Foundations of Biblical Counseling: Halo Data

By: Joe Whiting Topic: counseling

Welcome back to week 34. We hope the past week has been a blessed one for you. Last week we briefly considered complicating problems in biblical counseling and what to do about them. This week we will briefly examine halo data and its significance in the biblical counseling process. What exactly is it and how do we make use of it in biblical counseling / discipleship?

There are two types of data to be gathered in a counseling session. There is core data which is data that is gathered by the spoken word. Core data is overtly gathered because it is obtained by listening to a person’s verbal communication. 

The other type of data to be gathered is halo data. Halo data is the type of data that is gathered by observation. Halo data is covertly gathered because it is obtained by watching a person communicate. 

When gathering core data, the counselor will be listening to the words being spoken, but when gathering halo data, the counselor will be watching the person’s mannerisms and observing how they speak their words. Core data and halo data are like peanut butter and jelly; without both you just do not have a sandwich. Likewise, without both types of data the counselor cannot obtain the data needed to successfully (i.e. biblically) counsel another. Halo data is as important as core data and sometimes even more important. 

For example, there is a couple desiring marriage counseling due to an argument saturated relationship. During the couple’s first visit the wife consistently refers to her husband as “dear,” with sarcastic undertones. If the counselor only listens to her spoken word, he could easily assume that she is a saint. 

The counselor, in this hypothetical situation, has neglected halo data gathering. He did not observe how the wife used the word “dear.”  If the counselor also failed to record the wife’s body language (e.g., abundantly separated from her husband, looking in the other direction, writhing her hands, gripping the arms of her seat, facial expressions, etc.), he would have missed still more critical halo data. 

We can also use halo data in the identification of depression. Halo data helps us see signs of depression. The counselor seeking to find depressive signs would look at the general appearance of a person.[1]

When a person is depressed, they usually let themselves go in appearance and their facial expression drops (Gen. 4:5). A counselee who is depressed will usually display the opposite signs of one who is not. A person who is depressed will manifest signs of dreariness, lack of hope, self-pity, complaining about God and His perceived actions, lack of enthusiasm, and even anger. And, all of these signs ultimately point to underlying pride.[2]

Halo data (and homework) can be a great tool for gaging a counselee’s progression or regression in the counseling process. It is easier to speak false words than it is to manifest joy in the heart when there is none. Halo data is a useful tool in the data gathering process. We ought to employ it every time we try to help another.   

We hope our short time considering halo data in a biblical counseling context was helpful. We ought to gather as much data as we can to be as helpful as we can. Lord willing, next week we will define and describe the importance of language in the counseling / discipleship process. The words we use matter. Until then may our Lord bless you and keep you.


[1] Prov. 15:13. Although be very careful about remarks on a female counselee’s appearance so as to avoid her thinking there are sexual advances where none exist.

[2] Num. 14:1-4, 9, 11; Rom. 9:20; Prov. 28:25; Matt. 20:1-16; 1 Cor. 12:14-25; Eph. 4:31-32.

Joe Whiting

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