Resources for the Advocate

If you have been asked to serve as a biblical advocate for someone in counseling, you can download the Counseling Advocate Manual here for more information.

If you have further questions regarding what is required of you during the counseling process as an advocate, please contact us.

For those currently pursuing biblical counseling at Parkside Church, be sure to let the person you have chosen as your biblical advocate that you have listed their name.

Advocacy Philosophy

Why do we ask that each counselee bring a biblical advocate or friend into the counseling process?  Because we believe that gospel-change happens within the context of gospel-relationships, we ask that each counselee prayerfully consider who will walk this journey with them.

Togetherness

Having someone from the normal context of life present when a person is going through a challenging time reminds them that there are people in the fight with them. They are not alone, despite what they may feel. The advocate model allows us to demonstrate physically what we believe to be true conceptually.

Clarity

There can be additional perspective and insight from someone that knows the person struggling far better than the counselor. It may also be that this advocate can articulate things that they have observed or seen in the person seeking counsel that may not be apparent even to themselves.

Continuity

An advocate enables a continuity of care to remain, even after the professional counseling relationship has ended. Now there is someone with them in their day-to-day life helping to apply the things that were processed during the time in counseling.

Shift

Advocates allow us to not only work through an issue with someone; it also provides the opportunity for us to train them. Our hope is that advocates will take what they learn through this model and see themselves as gospel counselors for themselves and their community in the future – this shift will replant community as the primary context for counseling.