{"id":69,"date":"2018-03-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/"},"modified":"2021-12-28T23:05:20","modified_gmt":"2021-12-28T23:05:20","slug":"is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Is a Christian Counseling degree right for me?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re asking yourself whether or not you should pursue a Christian counseling degree, you are probably feeling compelled by the crisis state of mental health in the United States.<\/p>\n<p>While the debate rages over preventative solutions to the cycle of tragedies playing out all around us, you might be feeling a call to step in and do something. You want that\u00a0<em>something<\/em>\u00a0to play to your strengths and your interests, while fulfilling God\u2019s call on your life.\u00a0As you pursue your degree,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/admissions\/find-a-counselor\/\">seek advisors<\/a>\u00a0to help guide your interests and strengths along the way to your counseling degree.<\/p>\n<h2>A Christian Counselor\u2019s Strengths<\/h2>\n<p>Within the general field of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/academics\/undergraduate-majors-and-programs\/majors\/psychology\/\">psychology<\/a>\u00a0there are specialized options such as children, adult, marriage, and\u00a0addiction counseling; even\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/academics\/undergraduate-majors-and-programs\/majors\/social-work\/\">social work<\/a>\u00a0contains many elements of counseling.\u00a0While good Christian counselors will differ from one another in specialization and skill, there are a few strengths and traits all counselors should have. Let\u2019s examine a few of those traits.<\/p>\n<h4>Help people who are hurting<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Empathy<\/strong>\u2013 Like sympathy, empathy involves acknowledging the suffering or struggles of another person, but it goes deeper by\u00a0<em>feeling<\/em>\u00a0that person\u2019s pain and responding with compassionate understanding. A Christian counselor should have a great deal of empathy for fellow human beings.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Acceptance\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Christian counselors should have an intimate awareness of their\u00a0<em>own\u00a0<\/em>flaws and shortcomings so that they are more readily available to respond to the needs of others without a judgmental spirit. Every counselor should be able to accept people wherever they are in their lives, knowing that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/student-life\/minneapolis\/\">we live in a diverse world<\/a>\u00a0filled with people from all walks of life.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Navigate our ever-changing culture<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Problem solving<\/strong>\u2013 A Christian counselor is able to look into a person\u2019s life, full of all of its many complexities and challenges, and use discernment to provide them with the tools they need to affect positive change in their life.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Effective communication\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 A Christian counselor knows that their profession consists of many conversations as they try to help people work through the problems of life. They are excellent speakers who take complex ideas and tailor them to their audience so that the intended message is understood and taken to heart. They are also excellent listeners. They give people the respect, attention, and confidentiality they deserve as they are entrusted with deeply personal information.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Understand the brain and human behavior<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Science<\/strong>\u2013 As human beings, we are staggeringly complex. So too are the struggles and challenges we face.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nimh.nih.gov\/health\/statistics\/mental-illness.shtml\">According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)<\/a>, one out of every six adults in America is living with a mental illness (44.7 million in 2016).Christian counseling seeks to navigate the complexities of mental illness and help make sense of them, with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/student-life\/faith-and-learning\/\">the Bible as the foundational lens<\/a>\u00a0through which every problem in the world today is viewed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Be a Gospel-centered counselor<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Foundational faith<\/strong>\u2013 A Christian counselor is, you guessed it, a\u00a0<em>Christian<\/em>. They approach each client with the underlying belief that\u00a0\u00a0and that the Gospel is the ultimate answer to all of life\u2019s problems. A Christian counselor seeks to show each patient the love and kindness that God first showed them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Learn more about degrees at north central university<\/h3>\n<p>As you consider whether this might be the path of study for you, we invite you to learn more about degrees at North Central. With decades of professional experience, the instructors in the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/academics\/college-schools-and-departments\/\">School of Social &amp; Behavioral Sciences<\/a>\u00a0at North Central University know that a competent and compassionate mental health practitioner such as a counselor can make a huge difference in the life of someone who is struggling. Download our free viewbook to learn more about how NCU could be a good fit for your future.<\/p>\n<h3>Download our free viewbook to learn more about North Central<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/go.northcentral.edu\/blog-viewbook\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><button type=\"button\">Download the free viewbook<\/button><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re asking yourself whether or not you should pursue a Christian counseling degree, you are probably feeling compelled by the crisis state of mental health in the United States.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-programs","category-social-sciences"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Is a Christian Counseling degree right for me? - Table Salt | NCU Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Asking yourself whether you should pursue a Christian Counseling Degree? This profile of a Christian counselor will help you know if this is the right path.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is a Christian Counseling degree right for me? - Table Salt | NCU Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Asking yourself whether you should pursue a Christian Counseling Degree? This profile of a Christian counselor will help you know if this is the right path.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Table Salt | NCU Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-03-10T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-12-28T23:05:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/blog_ChristianCounselingDegree-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Is a Christian Counseling degree right for me?\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-10T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-28T23:05:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/\"},\"wordCount\":644,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/blog_ChristianCounselingDegree-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Academic Programs\",\"Social Sciences\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/\",\"name\":\"Is a Christian Counseling degree right for me? - Table Salt | NCU Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/blog_ChristianCounselingDegree-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-10T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-28T23:05:20+00:00\",\"description\":\"Asking yourself whether you should pursue a Christian Counseling Degree? This profile of a Christian counselor will help you know if this is the right path.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/blog_ChristianCounselingDegree-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/blog_ChristianCounselingDegree-1.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Christian counselor speaking with a client\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Is a Christian Counseling degree right for me?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Table Salt | NCU Blog\",\"description\":\"A University blog with a Christian twist\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Table Salt | NCU Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/blog-logo.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/blog-logo.avif\",\"width\":576,\"height\":153,\"caption\":\"Table Salt | NCU Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/author\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is a Christian Counseling degree right for me? - Table Salt | NCU Blog","description":"Asking yourself whether you should pursue a Christian Counseling Degree? This profile of a Christian counselor will help you know if this is the right path.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is a Christian Counseling degree right for me? - Table Salt | NCU Blog","og_description":"Asking yourself whether you should pursue a Christian Counseling Degree? This profile of a Christian counselor will help you know if this is the right path.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/","og_site_name":"Table Salt | NCU Blog","article_published_time":"2018-03-10T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-12-28T23:05:20+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/blog_ChristianCounselingDegree-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Is a Christian Counseling degree right for me?","datePublished":"2018-03-10T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-28T23:05:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/"},"wordCount":644,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/blog_ChristianCounselingDegree-1.jpg","articleSection":["Academic Programs","Social Sciences"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/","url":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/","name":"Is a Christian Counseling degree right for me? - Table Salt | NCU Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/blog_ChristianCounselingDegree-1.jpg","datePublished":"2018-03-10T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-28T23:05:20+00:00","description":"Asking yourself whether you should pursue a Christian Counseling Degree? This profile of a Christian counselor will help you know if this is the right path.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/blog_ChristianCounselingDegree-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/blog_ChristianCounselingDegree-1.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"caption":"Christian counselor speaking with a client"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/is-a-christian-counseling-degree-right-for-me\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Is a Christian Counseling degree right for me?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/","name":"Table Salt | NCU Blog","description":"A University blog with a Christian twist","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#organization","name":"Table Salt | NCU Blog","url":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/blog-logo.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/blog-logo.avif","width":576,"height":153,"caption":"Table Salt | NCU Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"","url":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/author\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}