Individual counseling at Rowlett Christian Counseling in Rowlett, Texas provides an opportunity to receive support and guidance during challenging times as you work one-on-one with a trained mental health counselor in a safe, caring, confidential environment where you can explore your feelings, beliefs, and behaviors, learn how to effectively manage stress and/or other troubling issues, and work toward desired change.
Although it may not make an unpleasant situation go away, it can equip you with the tools you need to cope with it in a healthy, appropriate way that makes you feel better about yourself and that gives you a more positive outlook on life.
Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future. (Proverbs 19:20 ESV)
Get connected with a Christian Counselor
Please contact our reception team at
(469) 333-6163
Some of the more common issues addressed in individual counseling in Rowlett include:
- Anger management
- Depression and anxiety
- Stress
- Substance abuse and addictions
- Grief
- Effects of trauma
- Career related issues
- Major life changes
- Spiritual questions and concerns
Individual Christian counseling in Rowlett, Texas can help you:
- Gain a better understanding of yourself
- Learn how to handle your emotions
- Identify themes and patterns in your life
- Gain coping strategies to help manage your symptoms
- Improve your communication skills
- Let go of past hurts
- Overcome harmful behaviors
- Develop healthier personal habits
- Facilitate desired lifestyle changes
Counseling isn’t just for people who have a mental illness or whose lives are in pieces. The best time to go is before your problems become overwhelming or you’re in crisis mode.
In an individual counseling session at Rowlett Christian Counseling, you meet one-on-one with a trained mental health professional who will first gather information about your personal history by asking about your story and what led you to seek therapy. Once your counselor has a good understanding of your situation, he/she will create a treatment plan that is based on your unique needs and goals.
Information shared during the counseling sessions is kept strictly confidential. You will be encouraged to talk abut your thoughts, feelings, and the things that are troubling you, while the counselor listens to you without judgment, helps you cope with any intense emotions that come up, and provides feedback as needed to help you make sense of your feelings and be able to use this understanding to improve your emotional functioning.
Common individual counseling methods and techniques
- Psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is a talk therapy where you meet one-on-one with a counselor to work on identifying and understanding the issues that are causing you distress and impacting your life in a negative way, and on developing coping skills to help you manage and overcome them.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Cognitive behavioral therapy is a form of talk therapy that focuses on helping you understand the connection between your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, and how changing the way you think can change the way you feel and act.
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Dialectical behavior therapy is a modified form of cognitive behavioral therapy that focuses on how you interact with others. Its main goal is to teach you how to live in the moment, cope with stress, and experience your feelings and emotions in a non-judgmental way.
- Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT). Interpersonal psychotherapy is a short-term treatment option that focuses on your interactions with other people, and that is used to help you build relationship skills.
- Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Acceptance and commitment therapy is focused on increasing your awareness of your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Your counselor will help you work towards accepting them rather than avoiding or being conflicted about them, and on changing the behaviors that don’t line up with your values.
- Insight oriented therapy. Insight oriented therapy, also known as psychodynamic therapy, focuses on helping you understand how your past experiences influence your present ones, and on identifying unconscious defense mechanisms that are affecting your current behavior.
- Biblical counseling. Biblical counseling uses the Bible as a guide and combines scripture with the principles of psychology to strengthen your faith, identify behaviors that are inconsistent with God’s Word, and help you deal with life’s challenges.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question as everyone is different, and some issues are easier to treat than others. Basically, however, the amount of treatment sessions needed can vary anywhere from a few weeks, to a few months, to a few years, depending on the nature and severity of your issues, your unique needs, the goals you agree upon with your counselor, and the treatment module being used.
Following are some suggestions that can help you make the most of your counseling experience in Rowelett, Texas.
- Show up. Showing up to your sessions, and being focused and engaged is the most important first step. Missing appointments will impede your progress.
- Be honest. Don’t pretend to be okay or try to avoid talking about challenging subjects. The more open and honest you are with your counselor, the more effective your therapy will be. You are in a safe space where it’s okay to talk about whatever is on your mind without being judged.
- Don’t bottle up your emotions. It’s okay to let it all out. When you’re telling your counselor about a situation, don’t just state the facts. Be honest about your feelings. Part of counseling is to help you deal with your emotions, so openly verbalizing your struggles is key.
- View counseling as a collaboration. Your path to wellness is a team effort between you and your counselor. He/she is the guide. Your part is to open up about the difficult aspects of your life that you are struggling with.
- Between sessions, keep track of your thoughts and feelings, as well as any signs of progress, insights, or new challenges you face that you want to remember to share with your counselor.
- Ask questions. If you feel unclear about something your counselor is telling you, let him/her know.
- Make notes of key points. Take notes during your counseling session of anything that hits home so you can review it later and allow it to sink in.
- Do your homework. Put the tools you learn in your counseling session to practice in your day-to-day life, and make an effort to follow through on any assignments your counselor asks you to do between sessions.
- Be willing to step out of your comfort zone. Your counselor may challenge you to look at things from a different angle as he/she helps you learn new, more positive ways of handling difficult feelings or situations. Be willing to give it a try, even though it may feel uncomfortable or even overwhelming at first.
- Be patient. Counseling is a process of building positive thought patterns and behaviors. Change takes time and commitment.
Christian versus secular counseling
Christian counseling involves a combination of biblical principles and clinical interventions to help you find healing and wellness with God’s help. Choosing a counselor with a biblical perspective ensures that your Christian values will be supported and you will receive counsel in keeping with God’s will.
If you have questions or would like to set up an appointment, please give us a call today at Rowlett Christian Counseling. We would be happy to discuss how we can help you manage the challenges you are facing and walk you through the healing process.