Counseling
The leadership of LifePointe strongly believes in and encourages godly counsel. We have witnessed many families and marriages healed as a result of proper counseling. LifePointe has the privilege to partner with two outstanding counseling organizations. The Fellowship at Forest Creek in Round Rock, www.fellowshipfc.org, which is the home of Pastoral Counselor, David Burleson, and the Center for Relational Care, www.relationalcare.org.Pastoral Counselors are trained to handle the wide range of issues most people face at some point in life. They can help people struggling with emotional, marital, family or career related problems. Counseling can help a person identify core struggles and develop healthier ways of thinking, behaving, and relating to others. Counseling from a pastoral perspective assumes that God created all people in his image and that as a result every human being has inherent worth in Gods eyes. This God who made us and loves us also gave us a guidebook called the Bible that provides insight into human conflicts and answers to the problems we all confront. Thus the counselor uses the Bible as a source for finding solutions to everyday issues. People who struggle with relational, emotional or spiritual issues often develop unhealthy beliefs or thinking patterns that a counselor can detect. When people change the way they think about themselves, others or a problem issue, they often feel different and begin to behave in a new way within a brief period of time. Counselors help people identify unproductive beliefs, reframe their thinking process, and develop new skills for living. When thoughts and behaviors change, emotions are sure to follow. People who see a Pastoral Counselor usually find relief from their struggles in three to ten sessions with the counselor. David Burleson has 20 years of pastoral counseling experience dealing with a wide range of emotional, marital, family, career and spiritual issues including: EMOTIONAL STRESS Anger management Burnout Conflict resolution Grief management Depression Forgiveness Fear and anxiety Suicide Guilt and shame Communication skills Financial counseling MARRIAGE Dating Premarital counseling Marriage enrichment Marital affairs Divorce recovery FAMILY DYNAMICS Parenting skills Sex education Teenage aggression Self-esteem Blended families CAREER GUIDANCE Stress management Workaholism Unemployment Job transitions SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE Death and aging Disappointment with God Finding peace with God Finding purpose in life What kind of training does David have as a pastoral counselor? EDUCATION: Doctor of Ministry, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth, Texas, 1993 Master of Divinity, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth, Texas, 1983 Bachelor of Science, Biochemistry Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, 1978 COUNSELING TRAINING: Master of Counseling, St. Edwards University, Austin, Texas, 2005 Cognitive Therapy for Anxiety Disorder, St. Edwards University, 2002 Certified Belief Therapist, Therapon Institute, 2002 How much does an appointment with David cost? Counseling appointments last one hour and cost $70.00 per session. How do I book a counseling appointment? To book a counseling appointment, call Claudia Whitehead in The Fellowship office at 255-8972. The Center for Relational Care, www.relationalcare.org, is located in Austin. Counseling services at the Center for Relational Care are provided at rates consistent with those of the area for professional and pastoral counselors. Some low-cost counseling is available using graduate student interns supervised by the CRC staff. Services include marriage, family, individual and group therapy. The staff and associates at the Center for Relational Care employ Intimacy Therapy, a clinically sound, theocentric counseling model that helps hurting people experience Gods presence, provision, compassion and truth at their points of need. This model, developed by Dr. David Ferguson, considers the greatest need of humankind to be a vital and intimate relationship with God, and because of His sovereign plan, to also have vital and intimate relationships with other human beings. The lack of relational intimacy with God and others is seen as the primary source of problems that call for assistance or intervention by pastors and counselors. Growth and lasting change occur as people encounter God at the point of His Word relevant to their needs, experiencing Gods truth in the context of their relationship with Him and others. This Biblically-based therapeutic approach helps pastors, counselors, therapists, and others involved in counseling and caregiving ministries understand the power and potential of caring, connected relationships in the healing and growth processes. Essential to this approach is the belief that Gods Spirit ministering in and through a caring, connected and confidential group can actually quicken the maturing and healing process as His love, comfort, grace, and encouragement are placed in circulation. Such sensitive giving, one to another, deepens humility, exercises ones faith, and increases gratitude. This true community or koinonia breaks down the painful hindrances of self-centeredness, self-reliance, and self-condemnation, bringing freedom and wisdom to love God and others well. |
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