LIBERTY UNIVERSITY JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Is Virtual Biblical Counseling Effective?
A Paper Submitted to
the Faculty of the School of Divinity
in Candidacy for the Degree of
Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (Ed. D) Department of Christian Leadership and
Church Ministries
By
Mary Gracias
Lynchburg, Virginia
4/2022
The app is open. I am logged in. Now I wait.
I bounce my leg under my desk and tap my pen impatiently. You would think this was my
first time talking to a someone through Zoom, let alone a counseling client.
Lights. Camera. Action. The counselee signs on, I add him to the room, and boom, we’re
“live.” What could possibly go wrong now?
For some odd reason, counseling through a screen can create more anxiety for me at the
start of a session than when a client walks through my door for an in-person session. Perhaps it
is the camera, the microphone, the lighting, or the cold start of the face-to-face conversation
without any warm-up. It could be that I am virtually entering their world, and they are entering
mine with the click of a button. Perhaps that has been your experience with it as well.
Cameras can make us feel vulnerable—watched—aas if we’ve been teleported to some
planet where we’ve never been before. Now counsel! we tell ourselves, all while trying to act
natural as we overcome the distractions and feelings of something that actually is not natural:
Can we build rapport with our counselees and bring them hope through a screen?
These were the thoughts I had when I first began counseling virtually. Is this as good an
option as in-person counseling? Will this technology hinder or help the counseling experience? If
Jesus was here, would He use Zoom?
As a biblical counselor, you know the importance of the rapport between you and your
counselee. Maybe you are also concerned that virtual biblical counseling will not provide the
same healing encouragement for someone staring at a screen as someone in your office. This is
a valid concern that shows your level of care.
But I believe that—when you go about it with great intentionality—you can cultivate nearly
the same level of trust and connection in a virtual meeting as in an in-person setting.
You may wonder, But what about the counselee’s tone of voice, body language, and overall
countenance, which are sometimes needed to determine what is really going on and how to
help? I get it: Only seeing someone’s head and shoulders is not the same as seeing their whole
body, their tapping foot, their slouchy posture, or their nervous hands. Yet most of a person’s
feelings are expressed through their face and eyes. Scripture speaks to discerning a person’s
countenance through the face when it says, “A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when the
heart is sad, the spirit is broken” (Proverbs 15:13).
We also know that out of the heart, the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). Even though we
may be missing some cues without being able to see a person’s whole body, I estimate it’s only
about 10 percent of the helpful information. That means we have more than enough data to
use as we rely upon the Holy Spirit to help us discern the matters of the heart and minister the
Word to our counselees.
The Weaknesses May Be Overcome by Strengths
The initial reaction to virtual counseling often generates questions such as, “How do I make
this work?” and “What will happen?” Counselors may be concerned about coming across as too
clinical, not as caring, having less empathy, or not building a proper relationship with the
counselee.
It may be best to begin by thinking about the advantages that virtual counseling can
provide over in-person counseling. The counselees may be most comfortable at home, in their
own space, which allows them to feel safe and uninhibited, especially when first meeting with
you. The convenience of virtual counseling offers numerous other valuable benefits, such as:
No commuting, for them or you
A precise timer for the call
Quick access to resources and diagrams that can be screen-shared
Ease of recording if needed
Fewer cancellations due to weather, transportation issues, or sickness
The ability to meet across time zones and geographical differences
Online solutions give both the counselor and counselee a time-saving option by not having
to contend with a long drive, traffic snarls, or vehicle breakdowns. Counseling starts more
smoothly when no one is stressed just from the commute.
