COUN101: Biblical Counseling

Year 1 • 3 Credits • Weekly Syllabus

COUN101 is a 3-credit course in the Year 1 program at Sozo Bible College.

12-Week Course Outline

1. Week 1 The Counselor's Foundation: Christ, Not Technique

   Establishing biblical counseling as flowing from genuine relationship with Christ and love for people, not a set of formulas. Students examine Christ's own pattern of compassionate, truthful engagement with the hurting.

2. Week 2 Listening Well: The First and Hardest Skill

   Most counseling failures begin with poor listening. This week trains students in active, non-judgmental listening — fully hearing a person's pain before responding (James 1:19).

3. Week 3 Truth and Grace Held Together

   Examining how Jesus held both truth and grace fully (John 1:14) as the model for biblical counseling — confronting sin without crushing the wounded, and comforting without enabling.

4. Week 4 Understanding Grief and Loss

   A practical, Scripture-grounded look at walking with someone through grief — what helps, what harms, and the patience genuine grief support requires (Job's friends as both a warning and an example).

5. Week 5 Counseling Through Anxiety and Fear

   Addressing anxiety with both compassion and sound biblical truth (Philippians 4:6-7, 1 Peter 5:7), avoiding both dismissive platitudes and secular approaches that ignore the spiritual dimension.

6. Week 6 Conflict and Reconciliation

   A practical study of biblical conflict resolution (Matthew 18, Galatians 6:1) for counseling couples, families, and church conflicts toward genuine reconciliation rather than forced peace.

7. Week 7 Counseling the Sin-Struggling Believer

   How to walk with someone caught in ongoing sin or addiction with both honesty about sin's reality and hope for genuine transformation (Galatians 6:1-2), avoiding both harsh condemnation and minimizing.

8. Week 8 Marriage and Family Counseling Foundations

   An introduction to counseling couples and families from a biblical framework — communication, roles, conflict, and restoration, with humility about the counselor's own limits.

9. Week 9 When to Refer: Recognizing the Limits of Pastoral Counseling

   A critical, honest week on recognizing situations (severe mental illness, abuse, suicidal crisis) that require professional or medical intervention, and how to refer wisely and compassionately without abandoning the person.

10. Week 10 Confidentiality, Boundaries, and Accountability

    Practical training in maintaining appropriate boundaries, confidentiality, and personal accountability structures to protect both the counselor and those they counsel from harm.

11. Week 11 Self-Care for the Counselor

    Addressing counselor burnout directly — students examine practices for sustaining their own spiritual and emotional health while carrying the weight of others' pain over years of ministry.

12. Week 12 Integrating Counseling Into Everyday Ministry

    Synthesizing the course into a realistic, sustainable approach to counseling as a normal part of pastoral ministry — not a separate specialty, but a constant thread of caring for people well.