Calvary Life Counseling Center

About our Counselors

The Lay Counselors are members of our congregation drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds and occupations who have gifts, skills and experience in supportive helping, encouraging and counseling. Licensed mental health professionals train and supervise our Lay Counselors.

How to Become a Counselor

As the Pastor of the Calvary Life Counseling Center, I would like to sincerely thank you for your interest in joining this ministry as a Lay Counselor. Let me take a minute and share our statement of purpose, so you have a better understanding of who we are.

Purpose Statement:
CalvaryLife Counseling Center is a biblically based, short-term, non-fee ministry of Calvary Church Santa Ana, serving the people of Calvary Church, Calvary Christian School as well as our surrounding community. CalvaryLife Counseling Center strives to effectively integrate God’s Word, prayer and the best counseling tools and techniques available with the approach of truth and grace utilizing non-professional Lay Counselors. Our passion is to offer God’s hope and healing to free individuals to be the people God intends them to be in order to fulfill what God intends them to do.

Characteristics Desirable in Lay Counselors:

(We are looking for people who identify with these statements)

    • Secure and non-defensive attitude about their faith
    • Fundamentally sound evangelical/theological perspective
    • Psychologically sound; no obvious, severe pathology
    • Solid self-concept
    • Maintains a basic attitude of acceptance of others
    • Not self-righteous
    • Not trying to cure self through the process of counseling others
    • Ability to be non-judgmental
    • Aware of their own issues, needs, emotions, etc.; ability to keep these separate from the needs of the client; the Lay Counselor is willing to discuss these needs, etc. in supervision if it becomes problematic in counseling with clients
    • Reasonable
    • Willing to learn, intellectually able to learn material in training and apply it
    • Willing to receive feedback and training throughout training class and supervision
    • Not controlling
    • Down-to-earth demeanor and attitude
    • Insightful and perceptive
    • Understands and agrees that the "fix it" mentality isn't useful in the counseling process
    • Recognizes the importance of confidentiality and is able to maintain confidential relationships
    • Agrees with and is willing to subscribe to the CLCC's policy of integrating Christianity with psychological concepts and theories

Requirements:

    • Member of the Church (or willing to complete membership class) and regular participants in the life of Calvary Church
    • Able to commit one and one-half (1 - 1/2) hours a week for one year for training course
    • Willing to serve as a Lay Counselor for at least one additional year following the training with the following minimum commitment:
      o One (1) hour a week for counseling session with the client
      o One (1) hour a week for supervision
    • At least 25 years old

Step One:

Set up an initial appointment with the Pastor of Lay Counseling for an initial interview. (714) 973-4800 ext. 390

Step Two:

Fill out a Counselor Application Form Counselor Application Form (PDF)

Step Three:

Interview with CalvaryLife Counseling Team

Step Four:

*Training Phase 1 (Trainee Status) 4-5 Months

Section 1

1. Biblical Basis of Counseling
2. The Paraklesis Model of Counseling
3. Awareness of Self, Others and God
4. Caring, Emotions and the Christian
5. What to Expect from the Counseling Process
6. Warmth
7. Empathy
8. Respect

Section 2

1. Genuineness
2. Self-Disclosure
3. Concreteness
4. Goal-setting
5. Confrontation
6. Immediacy
7. Self-Esteem
8. Learning & Change

Section 3

1. Elements of the Counseling Interview/Dual Relationships
2. Phases of the Counseling Process
3. Psychopathology
4. Effective Referrals
5. Crisis Counseling Roadblocks to Marital Growth
6. Counseling the Couple
7. Marital Counseling

*Training Phase 2 (Intern Status) 6-8 Months

• Helping People Recover from Affairs: Dealing with Infidelity
• Children and Child Therapy
• Depression, Grief, Loss
• Divorce Recovery & Blended Families
• Difficult Relationships
• Marital & Family Therapy
• Adolescents and Adolescent Therapy
• Anxiety and Phobic Reaction
• Incest
• Crisis Counseling
• Anger: Friend or Foe?
• Eating Disorders: Anorexia, Bulimia
• Domestic Violence
• How People Grow
• Love & Sex Addiction
• Stress Reduction, Relation, Visualization, & Biofeedback
• Intimacy & Addictions

*Training Phase 1 and 2 can be taken in either order.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I start the process?
Call 714.973.4800 ext. 390

What if I can’t complete the entire training?
The phases of training are sequential. Trainees and Interns can drop out at the end of any phase and pick up where they left off in a future training cycle.

What happens if I have to miss some of the lectures and/or trainings?
CD’s are available for check out for missed sessions. Trainings will have to be taken when they are offered on the next cycle. Please call the Counseling Administrative Assistant for information about tapes and dates for training sessions.

When do the Trainings and lectures Begin?
The Phase 1 (Trainee Statues) training begins in September of every year.
The Phase 2 (Intern Statues) training begins in January of every year.