About Christian Counseling
Dr. Bruce Ohman is a National Christian Counselors Association (NCCA) Board Certified Temperament Pastoral Counselor and holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Pastoral Counseling.
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.
For those individuals who feel unfulfilled and face challenges that hold them back from achieving a life of significance, we use a scripturally based therapeutic procedure called Creation Therapy that helps a person overcome those challenges.
Unlike secular counselors who believe a person’s life and behavior on earth is random and that man is his own god, Creation Therapy allows a person to uncover the gifts and talents placed in him or her by our Creator and enables them to see more clearly the purpose and significance God has designed into their life.
Our Approach
In 1983, Drs. Richard and Phyllis Arno began conducting research and developed a scripturally based therapeutic procedure that produces effective, positive, and more immediate results than secular counseling for those needing guidance/counsel.
The Arno’s therapeutic procedure is called Creation Therapy, a biblically based approach to behavior change, which operates on the theory of temperament, understanding of the inner man. It provides a framework for understanding and accepting one’s unique creation, which 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.
Most problems in our lives are the result of some attitude or behavior; they don’t just happen. Problem-causing attitudes and behaviors develop when individuals attempt to meet their temperament needs in ungodly ways.
To overcome these problems, old attitudes and behaviors must be replaced by new ones. This 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.
Building Blocks of Human Behavior
At conception, God places our unique temperament within us. He designed us with a temperament geared to enable us to achieve the plan He has for our life. But then at birth, we begin interacting with our environment and it interacts with us. Everything we see, hear, smell, touch, feel and learn slightly alters our temperament and forms our character.
Throughout situations in our life, we can develop a personality that expresses the way we perceive how we must behave to survive in the world. And this developed personality may or may not be a part of our temperament or character.
Throughout life, applying some learned behavior may cause another person to reject your behavior, at which point you would pull back and refrain from expressing that behavior in those situations. This self-selected behavior is called personality and it is expressed in the way we perceive we must behave to survive in the world in which we live.
Our character and the personality we develop for protection influence our identity (our perception of how we see our value, what are we worth?) and our destiny (our perception of our function and significance on earth – why are we here and what are we supposed to do?).
We were created with God’s perfect plan for us. If character and personality growing up or later in life has been developed in such a way as to believe we have little value and not much significance in life, that presents a roadblock to achieving His plan for us.
Creation Therapy helps individuals find those new attitudes and behaviors.
Discover how to connect with God’s energy, His plan for your life, and the path to your destiny.
What is the Cost for Counseling?
We offer a free initial 20-minute consultation for you to determine if our counseling services are right for you.
For counseling, the first session is a 50-minute intake appointment where we gather background information, discuss the issue the counselee desires to resolve, and develop a counseling plan, including instructions on how to complete the Arno Profile System (APS) assessment, which produces the counselee’s unique Temperament Profile. There is fee for the intake session, which includes the cost of processing the Temperament Profile.
Counseling sessions following the intake appointment are 50 minutes and there is a fee for each session, which must be paid prior to the session. It is common for a counselee’s issue to be resolved within six (6) sessions, although additional sessions may be required in certain cases, especially when multiple issues are involved. The session fee is determined by a schedule according to a counselee’s annual income.
We do not bill your insurance company; however, we will provide information for you to send to your insurance provider. Our fee is often quite similar to an insurance policy co-pay.