Christian Counselor

Dr. Kristin L. Kellen is an associate professor of biblical counseling at the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Her courses focus on various aspects of biblical or Christian counseling, such as counseling for women, cross-cultural counseling, and counseling for parents and children. 

Before joining the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Kellen taught at Liberty University and served as a subject matter expert at Liberty and Grand Canyon University. She is the author of several books on the subject, including The Gospel for Disordered Lives and Counseling Women: Biblical Wisdom for Life’s Battles. Her PhD dissertation focused on medication referrals by practitioners of Christian counseling. 

CounselingSchools.com: Christian counseling may be a new term to some of our readers. Can you give a brief overview of how Christian counseling differs from secular counseling, and what drew you to this profession?  

Dr. Kellen: Sure! At a very high level, the distinction is that Christian counseling, unlike secular counseling, is distinctly Christian. Now, that may seem obvious, but let me draw that out a bit. 

Christianity is not only a faith system; it is also a value system. When someone claims to be a Christian counselor, they are stating that they believe in, live by, and practice counseling according to the Christian faith. It means (hopefully!) that they view God’s word the Bible, as authoritative and relevant. The Bible has the first and last word on all counseling matters, and in the areas in which it speaks, its words are where we start. 

Christian counselors also genuinely love their neighbor, desire their good, counsel ethically, and have the eternal soul of their counseling client in mind. There may be a good bit of overlap with secular therapists, but to be distinctly Christian means that a counselor values Scripture and God’s directives above all else and is motivated by them.  

As a side note, “Christian counseling” is also the title of a particular flavor of counseling—one that historically has valued the integration of secular therapy provided that it does not conflict with the Bible. Different counselors will approach this differently based on their clients and their context, but the more formal use of that term does denote a counselor who is open to using secular knowledge wisely and with discernment.

CounselingSchools.com: Awareness of mental health has seen a huge uptick in recent years, and many people are seeking help from psychiatrists, therapists, and counselors. How do you see the Gospel and modern mental health practices such as psychology interact with another? Do you find that there is conflict between the two, or are you able to integrate both into your work?

Dr. Kellen: I hope I can keep this brief, as huge volumes have been written along these lines!  

Simply put, insofar as psychological science does not conflict with God’s Word, I view that field as evidence of God’s common grace. Much of psychology rests on observations of how the world works—God’s world—and He has revealed truth outside of the Bible that we can glean from. However, Scripture is the only inerrant word, so while we can draw from secular psychology within limits, it will always be secondary.

Let me give an example: there are an increasing number of therapeutic practices that focus on the role of the body, particularly in trauma work. The Bible clearly teaches that we are embodied souls; our bodies do matter, though not supremely. 

Secular psychology is rife with practices like meditation, deep breathing, etc., that seek to calm the body in order to quiet the mind (soul). These meditative practices aren’t wrong even if they come from other sources; Christians have been meditating for centuries. But we wouldn’t, for instance, meditate on a God-like being or the power we have within ourselves. We’d meditate on the Word of God that has the power to produce change. So we can “pillage” practices that align with God’s Word, provided they do not contradict it. In many ways, science is catching up with Scripture and we’re seeing the fruit of that catching up.

CounselingSchools.com: We always like to ask our interviewees what recommendations they have for individuals with an interest in their field. You’re not only a professor of Christian counseling but have also published several books on the subject. What would be your advice to those who are looking toward your field, and what was helpful for you in establishing your career? 

Dr. Kellen: Pray. Counseling is hard work, but good work. It’s not for the faint of heart, for sure, as we hold deeply painful parts of others alongside them. But it’s also really good work when we see the Lord working in amazing ways and see lives change. 

For those looking toward the field, pray and ask the Lord to give you opportunities to practice counseling others, even if it’s life-on-life, walking through mud sorts of opportunities. But then seek out a program to train you that is conventionally Christian, unwavering in their faith and values. It’s difficult enough to sift through people’s problems and how to help, even more so when you’re being taught from a value system not your own. If you desire to do Christian counseling, get trained in both matters of faith and matters of counseling practice.