Ghana – Source: Finder Online
The Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) has inaugurated a Presbyterian Counsellors Association to provide an opportunity for counsellors to share and exchange ideas, offer training sessions for members, and properly coordinate counselling activities in the church.
The inauguration, which was held in Accra, saw some 300 counsellors fully equipped with the needed skills, abilities and experiences to help the broken-hearted, victims of abuse, persons in dilemma, those experiencing mental agony, among others.
Speaking at the ceremony on the theme ‘Let Christ be formed in you; equipping the saints for ministry in Christ’, Rev Mrs. Esther Oduro, the National Director of Church Life and Nature, charged the newly inaugurated counsellors to provide the needed technical assistance in all counselling matters at all times.
The interim President of the Presbyterian Counsellors Association, Mrs. Ivy Anane-Adjei indicated that counselling was a ministry and as such the association was dedicated to comfort the broken-hearted and proclaim freedom for all who were in captivity just as Jesus did.
She noted that in order to work more efficiently, the association would select peers and mentors in whom church members could build confidence and share challenges. Mrs Anane-Adjei called on Presbyterian chairpersons and district ministers to recognise the association and support its formation in the various courts.
“Our church works with courts; therefore, the inauguration of this association will be conducted with executives inducted into office at the various presbyteries and districts in order for our church and its members to enjoy effective counselling services”, she said. She noted that, among other things, the association would support and strengthen each other by imparting knowledge and sharing experiences.
Abiding with government’s policy
Mrs Anane-Adjei announced that the association would ensure that all members were registered under the laws of the country.
She added that trained and certified counsellors would also undergo seminars and refresher programmes once a year.
For all counsellors to be abreast with various and trending counselling issues confronting the world today, the president of the association said she would ensure that all PCG counsellors are under one umbrella as they organise training and refresher programmes.
Contexts impacting and defining counselling
Giving the keynote address at the occasion, Rev Dr Samuel Ayete-Nyampong, a Ghanaian theologian, identified the pandemic context as a leading factor that could exacerbate the social and economic situation of an already suffering world prior to its outbreak. He noted that in recent times, counsellors needed to remain relevant and effective in the technological era and also undergo new orientations for effective deployment of counselling skills.
Since people were guided by culture consciously or subconsciously, Rev Dr Ayete-Nyampong urged pastoral counsellors to develop a consciousness of people’s culture during counselling sessions to ensure effective and relevant counselling for people who needed it. Rev Dr Ayete-Nyampong urged the counsellors to always have a deep understanding of their personal biases, stereotypes and preconceptions before working with another person.
He noted that counsellors should also have a general sense of the cultural influences that might affect the people they work with. He noted that spirituality and religion had lots to offer in the area of pastoral care and counselling.
Rev Dr Ayete-Nyampong, who was also a clerk of the general assembly of the PCG, urged counsellors to deploy spiritual resources before, during and after counselling sessions. However, he cautioned the newly elected counsellors and upcoming ones to avoid turning counselling sessions into prayer meetings or bible study grounds.
Rev Dr Ayete-Nyampong appealed to the association to share rich ideas and best practices in the field of pastoral counselling, to bring about the highest form of professionalism in the practice of counselling in the church.
“Let us also use this platform to create networks with similar counselling bodies such as the African Association for Pastoral Studies and Counselling, the Ghana Association for Pastoral Care and Counselling,” he added.
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