First responders are recognized, police officers are applauded, our military is loved, people who raise money for cancer are honored, and so forth, but counselors must maintain their work private. As a counselor, I have ministered to hundreds of people for thousands of hours over the last thirty years. And, who knows about it? Well, the clients, those who have heard about it at some of my seminars and conferences, my friends and close acquaintances, my children and my wife. Will they be giving me any awards for the years of service to others? Nope. As well, they shouldn’t!
I recently spoke with a counselor who complained to me that he felt a bit put out because he had been counseling for over five years and felt no one was noticing his service and sacrifice. I told him that I had noticed, but he complained that it was unfair that counselors, as he said to me, “received no love from the public.” He argued that we provide a great service to the public through the counseling ministry.
While I could sympathize with my friend’s complaints, I sure could not empathize. If someone is looking for, or expecting, glory from their counseling ministry, they are in the wrong profession. The greatest benefit to people who come to counseling is that what they share will not be disclosed. There is a sense of security when you consider a person as a counselor, who seeks privacy more than publicity. I am one of those exceptions when it comes to publicity, and then because I not only counsel but train and supervise other counselors.
As a trainer, teacher, seminar speaker, and someone who certifies counselors, I am expected to make myself available to those counselors who are certified by New Life Christian Counseling Ministry. My web access points such as PracticalCounseling.Com, my email address, and most importantly my Minds.Com website, help me reach most of those counselors with up-to-date material that they may use for their ministries. On the PracticalCounseling.Com website, we make even more material available to those counselors. In return, those same counselors are able to contact me with questions and requests for additional materials and resources. Therefore, even though I prefer privacy, I must continue to be public for said purposes.
If you are considering counseling as a profession or ministry, except that for the most part you will also not be seen or recognized publicly, for all the hours and days you spend helping people who truly need the service. Most people will never know you have sacrificed in this manner, but those you help, on the other hand, will tell as many people as they can. As Christian counselors are true aim must be to give all glory to God. It takes away from our need to be recognized for what we do, but it is what He would have us do. Yes, we provide a service that has, at least in my case, had the effect of saving lives, but then that is what we are all about right? We want to help others changed their lives for the better because it also helps us change our lives for the better.
By the way, after I let my friend whine and complain for a while (I did the counseling on him), I then exhorted him to put his big boy pants on and stop wishing for platitudes from people who would just be blowing hot air at him anyway. Our reward, besides self-satisfaction, is that others heal.
