What happens in the first session?

For your first appointment, you will need to allow an hour and a half. During the first half-hour, you will fill out an information data sheet. This information will give the counselor an overall picture of your background up to the present time. Then you will get with the counselor. (We schedule ladies with a female counselor and men with a male counselor). Your counselor will go over your data sheet with you and ask you to share in detail the issues for which you are seeking counsel and ministry.  Then the counselor will share with you how we approach counseling, answer any questions you may have, and give you a general idea of the direction your counseling will go. And from that point, we can begin to schedule future appointments.

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Do you offer marriage counseling?

Yes.  The counselors deal with all the spiritual and practical issues that Christians face today, and that certainly includes the many challenges of marriage.

If you are a couple coming for marriage counseling, you and your spouse will each be seen separately to begin with.  (The wife will see a female counselor, and the husband will see a male counselor).  This allows each of you opportunity to fully share your situation with your counselor, and to begin to receive personal ministry and counsel.  When the time seems right, your counselors will bring you together in joint sessions.  (Because you are seen individually at first, it is not necessary for you both to schedule appointments at the same time--unless you prefer to for your own convenience).

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What if my spouse will not come?

Sometimes, only one spouse is interested or willing to get counsel for their marriage.  In that situation, we encourage you to pursue getting help.  Many time, after one spouse has begun counsel, the other spouse will also want to participate.

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What are your fees for counseling?

Currently we charge $65.00 per hour session per individual. 

Because we strive to keep the client= s cost to a minimum, the expenses of running Total Life Ministries have never been fully covered by counseling fees alone. In addition to counseling fees, TLM depends on the freewill gifts and offerings of past and present clients and other friends of TLM who are committed to helping us keep the doors open. It is these contributions that enable us to offer affordable counseling.

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Do you take medical insurance?

No, we do not. Because Word Based Counseling is purely Biblical and not medical or psychological, medical insurance typically doesn't cover the counseling that we do.

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Do you have a sliding scale?

No, we do not. We have set our fees at about the bottom of the scale set by most counseling services. Even churches often charge more.

To make the cost less burdensome, we suggest spacing your counseling appointments farther apart.  In addition, because Total Life Ministries is a ministry, some people pray about applying a portion of their offerings towards their counseling costs.  Also, some local churches have monies designated for helping their members get counseling assistance, so you can ask your pastor or church office if help is available.  

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Do you counsel children?

Yes, we do, depending on the child's age and ability to communicate.  During the initial session, the counselor will first talk with the parent to get their assessment of what is going on.  Then the counselor will talk with the child.  From that point, the counselor will determine if counseling is appropriate and will discuss with the parent how best to proceed.

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Do you do deliverance?

Yes.  If necessary, deliverance is part of what the counselor will do.  Typically, the need for deliverance from demonic oppression is not all, or even the major part, of the problem.  But when needed, the counselor is equipped to handle it

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Is Total Life Ministries a Church?

No. Total Life Ministries is a 501 (C)3 religious non-profit corporation registered in the state of Texas. Our mission is to provide non-psychological Word Based Counseling in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area.

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Is Total Life Ministries affiliated with a church?

No, the ministry is not affiliated with any one church or denomination, but we minister to Christians from many denominational backgrounds, and many churches and ministries in the D/FW Metroplex refer people to Total Life Ministries for counseling.

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Do you have support groups?

No. The counselors see individuals, couples, and families, but no groups.

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Are the counselors licensed or state certified?

No. Word Based Counseling is Biblical counsel and ministry and is not psychological or a part of the mental health or medical system. However, the counselors do deal with the same kinds of problems for which a person would seek psychological counseling, but they deal with the problems from a Biblical perspective.

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(Word Based Counseling is a registered service mark in Texas of Total Life Ministries.)