therapeutic procedure that would produce effective, positive, and more immediate results with those needing guidance/counsel.
We utilize Creation Therapy, a biblically-based approach to behavior change, which is the result of Drs Richard and Phyllis’ work. Creation Therapy operates on the theory of temperament – understanding of the inner man. This understanding helps us meet our temperament needs in scriptural ways, connect with the purpose God has for our lives, and use our gifts and talents to achieve our destiny.
Every individual has temperament needs in varying degrees. These temperament needs are met by drawing from our soul or our spirit. Problems in our lives are the result of some attitude or behavior, they don’t just happen. Most of these attitudes and behaviors are caused by:
- Individuals attempting to meet their temperament needs in an ungodly way (drawing from the soul).
- Temperament needs being out of balance, i.e., all the individual’s energies spent meeting some needs while other needs are ignored.
- Reactions to unmet temperament needs.
Full and complete change of a human being is an act of God; the application of Creation Therapy by the counselor does not change a person. Rather Creation Therapy helps an individual understand and accept his or her unique self, which causes the individual to allow God to effect change in their life.