Have you felt discouraged by a lack of progress or traction in a particular counseling case? I think we can all say that our busy schedule doesn’t allow us to offer more intensive, frequent counseling to those who have stalled out or need more support than a weekly session.
That is why I am so grateful for intensive counseling retreats. These are intended for your most difficult cases. The counselors at these retreats focus on getting to the heart of the issue and offering a plan of action moving forward.
And, there is no better person than Scott O’Malley to discuss the topic of intensive counseling retreats. Scott is the Executive Director at Twelve Stones, a non-profit biblical counseling ministry that specializes in 3-day intensive counseling retreats that equip people to create lasting change.
In this episode, we discuss what a 3-day intensive counseling retreat entails, lessons Scott has learned in his years as a counselor, the phases of counseling at a retreat, and more!
Resources:
- Learn more about Twelve Stones
- Learn more about our 5-Project Biblical Counseling Customized Blueprint Solution™
- Explore the rest of our website – bcmnational.org
Key Takeaways
1. Counseling intensive retreats are a way to jumpstart the growth process. A significant amount of progress can be made in a 3-day intensive retreat that may take you up to four months to complete while only meeting once per week. A retreat is ideal for the toughest counseling cases and areas of daily struggle.
2. We want to provide more than giving Bible verses in response to bad behavior. We want to emphasize the importance of listening and understanding in order to minister to the reason behind the sin. Rarely do people experience a heart change when we merely throw a Bible verse at the problem. It’s about getting to the heart of the issue.
3. Success is found in community. God designed us to be in the body of Christ for good reason. We were not meant to struggle alone and we need help from the Church in order to succeed. This is why one of the requirements of the intensive retreat is to have an advocate work with you from your church.
Meet Scott
Scott O’Malley is the Executive Director at Twelve Stones, a non-profit biblical counseling ministry that specializes in 3-day intensive counseling retreats that equip people to create lasting change. Scott has a master’s in Biblical Counseling and is certified with ACBC. He has been married to Tara for over 30 years and together they have 8 children, one through adoption.
