Christian Counseling
Christian Counseling in Huntington Beach
You may find yourself going through a divorce and feeling like a failure to your family, friends, ex-spouse, and even God. You may be wondering how to reconcile your painful realities with your faith. You may want to overcome the trauma that was associated with past relationships, and avoid repeating the same relational patterns in the future.
You may be a Christian who struggles with different mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, or Bipolar and are confused as to how to move through those issues in a Biblical way. Maybe you are feeling ashamed of the difficulties you are facing and are not sure where to turn.
It is hard as a Christian to admit these issues have pervaded your life. You may be overwhelmed from dealing with them on your own, but you are also afraid to discuss them in your church out of fear of judgment.
Seeking help from a Christian therapist may be the first step to overcoming these issues in your life.
Meet Brandon Pendergraft, Huntington Beach Christian Therapist
My name is Brandon Pendergraft. I am a licensed Christian Marriage and Family Therapist in Huntington Beach, CA.
I can offer you a compassionate, non-judgmental, safe place to discuss these issues and work on removing those spiritual giants from your life. I have helped many people walk through the difficulties of struggling through mental health disorders and in many cases, healing is possible from those disorders. I can help you to determine what can be treated and provide skills and tools to manage what cannot be treated by therapy alone. I have helped many people work through relational issues related to divorce and helped them get to a place where they have achieved forgiveness and compassion for themselves and their previous partner.
Focusing on the areas in your life that need attention due to past trauma and wounding frees you up to allow those wounds to heal into scars. You can then move from being a victim to a victor in your life. Becoming aware of the impact of the wounds from your past and working through the issues that come from those wounds will allow you to live a life of freedom.
Often, God uses those redeemed wounds in wonderful ways as you gain healing from them and often allows you to become of service to others who are working through their wounds as well.
If you are ready to walk into God’s healing with a Christian therapist, reach out to us.
My approach to Christian Counseling in Huntington Beach
Christian Counseling tends to work best when it is modeled after the life of Jesus. My attempt is to lead with compassion, forgiveness, grace, love, and truth. In the end, counseling is most successful when you choose to get real and honest with yourself about the gravity of the situations that you are facing in your life. As a therapist, the only help I can offer is the help that you are willing to receive. I value patients that are open and vulnerable about getting to the root cause of the issues and are willing to face the reality of where they are in life in order to move through the obstacles and suffering into redemption. My faith is the center of my beliefs and informs my therapy, and I have spent years trying to understand how to put into practice the wisdom that flows out of the Bible. My hope is that you leave with a deeper understanding of yourself and how you got where you are at, more fulfilling relationships with your loved ones, and a deeper relationship to God.
Christian Counseling FAQs
What is the difference between a Christian counselor and a therapist?
A Christian counselor is generally someone who is practicing some type of counseling, often lay counseling, where there isn’t a great deal of training or education involved, and they are also not recognized nationally or by the state as providing mental health services. To become a therapist, one must complete an educational program from an accredited university, as well as complete several thousand training hours in their field, to become licensed as a therapist. A therapist can also be trained in Christian counseling and many schools offer an integrative approach to therapy, where theology and psychology are integrated to provide a more holistic therapy. For example, I obtained my degree from Fuller Theological Seminary, School of Psychology, where I took classes both in theology and psychology, specifically in marriage and family therapy, affording me a Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy. By nature, this degree affords me an understanding of how to incorporate faith into my psychological perspective to the degree that the patient wants faith to be a part of therapy. Because my degree, and License as a Marriage and Therapist by the state of California, I have also had the privilege to sit with many people who are non-Christians or of other faiths as well.
Is it ok to see a therapist as a Christian?
As a Christian we are called to seek wise counsel. The Bible is literally filled with passages that let us know the importance of wise counsel. A quick Google search will pull up hundreds of passages discussing our need for wise counsel. Mental health has long been stigmatized in churches, and that has been to our detriment. We are all called to play different roles in the Body of Christ, and some of us have been called to sit with people in their pain and help them move towards redemptive sanctification in the areas where God is working in their hearts. That being said, there are many counselors and therapists who may not share your beliefs or are not trained in your particular culture. Certainly, you should find someone in whom you believe has the necessary disposition to both understand you and help you attain your goals in mental health. If you find yourself sitting with someone who doesn’t understand your particular issue or isn’t trained in dealing with people from your cultural background, find someone who is and work towards your health.
What does biblical counseling look like?
Biblical counseling is an umbrella term that can encompass many things. Typically, Biblical counseling refers to counseling that is grounded on the principles found in the Bible. There are no minimum educational or training requirements to advertise as a Biblical counselor. This can include Catholic clergy, Mormon clergy, or pastors from various Christian traditions who are seeking to help you navigate through your particular issues based on the wisdom of the Bible. They may work for the church and have some training in psychology but are not licensed through a State Licensing Board to practice counseling. If you are interested in seeing a Biblical counselor, it is worth asking them what Biblical counseling means to them, get an understanding of how they view the Bible, and how they might incorporate the Bible into counseling.
What does the Bible say about therapy?
The Bible doesn’t say much about therapy because therapy did not exist in Biblical times. The Bible talks extensively about seeking wise counsel and the importance of Jesus being a Wonderful Counselor. It’s a funny way to think about it but I have considered that if we, as the church, are the body of Christ, therapists are the ears. Our passion as therapists is to convey the love, compassion, wisdom, peace, grace, mercy, and love of Christ.
Walk in victory and freedom with the help of a Christian therapist in Huntington Beach
If Christian counseling sounds like something you are ready for, reach out for a complimentary consultation.