Centre for Christian Counseling

Fostering God’s work of healing and restoration in the Persian-speaking world through Christ-centred counseling treatment and training.

The Need

The Iranian Christian community is a community wounded by a chronic and, at times, acute experience of trauma. This trauma is often the outcome of persecution: There is the heartbreak of being rejected by one’s family and friends, the losing of jobs and opportunities for education, continuous harassment and discrimination, and forced migration, just to name a few examples.

Moreover, the overwhelming social problems of today’s Iran or of living in a foreign country also has its toll on the Iranian Christian community. Drug addiction is at its highest right now, with over 7 million affected by it either directly or indirectly. Divorce and family breakdowns of different forms are also on the rise. Recent statistics show that 30% of all marriages in Tehran end in divorce. Abuse is rampant and the average age of clinical depression is becoming younger and younger. The economic situation in Iran is also fractured and unstable. It is not surprising that many Iranian Christians are impacted by such broken circumstances.

Our goals for the counseling program include:

Training

• Produce and offer a Christian Counseling track for Pars students who would like to specialize in the area of Counseling.
• Provide training packages on Christian Counseling for Iranian leaders and disciple-makers, who may not be our students.
• Set up and maintaining an Iranian Christian Counselors’ Network.
• Hold seminars and workshops on Christian Counseling issues in different locations to provide accessible and ongoing training for Iranian Christian leaders.

Treatment

• Offering counseling to Pars students and alumni, in person or online, as part of their formation process.
• Offer counseling in person or online for members of Pars’ Iranian Christian Leaders Network.
• Offer counseling to the wider circle of Iranian Christians who are being offered pastoral care and counseling by our students, alumni, or other members of Pars’ leaders’ network.
• Set up of mobile counseling clinics in neighboring countries and diaspora to offer counseling to the wider Iranian Christian community.