Here are some reasons why these two don't go together:
1. Pelgians do not believe in Original Sin. That means, they do not believe that we are all born with sinful hearts since Adam fell. Pelagians believe that human beings are like Adam was before he fell. They believe people have a choice of whether they want to sin or not.
2. Repentance is a matter of making a u-turn. It involves living totally for God, instead of living for yourself. In repentance, you let go of those things that are more important to you than God is. But Pelagians teach that repentance means to 'stop sinning'. Again, it goes back to #1, where Pelagians do not believe in Original Sin. You have the choice and the power to not sin anymore, according to them.
3. God's mercy and love are left out, as well as His grace and power to overcome sin. You will not hear the words 'grace', 'love', or 'mercy' from Pelagians when they teach. Neither do they recognize the power of God as the only enablement for us to live the Christian life.
4. Pelagians do not believe God is for you if you sin. Also, that would mean that if you struggle with sin, addictions, or are enslaved by a sin and want to be free, you would have to free yourself. It is your responsibility before God to become 'sin-free'.
So, by looking at the differences between what the Bible actually says about God and His care for his children who struggle against sin, you can easily see why Pelagianism doesn't work with Biblical Counseling. I don't want to speak for those who are Pelagians, but, from what I can tell by looking at what they say they believe in, it comes down to legalism. Although I don't think they believe that good works atone for sin, they do believe that obeying God is part of the equation for our salvation experience.
How does this tie in with Biblical Counseling? In Biblical Counseling, you work with people that are believers in Jesus Christ and are following Him, yet, they have struggles with their sinful natures, whether it be with addictions, mental illness, past abuse, the list could go on. You can't tell a person who has mental illness to just 'stop sinning' and expect them to be perfect. You can't tell anyone, for that matter, to 'stop sinning' and be perfect. By perfect, I am using this word to mean being without sin. The Bible uses this word to mean 'mature'.
Another way Pelagian beliefs do not work with Biblical Counseling is that God's love is left out. The Bible says that 'God is love'. That is part of who He is. Counselees need to understand that God loves them and will help them. God wants to set people free from sin. That is why Jesus died for us. He died to take away the wrath of God, but there is so much more. Now, we have the power to break sin that held us back before. Sin no longer has to enslave us. But it is not as easy as telling a person to 'stop sinning' in order to be free from sin. We cannot 'stop sinning'. But God in us can cause us to have the power so that we don't have to sin anymore. It is part of the sanctification process, which, obviously, is not something Pelagians would believe in either.
The Bible tells us to 'carry one another's burdens'. Galatians also tells us to 'restore' a brother who has fallen 'with gentleness'. The process of this happening takes time and patience. People aren't restored when you tell them they are bad. If you have children, you already know that when the child sins, it doesn't make much sense to tell them what they did was wrong and make them feel hopeless and stupid because of what they did. You go back to the heart and explain to them the why of what is was they did, and the reason it was wrong, and what can be done to restore it. You still love your child and are for him and will help him to not fall into that sin again.
Pelagians are strong in telling people about God's wrath and judgment. They are experts in doing that.
So, these are some of the reasons why the teachings of Pelagianism go against the teachings of Biblical Counseling as based upon the Scriptures.
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