Christian Counselling

 

                            519-624-1001

                Online & Phone counselling link below

Offices in:  Cambridge & Simcoe (Ontario, Canada)

"Resources" link below contains many articles, books & links that may be of interest



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  Spiritual Direction

 

 

      Below are a few books & a link related to Spiritual Direction that may be helpful as a supplement to counseling / counselling.

      Mulholland states that spiritual formation is the experience of being shaped by God toward wholeness. It is the process of being conformed into the image of Christ (sanctification), where God is seen as the initiator of our growth and we are to be pliable clay in God�s hand. It is a pilgrimage of deepening responsiveness to God�s control of our life & being.

     This process moves against the grain of our self-actualization culture (which tends to create God in our image), our instant-gratification culture & the possessiveness of an acquisitive society. There is a dying to self involved that is focused on growth for the sake of others, not just for our own privatized, individualized religion that is just between us & God. Wholeness needs to be incarnate in our relationships with others & our nurturing of one another (community) toward wholeness. There are a number of different Spiritual Direction models that are all more or less focused on these things.

     Some care needs to be taken in finding a Spiritual Director. All are not scripturally sound in their view of God or our relationship with Him. A number have integrated elements of Eastern mysticism (New Age) teaching & practices which do not fit with spiritual truth from a Christian perspective. They usually try to redefine Christian scripture to fit with their very different world-view, or naively think that psychic/occult practices can fit with Christianity. Even when some are doing this in sincere ignorance it should still be avoided, as it will at a minimum subtly build error into your life, if not something more serious.

     For example, Loyola House in Guelph currently offers a workshop integrating Reiki, which you should stay away from. This doesn�t necessarily mean that this is where everyone associated with Loyola House is at, hopefully just that a few people there are trying to integrate this in ignorance (perhaps not in ignorance though). Please see the "Spiritual Counterfeits" section under "Resources" in this Web Site.

 

 

      Phone counseling / counselling,Online audio / video, email or LiveType Chat Instant Messaging etherapy sessions are available for working through issues as an alternative to the standard Office appointments we also offer (see Online & Phone Counseling).

 

    In our Resources section we have a number of links, books, articles, essays & seminar notes that may be of help as a supplement to counseling.

 

 

 

Books & Link

1.   Invitation to a Journey � M. Robert Mulholland Jr.

2.   The Spirit of the Disciplines � Dallas Willard

3.   Celebration of Discipline � Richard Foster

4.   Annual Directory of Spiritual Directors of Southern Ontario - $15.00 
            www.toronto.anglican.ca/spirit/prayer.shtml#Heading258a

 

Explanation of Amazon links & Shipping rates is further down this page

.com US$ Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation

                 The Spirit of the Disciplines - Understanding How God Changes Lives

                 Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, 25th Anniversary

                 Richard J. Foster's Study Guide for "Celebration of Discipline"

 

 

.co.uk GBP Invitation to a Journey

                    The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives

                    Celebration of Discipline

                    Celebration of Discipline study guide

 

            Journal             audio cassette             audio CD                    VHS

.com US$ Celebrating the Disciplines : A Journal Workbook

                 Celebration of Discipline : The Path to Spiritual Growth audio cassette

 

.co.uk GBP Celebrating the Disciplines: A Journal Workbook

                     Celebration of Discipline audio cassette

 

Amazon book links (above) & Shipping rates

1. Clicking onto any of the links above will not commit you to buying anything. It will merely enable you to peruse & compare the different new & used prices for this book from the different Amazon sellers (called "Marketplace"). You will be able to click onto your "Back" button (upper left of your monitor) a few times to exit the Amazon site & get back to our website, without being committed to buying anything.

2. In order to purchase anything, you will need to click onto an additional "Add to Shopping Cart" button, then click onto "Proceed to checkout", & then give your credit card information. You can add as many books as you wish to your Amazon cart (even from different pages in our website), before finalizing your purchase by clicking the "Proceed to checkout" button & entering your credit card information. There is a "delete" button under each book you add to the "Shopping Cart" with which you can immediately or later delete it from your shopping cart if you wish.

