NANC Certification
At IBCD, we believe that all Christians are able to counsel one another from the Word of God (Rom 15:14). Believers need to be equipped, however, to do this in a way that is beneficial and biblical. A structured way to accomplish this training is through the NANC Certification process. Not every Christian needs to be certified, but each step is a valuable part of being equipped to counsel one another.
Phase 1 - Training
Step 1 - The Basics of Biblical Counseling Course
This course is available live, in DVD format, on CD, or on mp3. To complete step 1, you must listen to the entire course. You do not need to register with us in any way to complete this step. All that is required is to indicate how you completed it on the NANC application (in Phase 2).
Step 2 - Counseling Observation
The NANC requirement is to do 10 hours of observation of a NANC Certified counselor, after you have completed Step 1. If you live in Southern California, we offer live counseling observation. If you are not near our centers, you can view the NANC website to find a nearby counselor. If a NANC certified counselor is not available to observe DVDs that satisfy this requirement can also be purchased from Faith Resource Center or Biblical Counseling Center.
Step 3 - Required Reading
NANC requires 1000 pages of reading from a select list of texts. You can really start this reading any time.
Phase 2 - Exams and Application
This phase involves completing the open book, essay exams and submitting your completed application to NANC.
Phase 3 - Supervised Counseling
This final step involves completing 50 hours of counseling under the supervision of a NANC Fellow. You have one year from the time you pass your exams to complete this phase. If you have done your training through IBCD, we seek to give you priority to have Jim Newheiser supervise your counseling.
How IBCD can help you in this process
At IBCD, we assist people in this process by offering The Basics of Biblical Counseling Course, live Counseling Observation for people who are near our centers, and Supervised Counseling for those who have gone through our Basics Course and Observation. We also offer training and resources that will help you continue to grow as a biblical counselor.
