I tend to think that most of us need, or could at least really be helped by, counseling at some point.

And though I imagine that it did not exist in just the same form as we think of it now, the most common “counsel” that wise King Solomon gave was actually to seek counsel!  If anyone didn’t need counsel, one would think it would have been the wisest man who lived who didn’t need it; but in fact, he was one who greatly appreciated it!

I also think that many of us do not seek the counsel we need (whether through professional counseling or not) when we could make the most
use of it.

In my mind, I kind of imaging (and I am making up these numbers based on nothing more than intuition) that about 15% of the people could really be helped by counseling at any certain time.

However, the vast majority of us don’t get it, so that number piles up.
Over time, in addition to the 15% who could use it right now, there is another larger percentage who didn’t get it when they needed to, and now the need is escalating.  So, (remember, made up numbers) imagine 15% could use it now, plus another maybe 50% or more who are past due.

The main problem is that getting counsel when needed is the act of a pretty healthy person.

It requires support, finances, and scheduling logistics… but mainly, it is just very challenging to deal with certain issues.

Almost all of us carry the burdens of past and present pains, shames, abuses, wounds, curses, and fears that we have attempted to pretend don’t exist or at least pretend that they don’t bother us.  Most of us would really rather just not talk about them; they are like wounds scarred over but a little infected – we can live with them for a long time, but they negatively affect our lives…

It may not be bad enough to kill us and maybe not even enough  to seriously cripple us (although we can be terrible at measuring this last one), but enough to limit the abundance of our lives.

So we often don’t get the help that we could really use.

We don’t face the truth, so we don’t have to face the challenges of freedom that come with that truth.

It is unfortunate, but the percentage of people who could really be blessed by counseling may be pretty high, but the percentage of us healthy enough to get it when we do, is pretty small.

I have been doing some degree of counseling in Tyler, at one level or another, for about 20 years, now.    I have met many of the other therapists here and this is a great town for counseling – there are many gifted counselors, and perhaps even more impressive is the array of ministries here that offer many different helping services like counseling.   

There are plenty of quality counseling opportunities here.

I have also seen much more of a pattern here of people who get the counseling before their situation is unbearable.

This is kind of like seeking medical help before the cancer gets to stage 4.

I recommend it.

The most challenging thing about marriage counseling, for example, is the late date that most people come in.  In the 11^th hour, they finally decide to get some help.

Here, I have had a number of couples and people come to counseling to make a good life great or a good marriage more excellent.

Again,  I really recommend this mentality.

With that in mind, and since I believe in the power of the therapeutic process to help people interact with the Truth that can set us
free, we now have a number of counselors who work in our practice.

If you are in that percentage that can use counseling, or who are way behind on getting it, but you have decided to wait no more, then call us at 903 561 8663 and Katie (our office manager extraordinaire) will help figure out who will be the best fit to schedule with you… and we also are always looking to partner with businesses and churches in ways that blesses them – let us know if we can help.

These counselors’ fees are different, dependent on their experience and education.  Colleen can help you out with that too.  You can see everything you would want to know about us at www.alethiacounseling.com.

There are also some other great and gifted therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists in Tyler, and if we cannot figure out the right team-up here, we will happily refer you to one of them.

We need one another, and we need the be set free by the Truth.
When the Son has set you free, you are free indeed.