Treasure Hunting: Bringing Solution Focused Questions to Your Counseling Ministry (2026)

Instructor: Jon Williams, LPC (see about page)

Continuing Education: 7 CE Hours approved by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC)

Course Format: Online, On Demand, Video Lectures, 7 Hours of Material

This 7 hour training program is designed to help Christian counselors (including non-licensed church ministers) integrate Solution Focused Questions with Christian counseling.

Benefits of this Training:

• You will integrate professional counseling techniques that complement your Biblical values and principles

• You will develop an approach that helps clients reach their desired outcomes quicker, especially useful for high caseloads or extensive efforts in counseling church members

• For educational institutions, you can integrate this course and enhance your training of counseling/ministry students

• For churches, you can equip your counseling/ministry staff with more tools to support your flock with their life struggles and improve their spiritual care

Some practical things you will be able to do by the end of the training include:

• Use hopeful questions that help people make progress when they are feeling “stuck”

• Help people connect their hearts to a hopeful vision of the future

• Help people look back at their past spiritual growth to direct their future growth

• Help people apply past spiritual resources (scriptures, sermons, Bible lessons) to new ways of spiritually growing

• Help people think about their potential for growth, rather than just their flaws and failures

• Reduce your own likelihood of burnout by having more hope-focused conversations, rather than problem-focused conversations

• Use the Treasure Diamond chart (see “materials” section above) to know what questions to ask and when to ask them

• Feel confident knowing you have an organized approach to counseling using SFT questions, Biblical principles and the Treasure Diamond chart in session

• Feel confident knowing that you have a counseling approach that can be helpful to those you minister to, regardless of the problem they bring with them

What are solution focused questions?

In Solution Focused Therapy, the primary techniques/interventions are a series of questions the counselor asks the client. These questions guide the conversation in a hope focused way that leads to positive change. Some examples of these interventions include the Miracle Question, the Exception Question, the Relational Question and the Scaling Question, amongst others. These questions are grounded, practical and appropriate for even the clinically lay counselor

What is treasure hunting?

The idea of “treasure Hunting” comes from Matthew 6 where Jesus states “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” The point is primarily existential: contrasting eternal hopes with temporal ones.

However, it also touches on an aspect of human development and change: that our heart, soul, mind, strength and behavior are willing to chase after worthwhile treasures.

By our nature, we are treasure hunters!

And in therapy, treasures are the positive outcomes we hope for. Shifting our focus to the proper treasure is key in changing the heart. Solution focused questions, in tandem with Christian principles, work together in developing the right treasures/hopes for clients to pursue. Even Jesus understood that leveraging the relationship between the heart and hope was critical for creating change.

Why would I want to bring solution focused questions to a Christian counseling session?

The answer is that Solution Focused Therapy (SFT) at its core is harmonious with what Jesus says in Matthew 6:19-21. Shifting focus to the right hope is critical in changing a person! When it comes to human’s making change for the better, SFT says clinically what the Bible says spiritually.

Set your client’s sight on a wholesome clinical treasure, and watch their hearts chase after it.

The target demographics for this training includes:

• Primarily Designed for:
  • Licensed clinicians who want to practice Christian counseling
  • Licensed clinicians who want to practice Solution Focused Therapy
  • Licensed clinicians who have clients with a Christian worldview
• Secondarily applicable to:
  • Non-licensed ministers who engage their church/community in Christian counseling

Course Objectives: upon completion, participants will be able to:

• Identify foundational concepts of SFT, the philosophy behind the questions and their relevance to Biblical principles (1.5 Hours)
• Identify the primary questions used in SFT (2.75 Hours)
• Use the Treasure Diamond chart to organize conversations, allowing questions to focus on spiritual treasures in therapy (2.75 Hours)

Want more info? See the training agenda below

Still curious? Check out the below videos from the beginning of the training content

This next video reviews the structure of the training

One more free preview! The Biblical relevance of using positive emotions to elicit change

Try it out, be encouraged, and gain more skills to minister to others through treasure hunting!