“I want help, but I want it rooted in Scripture. I don’t know whether I need counseling or coaching.”
I hear some version of this question often. The answer depends on what you’re facing and what kind of support will help you most. Christian counseling and Christian coaching can both include prayer, biblical truth, and practical next steps. The difference is in the kind of work each one offers.
Christian COUNSELING?
Christian counseling is therapy provided within a professional counseling relationship. In my practice, I bring my clinical training and my commitment to God’s Word into every session, and I don’t leave either one at the door.
We might work on anxiety that’s disrupting your sleep and spilling into the rest of your day. We might address intrusive thoughts, grief that has left you unable to function the way you used to, or reactions tied to painful experiences you’ve carried for a long time. I assess what’s happening, we build a treatment plan together, and I use counseling approaches suited to what you need rather than a one-size-fits-all script.
I will never ask you to set your faith aside to receive care from me. We can talk honestly about what you believe, where you’re struggling, and what Scripture says, while also paying close attention to your symptoms, patterns, and relationships and how they affect your daily life.
Christian COACHING?
Christian coaching is a guided process for applying biblical truth to a specific area of your life. A woman might come to me for help recognizing a pattern of people-pleasing. She might be wrestling with a decision, want to practice setting boundaries, or need help following through on a step she already knows she needs to take.
Coaching can include difficult emotions and honest conversations about the past. We don’t avoid hard things. But my Anchored Woman work is for biblical teaching, reflection, and practical application. It is not diagnosis or clinical treatment, and that distinction matters.
How do I know which one I need?
Start by asking what is bringing you here right now.
If symptoms are interfering with your daily life, or you’re dealing with anxiety, OCD, trauma-related struggles, depression, or another mental health concern, a counseling consultation is a sensible place to start. You don’t have to diagnose yourself before you ask for help. That’s my job.
If you’re looking for structured biblical support with a decision, a relationship pattern, spiritual growth, or a practical next step, Christian coaching may be a good fit.
You don’t have to pass a test before you reach out. A woman can love the Lord, read her Bible faithfully, pray without ceasing, and still need therapy. That doesn’t mean her faith has failed. Another woman may have walked through painful experiences years ago and now wants focused coaching for a specific goal. I won’t force your struggle into the wrong category. I’ll help you find the right level of support for where you are.
Does choosing therapy mean Scripture is not enough?
No. I believe with my whole heart that God’s Word tells us the truth about who He is, who we are, and how we’re meant to live before Him. Scripture calls us to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), and that includes letting someone trained and equipped walk alongside you. Seeing a licensed counselor doesn’t mean you’ve set your faith aside. It means you’re taking what you’re carrying seriously.
In counseling, we look carefully at what you’re facing and bring biblical truth into the middle of that work. We pray together and open Scripture together, and we also address the symptoms and patterns affecting your daily life, because your soul and your struggles both matter.
Where should I begin?
I provide online Christian counseling for adults in Illinois and Missouri through Are You Ready Counseling. If you’re not sure whether therapy is what you need, a consultation gives us a chance to sit down and talk honestly about what’s going on and what kind of support actually makes sense for you.
For biblical coaching, courses, and resources, visit Anchored Woman. And if what you’re facing calls for clinical treatment, please know that coaching was never meant to replace care from a properly licensed professional. My heart is for you to get the right help—whichever door that means walking through.
