At RHC, biblical counselling is a process of focused, word-based discipleship with a trained counsellor. It involves turning our hearts to Christ in every affliction and problem in life, and acknowledging Scripture as sufficient for explaining, diagnosing and addressing our problems.

There are many different modalities in secular / psychological counselling which focus on improvements in mental well-being and functioning. We recognise many of these as effective and helpful. However, the specific focus of biblical counselling is to help believers find the kind of deep and lasting change which is found in the compassionate love and finished work of Christ on the cross. Biblical counselling therefore relies on the Bible to speak into the problems we face in life, and helps the individual apply biblical truth to the situations they find themselves in. We do not disregard best practices of secular modalities, but rather discerningly engage with these evidence-based observations of psychology and counselling theories.

The counselling ministry provides both individual and marriage counselling to leaders, members and congregants of RHC. Though we are currently limited by capacity, our future aim is to also serve those outside of RHC.

We believe that the best results from counselling are achieved when people are integrated well into the church community. Hence, we strongly encourage those receiving counselling at RHC to invite other fellow believers to journey with them and to help them process and apply the advice given. Where individuals may struggle to be integrated into the church community, the ministry seeks to help them assimilate and find support in the wider church body as they go through the process of counselling.

The best candidates for counselling are those who:

• Desire to address a current issue(s) they are facing from a biblical perspective with the help of a trained counsellor.

• Are willing and able to commit to the 8 weekly sessions, including reflecting on and applying the counselling material between sessions, as needed.

• Are committed to doing their best to engage in the counselling process on a mental, emotional, and spiritual level.

• Are willing to also receive support and care from the wider church community, as appropriate.

We will consider providing counselling services for a range of afflictions of varying levels of severity, including but not limited to: mental health needs, relational challenges, personal sin struggles, areas of suffering, and addictions. Due to our current ministry capacity, counselling cases may be prioritised according to the severity of the issue and the need. If we are aware of counsellor(s) outside of RHC who specialise in one of these areas, we will also consider making a referral where appropriate.

Counselling, by nature of what it entails, requires time. Hence, we do not recommend counselling as the first port of call for crisis or emergency situations. Counselling is also not a replacement for professional medical care or a substitute for other means of care within the church (for e.g., through our CGs).

For persons in a crisis situation, where urgent or extensive care is required and/or there is a risk of harm, we would strongly recommend contacting any of these service providers listed below for immediate help. We would also strongly encourage such persons to reach out to fellow believers in the church with whom they are connected.

• The Samaritans of Singapore’s 24-hour hotline: 1800-221-4444

• The Institute of Mental Health’s 24-hour mental health helpline: 6389-2222

• The nearest Family Service Centre via their E-Locator, or via the ComCare Hotline (1800-222-0000)

• The Singapore Police Force's emergency hotline: 999

• The Singapore Civil Defence Force's hotline for Emergency Medical Services, Ambulance, and Fire Rescue: 995

• The Accident & Emergency departments at various hospitals

All of our counsellees begin the process by speaking with one of the pastors at RHC. Pastors refer individuals to the counselling ministry, where our Clinical Director and Administrator match them to a suitable and available counsellor. At every stage in the process, confidentiality is maintained to the greatest extent possible. As we are still in the initial stages of the ministry, we are not yet at a point where everyone who is referred will be guaranteed a counsellor due to the capacity and availability of our counselling staff and volunteers.

We are served by both counsellors who are on staff as well as ministry volunteers. Our counsellors have received formal training in biblical counselling. Our counsellors also meet regularly for peer supervision sessions with our Clinical Director to enable good practice and professional development. Our counselling team members are:

• Jacob Ng, Assistant Lead Pastor (acting Clinical Director)

• Caleigh Gilchrist, City Renewal Director

• Elita Wong, Administrator

• Tarryn Murphy, Counsellor

• Pearlene Low, Counsellor

• Samuel Yuan, Counsellor

• Elizabeth Baruah, Counsellor

Counsellees who are matched to a counsellor will usually be expected to attend an average of 8 weekly sessions (approximately 60-75 minutes each). For marriage counselling, the recommended duration is 10 weekly sessions (approximately 90 minutes each).

As of 1st January 2023, there is a fee structure in place for sessions conducted by the RHC Counselling Ministry. The overarching aim of this is to help ensure sustainability for the counselling ministry so that it may carry out the following functions effectively:

1. Provision of direct counselling services

2. Training and Equipping the church body on counselling-related issues

Hence, the funds collected will be put towards the areas of staff costs as well as pertinent operational and administrative undertakings for the 2 functions mentioned above.

We would like to assure you that it remains our strong desire to make biblical counselling services affordable, especially to RHC members. Therefore, the fees for RHC members will be heavily subsidised. If you would like to pursue biblical counselling with us but are not able to afford the rates outlined below, please do let us know.

Our standard process involves 8 counselling sessions (10 sessions minimum recommended for marriage counselling) to allow time for the richness of the gospel to work deeply in our hearts through the biblical counselling process. Please note that more or less sessions may be requested at the discretion of the counsellor. Please see the breakdown of fees below:

Individual counselling (rate per one hour session)

• $70 (members)

• $150 (non-members)

Marriage counselling (rate per one and a half hour session)

• $105 (members)

• $225 (non-members)

Please send us an enquiry at counselling@rhc.org.sg.

We believe that the church community is one of God’s primary means of grace through which believers grow to become more like Jesus in every aspect of their lives. Hence, we would encourage you to reach out to your pastor and/or other believers in church (e.g. in your CG or congregation), to receive help and support as needed.

While we believe that deep and lasting change can only be found in the compassionate love and finished work of Christ on the cross, we acknowledge that God’s grace is at work even through secular counselling. As with those who are receiving counselling at RHC, we would strongly encourage you to invite other believers in church to journey with you, and to help you process the counselling advice given through biblical lenses.

There are many great books on various counselling topics, and we welcome you to send us an enquiry at counselling@rhc.org.sg for specific recommendations. In addition, there are organisations, like the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF), that offer online courses on biblical counselling.

Some of our top recommendations for general counselling resources include:

1. Seeing with New Eyes (David Powlison);

2. Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands (Paul Tripp)

3. Side by Side (Edward Welch)

4. Saints, Sufferers & Sinners (Michael Emlet)

5. How People Change (Timothy Lane & Paul Tripp)

Information about who is seeking counselling at RHC is kept confidential and is only made available to the relevant members of the RHC staff team who are involved in facilitating the counselling process.

Only the referring pastor, Clinical Director, and assigned counsellor will be privy to a particular counsellee’s issue. The Administrator is only responsible for setting up counselling appointments with the counsellor, and thus will only be aware of the information necessary for scheduling. Once counselling begins, confidentiality is maintained (except for certain situations where there may be a risk of harm, etc), i.e., counsellors will not share updates with the referring pastor.

Please email us at counselling@rhc.org.sg for our full confidentiality policy.