Orangeville Biblical Counseling Solutions

Welcome and Informed Consent Form

Our goal in providing biblical counseling is to help you meet the challenges of life in a way that will please and honor the Lord Jesus Christ and allow you to enjoy fully His love for you and His plans for your life.

We’re glad that you’re taking this important step to seek godly counsel. Jesus promises us, “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). No matter what your situation, this is a time in your life that the God of all creation knows and understands completely and therefore, there is great hope! This form is helpful for us to start getting to know you and your situation, as well as to communicate these first important points which explain some of our perspectives and convictions which we believe are honoring to God and the best way we can truly be of help to you.

Our Commitments To You in Biblical Counseling

• As a ministry of Orangeville Baptist Church, our services are free.
• Our counseling is distinctly Christian and our counselors are not certified by the State of Michigan.
• All counseling is conducted in accordance with the counselor’s understanding of Scripture. Your counseling will be Biblical in which the Scriptures are the final authority in all cases.
• Information disclosed in counseling sessions will be held confidential only as the counselor believes is required by the Bible or the State. Absolute confidentiality is not Scriptural. In certain requirements, the Bible and State requires facts to be disclosed to selected others:
  • When there is a clear indication to harm him/herself or someone else.
  • When there is evidence or reasonable suspicion of abuse against a minor child, elderly person, or dependent adult.
  • When a counselor is uncertain of how to address a particular problem and needs to seek advice and wisdom from another biblical counselor.
  • When a person persistently refuses to renounce a particular sin and it becomes necessary to seek the assistance of others in the church to encourage repentance and reconciliation (see Proverbs 15:22, 24:11; Matthew 18:15-20).
  • If a subpoena or other court order is received directing the disclosure of information.

In all these situations, we will make every effort to be sensitive to your situation and carefully guard your information. Please be assured that our counselors strongly prefer not to disclose any of this personal information to others. We will strive to help you resolve the difficult situations you are experiencing as discretely as possible.

As part of our mission to train and equip others in biblical counseling, we may have counselor(s) – in – training participate in the counseling with us. These individuals will abide by the same standards as outlined above. However, in highly sensitive situations, we will consider if apprentices should be dismissed for a time.

• At any time during the counseling for reasons sufficient to himself/herself, the counselor – as also the counselee – shall have the option of terminating counseling.
• We are confident that the Bible has all of the information necessary for life and godliness. Therefore, our counseling is based solely on Scriptural principles rather than those of secular psychology or psychiatry. We believe there are no problems between persons, which the Bible fails to address, either in general or in specific principles. Our counseling is not infallible. Nor do we pretend to know all there is to know about biblical teaching and its applications to life. We are well equipped however, and competent to help you change.
• We do not give medical or legal advice.
• If a conflict should arise between the counselee and the counselor, both parties must agree to resolve the dispute outside the secular court system.

Your Commitments To Christ, To Yourself, and To Us

We ask that you commit to:

• Sharing your hurts and struggles honestly and openly.
• Honestly evaluating your own emotions, actions, motivations, beliefs, and relationships.
• Coming to each meeting prepared to review your progress throughout the last week (including the completion of personalized ‘homework’ assignments) and prepared to share your goals for the present meeting. Note: consistent failure to do the assigned weekly homework will result in the session not being held.
• Resolving your problems by coming into obedience to the Word of God. We want you to understand that Christian counseling consists of giving Scriptural advice and the practical application of the same to each individual. Yet, the counselee is held fully responsible for how he or she implements that advice.
• Give us a little time. Habits are not developed overnight, and new habits will take time to develop. In most cases, we ask individuals to commit to regular counseling appointments for a period of 3-4 months.
• Because the Scriptures teach that true change requires all the resources of the body of Christ we believe that it is essential that those seeking biblical counseling at our church commit themselves to regular attendance to at a doctrinally sound local church.

If you’ve read the above and wish to continue please download the following two forms, print, fill out, scan and either email them or mail them to us.

Use this Email link or the following mailing address:

Orangeville Biblical Counseling