Counseling Workshop Review
Spiritual Formation Ministry Team
By Becky Agatsuma
On May 6th, TUC had the joy of holding Counseling First-Aid Workshops that were led by Dr. Joe Ozawa. He is a psychologist and lay Christian leader who has the gift of speaking and greatly influenced our ideas regarding counseling.
He started out by reminding us that people tend to shy away from talking about their problems to a pastor or counselor, but will often start talking to someone over a cup of tea. He said that we need to help people by meeting their basic needs and by truly listening to them. He said that Jesus is both our Savior and our Counselor and that he came to save us at the cross and to counsel people with a broken heart. He said that listening leads to healing and that the key is for us to pray and to love people with the love of Christ. He stated that Japanese people show love for each other by giving gifts and food. He also noted that Jesus loved food and ate with everyone.
When approaching someone that is in need of counseling, Dr. Joe said that we should say hello and ask the person how they are. Next, we should ask them what happened and to tell us their story. He emphasized that we should just listen and not talk and ask them to tell us more. Then we can ask them what they are going to do to take care of the problem. Finally, we can ask how we can pray for them. We practiced these steps in pairs at one of the workshops and it was a good way to reconnect with other TUC members and meet new people who came from other churches. Pastor Joe also noted that 70-93% of all communication is non-verbal and that body language is very important when trying to help others.
He devoted a good amount of time talking with us about how to counsel children. He brought to our attention that the best way to find out what is bothering a child is to ask them to draw a picture. Children will express their feelings through their drawings. He noted that children need a caring person, who is usually their mother, that they can trust and rely on. He said that children need structure, talk, organized play and the presence of someone who cares. He said they also need to listen to music and play games as well as moving a lot and exercising.
He concluded the workshops by talking with us about the people who have been healed by his prayers. In some cases, the person that was healed did not know Jesus, but rejoiced after clearly seeing an answer to prayer. Dr. Joe then asked if any of us wanted to be anointed with oil. A large number of us formed a line and it was a blessed way to end the last workshop. The whole day was truly blessed by God and we could feel His presence in all that we did. The following day, on Sunday the 7th, Dr. Joe delivered a very inspirational sermon at 8:30 and 11:00. We thank him for a truly blessed weekend! Becky Agatsuma