3. Amazon has a secure encrypted (https) payment section of their web site so credit card purchases from them are safe. You pay Amazon alone & then Amazon pays their "Marketplace" sellers, so your credit card information goes only to Amazon, not to any of the "Marketplace" sellers. It's a good system.

4. Canadian $ (CDN$) links are in the pictured boxes above. United States $ (US$), & United Kingdom pounds (GBP) links to the same books are given as "text" links below the pictured boxes.

5. In the pictured boxes above, clicking onto the "Buy from ..." button will take you to the new price of this book when bought directly from Amazon. Clicking onto the "Best Price" link, above the "Buy from ..." button in the pictured box, will show you all of the varied new & used prices for this book from the different Amazon sellers (called "Marketplace"). Generally the "Best Price" link is the better way to go as it also includes a listing of Amazon's new price for the book (you will be able to find Amazon's new price listing by checking who the seller is for each listing).

6. Clicking onto the "title" link of the book in the pictured boxes above (above the "Best Price" link) will enable you to read a description of the book, & sometimes product reviews of it by different people. There will also be a "View product details" link at the top of the "Best Price" listings page, which will take you to the same description/product reviews page.

7. Amazon sets a fixed price for the shipping costs they or any listed "Marketplace" seller can charge, regardless where the listed seller is shipping the book from. Amazon itself however, charges a bit lower shipping rate than it requires it's "Marketplace" sellers to charge. More importantly, for the purchase of more than one book, Amazon charges a much lower shipping rate for each additional book, whereas "Marketplace" sellers charge their fixed shipping rate multiplied by the number of books you purchase. Amazon's multiple book discount in shipping can thereforesometimes outweigh the benefit of choosing the lowest "Marketplace" price.

8. Amazon also offers Free Super Saver "Domestic" shipping if you live in Canada for .ca purchases, live in the US for .com purchases, or live in the United Kingdom for .co.uk purchases, & if you buy directly from Amazon (not from the varied "Marketplace" sellers), & your total order's value is higher than $39.00 CDN, $25.00 US, or 15 GBP. This can often outweigh the benefit of choosing the lowest "Marketplace" price.

9. The Amazon shipping rates are : (1) .ca (CDN$) to Domestic, United States, Western Europe, Japan & SE Asia, Rest of World, Customs; (2) .com (US$) to Domestic, International, Customs; (3) .co.uk (GBP) to Domestic, Western Europe, North America, Japan, Rest of World, Customs.

10. The Amazon "Marketplace" shipping rates are : (1) .ca (CDN$) shipping rates, Customs; (2) .com (US$) shipping rates, Customs; (3) .co.uk (GBP) shipping rates, countries covered, Customs.

 

     

Context of our Value Base

 
   

     Our counseling services are available to both Christians & non-Christians alike (as per our Mission Statement), & for both we integrate our spirituality only to the degree that people request & are comfortable with.   We are respectful of others being in somewhat different places than we are in the life journeys we walk out, & are also aware that many have been hurt or offended religiously by others in their past. 

 

    We do not try to force our Christian value base or beliefs on others, although it can at times affect what goals we feel comfortable about being able to work on with others, because there are a handful of moral & spiritual issues where we will not be comfortable in counseling contrary to our beliefs. These issues generally do not tend to come up in most people's counseling though.

   

      We come from a spiritual, biblical perspective so when requested we also function as pastoral counselors / counsellors in addition to being professional counselors, marriage & family therapists.   We are very comfortable with prayer & the inclusion of scripture where this is requested & desired, yet even then it will be integrated only to the degree that people are comfortable with.

 

Who we are : MSW 30+ years counselling experience

 

Please feel free to book Online & Phone counseling appointments as an alternative to our Office appointments

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