AP

I am generally not one to enter into public debate in print. I prefer to have conversations and come to an understanding with those with whom I disagree. And so, I will start by saying that I reached out to David Robertson, the author of “Counsel Culture and the Church” before sending this to be published. So why publish? Because there are things in the article that has already gone to print that are deeply concerning to me and to a number of people, brothers and sisters in Christ, who have contacted Jericho Road since its publication. These are not just people who have experienced distress, confusion, grief, trauma, abuse, conflict, or harm and who have sought support. They are also the people who provide that support – many of whom are not counsellors.

What Assembly offered was not counselling

This point must be stated clearly. A persistent problem throughout the article “Counsel Culture and the Church” is the conflation of two concepts: Chaplaincy, which includes pastoral care, and professional counselling. The support offered at the Assembly was chaplaincy support. It was not specialist counselling. It was not psychosocial intervention. It was not detached professional therapy. It was not secret counselling. It was pastoral care provided by Presbyterian chaplains. The pamphlet stated precisely that.

To repeatedly refer to the Assembly initiative as though it was primarily counselling creates confusion about what was actually offered.

Chaplaincy and counselling are not unbiblical

Neither chaplaincy nor counselling is inherently unbiblical as the article attests. Scripture repeatedly calls believers to bear one another’s burdens, comfort the grieving, encourage the discouraged, care for the wounded and seek wise counsel. Pastoral care and chaplaincy are direct expressions of these commands. Professional counselling, particularly when grounded in a Christian worldview, can likewise serve as a means through which wisdom, healing and support are offered.

The Bible and Christian fellowship are precisely what was offered

The article describes David’s personal experience of distress and finding help through Scripture and Christian fellowship. That is exactly what chaplaincy seeks to provide. Jericho Road did not offer replacement spirituality. It offered brothers and sisters in Christ prepared to listen, pray, encourage and point people toward God.

The “old days” were not necessarily better

The article argues that in earlier generations police, magistrates, teachers and clergy commonly helped people deal with grief, trauma and crisis. That is true. But it does not follow that this was necessarily a better model.

Historically, many people received extraordinary care from pastors, teachers and community leaders and many other professions. Equally, many people received no meaningful support at all. Many suffered in silence. Many who carried trauma, domestic violence, abuse, mental illness or unresolved grief had limited access to specialised assistance.

Yes, our current society has seen dramatic advances in the use of counselling. We have also seen dramatic advances in medicine. We would not suggest that because a country doctor once performed surgery and treated infectious diseases, there was therefore no place for specialist physicians today. One reason counselling has grown is the same reason cardiology, oncology and physiotherapy have grown: society understands more than it once did.

The existence of specialists does not diminish the role of ministers and elders. It acknowledges that not every problem can or should be solved by a single profession.

Are more issues being referred to counsellors?

Yes, there is evidence that Australians are increasingly seeking professional mental health assistance. This reflects several factors: increased awareness of mental illness; reduced stigma around asking for help; greater recognition of trauma and abuse; improved accessibility; population growth; and greater expectations that people should not suffer alone.

None of this proves that society has become weak. It may equally demonstrate that people are finally seeking help for needs that have always existed but were previously hidden. For example, we know that the Royal Commission established that on average it has taken people subject to childhood abuse 22 years to seek help.

The danger of exaggeration and “outrage culture”

The article references counselling being offered after US election results and jokingly suggests counselling for long-suffering Scottish football supporters. Such examples may be intended humorously, yet they risk employing the very techniques characteristic of modern outrage culture: exaggeration, caricature and sarcasm.

No serious advocate for counselling suggests every disappointment requires professional intervention.

Diminishing counselling harms vulnerable people

One of our greatest concerns as those seeking to serve the vulnerable is that the article risks diminishing the legitimacy of seeking help. When counselling is portrayed as unnecessary, fashionable, weak, or evidence of cultural decline, some readers may conclude that they should not disclose abuse, they should not seek help for depression, they should not discuss trauma, they should simply “move on” from harm and that asking for assistance reflects spiritual failure.

That is dangerous. The church should never communicate that people suffering significant distress should remain silent.

Does counselling help?

Research consistently demonstrates that psychological therapies can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and improve functioning and quality of life for many people. Suicide prevention experts likewise emphasise the importance of accessible mental health support, appropriate care, connectedness and timely intervention as components of suicide prevention strategies.

Counselling is not a cure-all. Neither is medicine. Neither is pastoral care. But all can be valuable gifts from God.

This was not merely a WHS exercise

The suggestion that the Chaplaincy support at Assembly was fundamentally about workplace health and safety misrepresents the motivations of those involved. Those who developed the initiative did so because they genuinely care about God’s people. To assume otherwise without speaking to them is mere speculation without evidence.

Distress should not be mocked

References in the article to suicide arising from Assembly decisions appear intended to challenge what the author sees as exaggerated claims. But such comments risk belittling people experiencing genuine vulnerability. Many who reach crisis point do so because a particular event becomes the final burden added to many others already being carried. No one should presume to know what may become overwhelming for another person. As for the reference in the leaflet to Lifeline and accessing help from a GP, this was simply to indicate that the Jericho Road service was not an emergency service and is something that we include in all communications about accessing assistance of this kind.

Hurt people need to be heard

The article claims that such support may curtail discussion. Yet at Jericho Road we believe the exact opposite is true. People who feel heard are often more capable of participating respectfully in difficult conversations. People who are dismissed frequently withdraw. Most hurt people are not trying to stop debate, they simply want their pain acknowledged. And often they have points of view that are of value to the discussion at hand that go unheard when they are not supported to participate.

Support is not misogyny

Let’s be clear. It is not acceptable for anyone to be shouted at in the Assembly. Not men. Not women. Equally, it is a mistake to assume that only women required pastoral support surrounding these debates. Men, women and families on various sides of the discussion reported distress. Pastoral care was offered because people were hurting, not because of their gender, and to frame the support as misogynist is again falling into the outrage trap.

“Within the local church” is too narrow a framework

The suggestion that pastoral support should only occur within the local congregation raises a practical and biblical concern. When Jesus said, “where two or three gather in my name,” he did not limit Christian fellowship exclusively to formal congregational structures. Nor does the Good Samaritan send the wounded traveller away with instructions simply to return home.

Not virtue signalling

Far from virtue signalling, the offer of chaplaincy support signalled a willingness by Jericho Road and others to stand beside God’s people during a difficult period. And yes, the church organist who loses a role does need pastoral care, a dismissed Bible study leader does need pastoral care, a minister facing a crisis does need pastoral care, and individuals affected by Assembly debates do need pastoral care. Facilitating access to that care in all those situations is the right thing to do. And if for the organist this is another loss on top of other losses, yes, a referral to professional counselling would be the right thing to do.

Our brothers and sisters deserve compassion

At Jericho Road we see, time and time again, the good that comes when thoughtful pastoral care, wise chaplaincy and appropriate professional counselling each operate within their proper place under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

That is not counsel culture. It is Christian compassion and obedience to Jesus’ command in John 13: 34 – 35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

– Elizabeth McClean, Chief Executive Officer, Jericho Road