Counseling, whether lay counseling or professional counseling is both challenging and rewarding. All professional counselors are required to participate in Supervision groups as an adjunt to their training. Counseling can only be learned in a live environment and there is no textbook that can address the variety of human experience that counselors encounter. In the Supervision group environment, cases are confidentially discussed and lay counselors are supported and provided direction from more experienced, professional counselors.
LCI takes its call to “prepare Believers for the care of others” seriously, and as such we consider Supervision groups to be an essential part of the professional level of training that we encourage.
Once someone has completed our Level 1 and Level 2 training, they may wish to work within their church or ministry to offer lay counseling services. Following the model for licensed-counselor education, we suggest that lay counselors participate in a Level 3 Supervision group which is led by either an experienced pastoral counselor or Christian mental health professional.