I don't do a lot of pastoral counseling (actually, I don't do any officially- maybe more like pastoral advising...), but I thought this list posted at Pure Church was a helpful one to file away.
When Counselling Don’t...
1. Counsel women alone
2. Counsel drunks; wait till they sober up
3. Counsel someone being counseled by another
4. Counsel without access to a phone, desk, writing materials, etc.
5. Counsel people who set down conditions
6. Counsel when a person refuses to do his homework
7. Counsel by telephone
8. Counsel by separating spouses from one another
9. Counsel people so drugged that they can’t reason
10. Counsel young children; counsel their parents
11. Counsel unbelievers; evangelize them
12. Counsel a Christian who will not accept Scripture as a Standard
See the remainder of Jay Adams’ list here.
