Pastoral Counselors Training Program
Our Pastoral Counselor Training Program is a three-track formation journey designed to raise up men and women who can offer deep, wise, and Spirit-led care within the local church. This is not simply skills-based training—it is a reorientation of how we understand people, transformation, and the work of God in the human soul.
Track 1 lays the theological and anthropological foundation. Over 12 weeks (24 hours), participants are immersed in a biblical vision of the whole person—exploring the nature and conditions of the heart, the process of true transformation, life in the Kingdom of God, and the role of spiritual formation in healing and growth. This track also introduces K. Lee Brown’s Formation-Centered Counseling™, a framework that integrates emotional, relational, and spiritual health into one coherent model of care.
Track 2 moves from vision to practice. Over another 12 weeks (24 hours), participants are trained in the core competencies of pastoral counseling: how to understand and conceptualize cases, how to navigate complex and sensitive situations, how to apply counseling skills with wisdom and discernment, and how to operate within appropriate ethical and legal boundaries. This track is highly practical, equipping counselors to sit with real people in real pain with clarity and confidence.
Track 3 is a supervised, field-based internship where learning becomes embodied. Participants begin counseling within their local church under the guidance and oversight of experienced supervisors. This experiential component is essential—it bridges the gap between knowing and doing, forming counselors who are not only informed, but trustworthy in practice.
Upon successful completion of the program, participants are eligible to become certified pastoral counselors through Whole Soul Counsel and are invited into an ongoing community of practitioners committed to the lifelong work of formation, healing, and faithful presence in the lives of others.
