Church Assistance Program (CAP)
Biblical truth and clinical insight for the Body of Christ
Confidential, professional Christian counseling and educational resources, brought to your local church by Through Faith Therapy.
Our vision
Partnering with the Body of Christ (the Church) to touch and heal those in our community who are emotionally and spiritually wounded. As we meet them where they are in the midst of their suffering, we journey with them toward a life of hope, freedom, healing, and transformation found in Jesus Christ.
Inspire Hope. Impart Truth. Impact Lives.
What is a CAP?
The Church Assistance Program is a service of Through Faith Therapy, PLLC, owned and operated by Grace Gessel, LCSW, which brings confidential, professional, Christian counseling and educational resources to the local church. The program facilitates positive movement of the church body towards becoming healthier in mind and spirit.
This model removes financial barriers for church members, provides them immediate access to care, and allows churches to support their members and staff who are struggling with mental health concerns that are beyond the scope of pastoral ministry, such as complex trauma, clinical anxiety, and depression, and harmful behavioral patterns such as addiction and self-harm.
Why should your church have a Church Assistance Program?
- The health of one’s soul determines his or her ability to connect well with Christ and others. “Christ-centered soul care means recognizing that the church, more than the hospital or clinic, is the central place for healing, growth, and rich relationship. It means seeing people’s pain as a soul wound as well as a psychological disorder at times.” Clinton, T. and Ohlschlager, G., Competent Christian Counseling, p. 31
- The church partners with the work of the Holy Spirit. “The care and cure of souls is the work of God – a process of spiritual formation and discipleship – more than the work of psychotherapy.” Clinton, T. and Ohlschlager, G., Competent Christian Counseling, p. 31
- Salvation does not always eliminate patterns of sin, willful disobedience, and effects of trauma in a person’s life. Salvation begins the submissive positioning of a believer to the “ongoing work of redemptive sanctification because we are totally unable to accomplish it ourselves.” Clinton, T. and Ohlschlager, G., Competent Christian Counseling, p. 31
- Our history impacts who we are in the present. We were shaped by what was done to us, what we needed and didn’t get, and what happened around us. It is not only our own sin patterns that we must address; sometimes, it’s the ways in which others have sinned against us that inform our sin patterns and overall wellbeing. Keller, T., Four Models of Counseling in Pastoral Ministry
When your church offers a CAP, you send two messages
- You understand that Christians do have emotional struggles and problems which affect their ability to love Christ, themselves, and others. Being able to receive and give His love helps them to fully mature into who He created them to be.
- You recognize the importance of shepherding people entrusted to your anointed care and are willing to partner with appropriate resources to help meet their needs.
Benefits of partnership
What your church gains
- It allows you to focus your strengths and calling, while preserving your emotional and spiritual health.
- It helps to create a healthier body of Christ so that it can be more effective in service to the Kingdom.
- The church is able to avoid the problems of dual relationships with members.
- Being licensed, skillfully trained, and insured, we assume the liability and responsibility for our counseling services.
- The church can offer a life-changing program at an affordable cost to its members, with a 30% discount on services via a pastor’s referral.
- Affordable training for church staff and leadership.
- Consultation for mental health concerns in the church.
- Contributing to a culture of healing and prevention (normalization of mental health concerns).
- Church volunteers and those who serve feel invested in, and show up more whole and more Holy to serve and impact the body of Christ.
- The church body can get into therapy quickly without the burden of spending time, energy, and resources to find a good fit.
When to refer
Knowing when to call
- When someone’s problems have not been resolved in a couple of sessions with you.
- When the severity of someone’s problems extends beyond your training.
- When you feel overwhelmed by the ongoing emotional needs of many members at one time.
- When you or someone on staff is going through a crisis or facing challenging issues in life.
…speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Services offered
Care for members, growth for leaders
Counseling services
- Individual adult counseling
- Adolescent counseling (screening necessary)
- Group counseling
Personal growth & leadership development
- Parenting seminars
- Marriage seminars
- Pastoral counseling consultation
Staff development
- Life Group leadership training
Confidentiality
While the church refers each member to Through Faith Therapy, clinical records remain confidential within the therapy practice, adhering to state and national legal standards.
Model 1
Fee for service: three ways to structure it
Discounted rate for members
For members who can afford services, the pastoral staff refers the member to Through Faith Therapy and the member receives a discounted rate of 30% for the first three to six individual sessions.
Co-pay / subsidized
The church covers a portion of the fee, and the individual pays a small co-pay (e.g., church pays $80 and member pays $25).
Full sponsorship
The church covers the entire cost of the initial sessions (e.g., 3–6 sessions), making it free for the individual.
This model includes a brief assessment for identified needs (1st session) and 2–5 more sessions before Through Faith Therapy and the member decide how to continue care. The exact number of sessions contracted is at the discretion of the church, and Grace can offer more insight around this.
The member will fill out the standard intake forms offered at Through Faith Therapy (TFT), plus a release of information that allows TFT to communicate with the church about financial responsibility (when applicable).
Model 2
Annual contract
The church secures a set number of sessions a month for members with Through Faith Therapy, ensuring there is space for members to receive care. The church pays Through Faith Therapy ahead of time for these appointment slots, which are offered at a 30% discount.
Through Faith Therapy agrees to offer a free training to staff or the congregation each quarter. Here are some example topics:
- Becoming a trauma-informed church, for staff and/or Life Group leaders
- Suicide prevention, assessment, and referral training, for staff
- Repentance is not repression: Uprooting our sin patterns and setting them free, for members
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
Ephesians 3:16–19 (NIV)
Next steps
Explore a CAP for your church
Reach out to Grace Gessel at grace@throughfaiththerapy.com. Grace will discuss your congregation’s and staff’s present needs, share more about her gospel-centered approach to psychotherapy, the modalities she uses and why, and answer any questions you have. From there, you and she will decide if, how, and when to move forward.