Biblical Counselling in British Columbia and Alberta
- Jason Chang
- Jul 17
- 4 min read
Biblical counselling is soul care --- the kind that treats Scripture not as a helpful addition, but as the primary authority for understanding people and what troubles them. I offer it online to Christian individuals and couples across British Columbia and Alberta, and I'm glad you're here looking into it.
My name is Jason Chang. I hold a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology, and I'm a Registered Clinical Counsellor through the BCACC and a Canadian Certified Counsellor through the CCPA. I began in secular practice, and I moved into biblical counselling out of genuine conviction --- not because I think clinical training is worthless, but because I came to believe Scripture speaks to the heart in ways that symptom management alone simply cannot reach.
What is biblical counselling?
Biblical counselling is a form of care that uses the Bible as its primary text for understanding people and the struggles they carry. It addresses the heart behind the behaviour --- the beliefs, desires, and motives that quietly drive our choices --- rather than working only on the behaviour you can see from the outside.
The modern movement traces back to Jay Adams, whose Competent to Counsel (1970) challenged the dominance of Freudian and Rogerian models in Christian settings at the time. It's grown since into a formal discipline, represented today by organisations including the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) and the Biblical Counseling Coalition (BCC). David Powlison (1949--2019), who served as CCEF's executive director and senior editor of the Journal of Biblical Counseling, was among its most influential voices, and his fingerprints are still on how the field thinks.
Is biblical counselling the same as Christian counselling?
Not quite --- and I think the difference is genuinely worth understanding before you book with anyone, mine or someone else's.
"Christian counselling" is a broad term, and it often means integration: standard therapeutic technique, delivered by a Christian counsellor, with faith welcomed warmly into the room. The framework underneath is psychological; faith sits alongside it, respected but secondary.
Biblical counselling makes a stronger claim than that. Scripture isn't added on top of a psychological model --- it is the model. The Bible is treated as genuinely sufficient for understanding the heart and what actually changes it.
I've worked both ways myself, and I want to be direct with you about why I landed here. In secular practice, I found the evidence for psychological models less compelling than I'd been taught to expect, and the frameworks themselves rested on assumptions about human nature I no longer shared. So this practice is biblical counselling --- not integration, and I'd rather be upfront about that distinction than let you assume otherwise.
If you searched "Christian counselling" and this is what you were hoping to find, you're in the right place, and I'm glad you found it. If what you actually wanted was therapy with faith respectfully included alongside it, that's a completely legitimate thing to want --- it's just not what I do here. I'd much rather you know that now than discover it three sessions in.
How is biblical counselling different from secular therapy?
The real difference comes down to where the authority sits. Secular therapy draws its authority from psychology and clinical research. Biblical counselling draws its authority from Scripture, treating the Bible as the definitive guide to the deepest human problems a person can carry.
That difference changes the goal we're working toward together. Secular therapy generally aims at symptom reduction and improved functioning --- genuinely good things. Biblical counselling aims further, at Christlikeness: character formed into the image of God. That second goal doesn't ignore your wellbeing along the way; it simply sets a longer, deeper target.
Having trained and practised in both worlds, let me say this plainly: clinical skills are real, and they're useful. Assessment, careful listening, understanding how people develop over a lifetime --- these genuinely serve you well in the room. But what they can't do, on their own, is answer the questions underneath the symptoms. That's the work I believe Scripture does, and does uniquely.
Who do I work with?
Christian individuals and couples who want their faith placed at the very centre of their care, not politely acknowledged off at the edges and then set aside.
Some of the reasons people come to me:
Anxiety and fear --- often where trust has quietly been misplaced, and how Scripture speaks directly into that
Depression and grief --- walked through the Psalms, which model honest lament before God rather than forced positivity
Marital conflict --- examined gently through Ephesians 5 and Genesis 2
Anger and bitterness --- worked through using the forgiveness passages in Matthew 18 and Colossians 3
Suffering and loss --- met with real compassion, alongside the doctrine of God's justice
Do I have to be a Christian?
No, you don't have to be. But biblical counselling assumes the authority of Scripture, and honestly, it works best when you share at least the beginnings of that assumption.
If you're not a believer, please know I won't withhold care from you while quietly waiting for you to convert, and I won't hide what I believe either --- that wouldn't be honest with either of us. You should know going in that this is explicitly Christian care. If that's not what you're looking for, I'd genuinely rather tell you now than have you discover it three sessions in.
Where do I practise?
I'm based in British Columbia myself, and I see clients online across both BC and Alberta. Every session happens by secure video --- there's no office to visit, which means we can meet wherever you happen to be.
What does it cost?
Initial consultation (15 min): free
Individual session (50 min): $150
Couple session (50 min): $175
If you don't have insurance coverage, please just ask me about a reduced rate. I hold back a portion of my schedule for exactly this reason, and I would truly rather you ask than quietly assume you can't afford care and go without.
Full details are on the Rates page --- including where your fee goes, because I don't take a salary from this practice, and I think you deserve to know that.
What happens next?
Book the free fifteen-minute consultation whenever you're ready. We'll talk honestly about what's going on for you, whether I'm the right fit, and what the work together might look like. No obligation at all --- just a conversation to start.
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