Top 10 Questions to Ask a Spirit-led Counselor. Before You Meet. Part 2.
Whew! Did Part 1 make sense? Have you started your search for someone? No rush. Let's jump in and look at the rest.
The last 5 questions on our list:
6. Where is their office?
7. What are their fees?
8. Is there paperwork ahead of time?
9. Will there be others in the session?
10. How long do sessions typically last?
6. Where is their office? If they do not have one, that is okay…depending on…will you be meeting in a private location? Doing this work needs privacy. If this is their ministry, they should have a private location you can meet in. Churches or their home (or even your home) are common places.
7. How much do they charge? If it is too much $$, ask if they can take less (depending on what you can afford). If it's a ministry out of a church, I am betting you can get away with a donation. If it is a Sozo session, they last up to 3 hours and typically ask for $75 donation.
That is SUCH a good deal. However, if you can't afford it, ask!
If you are talking to someone who is licensed (or was) and has had all this extra training, expect to pay more…per hour. A person that has been trained in psychotherapy will weave counseling tools with inner healing tools.
8. Do you sign paperwork? Paperwork is an outline of what is expected of you and of your counselor. Fees, confidentiality, and other important info should be listed. You will want to know if your counselor has this requirement. It is professional and important.
9. Will there be others in our session? When I went to my first Sozo, my counselor explained there should be two other people with her, but she could not find any volunteers. I was thankful because I would have been freaked if I found THREE people waiting for me.
Be prepared by asking this question. Other people may be there to take notes and/or pray the whole time. These people serve important roles, but it's nice to know ahead of time.
Side note: My husband was in a Sozo session with three people. One was there for note-taking. BUT that person kept making out loud comments and judgments to my husband. I was appalled when I heard this. If you are uncomfortable with any person in your session, you can let them know and ask them to leave.
Will that be awkward? Yep! BUT that person will hopefully know how damaging they are and learn from it. The lead (the main person) will also know how hurtful that was and be able to do some damage control and process the issue with you and the other person.
10. How long are sessions? Sessions can last from 50 minutes (a typical time for a trained therapist) up to a 3-hour time frame. You will want to know how long yours will last so that you can plan accordingly. If you know you can only stay for 60 minutes, but the counselor plans for 3 hours, that will not be fair to the counselor who could have scheduled another client after you.
That should do it! You may have more questions…that's great! Ask away!
Cheering you on!
