Friends and Pastors Can do an Assessment of Emotional Needs

In this post I am not suggesting that Lay people, and most Pastors are Lay People in Psychology and Counseling, can do a Diagnosis about Mental Illness Treatment. It is necessary for the deeply distressed to seek a Professional Counselor of some kind.

The following chart was done when I was training Cell Groups in Singapore with a wonderful and gifted group at the Faith Community Baptist Church.

It was a very large church and growing rapidly through Cell Groups. They asked me to train the Pastors and Lay Leaders in the basics of Peer Care and Counseling. Over the 12-15 years I traveled to Asia with this group I met some of the brightest and most dedicated Believers in my life.

They sincerely wanted to care for any and all persons regardless of the depth of their brokenness and distress. That is laudable but can lead to idealism and energetic motivation that overwhelms wisdom, especially in the younger people.

As a result I developed a simple overview to help them assess and care for their 5,000 or so members, most of whom were in Cell Groups. These smart, caring group leaders carried out their ministries with care and dedication.

Here are the Five Levels of Need.

A. No Current Life Interrupting Issues
1. Very Healthy emotionally, relationally and spiritually
2. Healthy but occasional symptoms of distress that can interrupt life if not healed

B. Life Interrupting Issues
3. Distress that occasionally disrupt life but can be overcome with teaching, care and prayer by family and friends
4. Ongoing distress that requires professional assistance plus peer support.
5. Intense and overwhelming distress that requires medical and professional therapy and peer support.

More on these later with more extensive explanations.

Gary Sweeten
I have updated all my books into eBooks on PDF that can be downloaded.

See my materials on offering Christian care and counsel