This is actually an assigment that I wrote for one of my christian counseling certificate courses. It’s very broad but it states a lot of my views of christian counseling and what I believe in terms of the integration of psychology and theology. I might change my mind after more studying, but here are my beliefs so far....
The concept of Christian counseling has been talked about and tossed around, misconstrued, and misunderstood and yet few people have truly tried to define in detail what Christian counseling actually is. There are many different pieces to the Christian counseling puzzle that must each be looked at meticulously in order to consolidate in our minds a clear, succinct definition. These pieces include biblical, theoretical, and practical, aspects of counseling as well as the integration of theology and psychology.
To begin understanding this subject, we must look at what we define Christian counseling to be and then discover what scripture says about this subject in general. I believe that Christian counseling is the imperative calling on our lives as we follow Christ to carry each other’s burdens. In doing so, we fulfill the Great Commission as the helping relationship between the counselor and the counselee sharpens them into greater disciples of Jesus. Counseling plays out practically in that the Spirit filled counselor empowers the counselee through psychological and theological insights to grow into wholeness through the Word, through prayer and in community with other believers.
There are two categories of scripture that give us a calling to lay counseling as a ministry (Tan, 1991, pg. 23). We each, as born again followers of Christ, have a calling to the laity, or in other words, “the royal priesthood”. We are all given a responsibility to each other and no specific group of people is required to do all the work God has given to that church. Paul lays this out for us clearly as he tells us that we are all members of one body, and we each have individual functions (Romans 12:4-5). This calling to a purpose in the body includes helping each believer to fullness in Christ and building each other up in love (Ephesians 4:4, 16).
The second category for a scriptural foundation of Christian counseling is the calling we have to counseling. Lay counseling is something we are all asked to do as we follow Christ together. I believe that parts of lay counseling will naturally happen in our relationships as we carry each other’s burdens and really encourage and strengthen one another to become more like Christ (Galatians 6:2). But we are also specifically called to confess our sins to one another and to exhort one another daily (James 5:16, Hebrews 3:13). This word to exhort one another in Hebrews is the same word as is mentioned in the gifting of exhortation in Romans 12:8 and it is to be in a “paraklesis” relationship or a helping relationship with each other. The gift of exhortation is a specific calling to counseling for some believers and indicates that this gifting is a part of the body and therefore essential to the health of the Church as a whole. The word “paraklesis” is also an essential biblical aspect to Christian counseling in that it is the same word that is used to indicate the Holy Spirit in Luke …….
As Christian counselors, we are to rely on the Holy Spirit at all times. We must realize that the Holy Spirit is The Helper and The Counselor and we are in turn helpers alongside of Him. Being Spirit-filled as a counselor is essential in terms of truly being effective in people’s lives and having wisdom to bring people into the glorious freedom of being the sons of God (Romans 8: 21). So throughout all of our goals and methods and approaches, it is through the Holy Spirit that we operate and improve as Christian counselors.
As Christians have become more and more aware of the need in the church for Christian counselors and even psychologists, we are faced with the dilemma of the integration of theology and psychology. For many Christians, the only referencing material needed in counseling is the Bible. The Bible for them becomes the complete authority on any problem, an exhaustive guide to any human condition. If we take this belief to the extreme and to the ultimate end result, the counselor’s own theology would suffice for their counselee’s problems and the integration of psychology would not be necessary, and in fact, integration of psychology might even be edging on the side of heresy.
The other end of the argument is grounded on the theology that “all truth is God’s truth”. Ultimately, the belief here would be that God reveals truth to us in different forms, specific, general, and personal. In this line of thought, the integration of psychology and theology is completely relevant and almost necessary as God can and does reveal Himself and His truth through secular and scientific discoveries.
More practically, Larry Crabb suggests that there are four different ways of integrating psychology and theology (Tan, 1991, pg 32). The first approach is that psychology and theology are considered as separate fields but of equal value. This is more of a complimentary perspective where the counselor can use each field, but must separate them in their sessions. The second is that the counselor can integrate a little bit of both, a “tossed salad” approach. In this approach, the counselor can mix the two fields and just hope that they come out making sense. The third approach is called “nothing buttery”, where psychology is irrelevant and only scripture is needed for counseling. And lastly, there is the integration of the two fields of study called “spoiling the Egyptians”. This approach uses whatever psychological models are relevant but keeps a theological basis for counseling.
Growing up with scientists, I have naturally upheld the theology that all truth is God’s truth. In Romans 1: 19-20, Paul writes, “ For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made…”. I do not have a problem filtering secularly discovered truth through scripture and through other Christian perspectives, but I am also not fearful or skeptical of using scientific facts to further develop my faith. Therefore, my perspective of integration would be similar to that of Tan in that I would prefer to integrate the psychological models that would be effective and beneficial to my counselees in terms of their wholeness, spiritual growth, and effectiveness in ministry. I would also be careful to verify that these methods do not contradict scripture or give space for demonic influences in counseling. But I believe that the two fields have a dynamic relationship in counseling and that they must both be used in order to be fully effective in our gifting as Paul urges us in Colossians 3:23,” Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men”. Therefore we have a high calling as followers of Christ in the field of counseling to use psychology and theology for the glory of God and for the equipping of the saints for His service.
As followers of Christ, I believe we also have a very different end goal in what we are trying to accomplish through our interactions with counselees. Christ has given us all a commission to go into all the world and make disciples. Therefore, in our lives as Christians, regardless of what we do, we should strive to make disciples of Christ or people who will walk closely to Him and desire to live life through His example. However, even as this is a calling on all of our lives, we are not called to focus on conversion in our counselee’s lives but to focus on being a helper to that person. This is the kaleo section of the paraklesis model where we focus on developing a relationship of openness and trustworthiness where the counselee can be “moved towards insight and growth”(van der Spuy, pg 52).
Another aim of Christian counseling is to help people grow into wholeness. But even our definition of wholeness would differ to that of secular counselors in that we would include a spiritual dimension with the measure of wholeness being the stature of Christ (Ephesians 4:14-15). Spiritual growth and confession of sins must be included in a Christian counselors objectives as these are biblical mandates but also key in our desire to live healthy lives that are free from the burdens and pitfalls of sin.
I believe that as followers of Christ we have a high standard of holiness that is required of us. This calling to follow Jesus creates in us a completely different standard for dealing with many of the problems of life as well as creating a standard of sacrificial love and a way of thinking that completely changes our lifestyles. Where the aim of counseling in general is to help people deal with problems, change, grief, etc., and to be able to journey through those challenges well, the aim of Christian counseling, while having the aforementioned as a sub point, is to enable people to live the abundant life, and to serve God to their fullest potential. The spiritual dimension to Christian counseling does not limit the depth to which we can aid people, but in effect adds a separate responsibility to our methods and makes our end result a goal that is even more elevated. We are the image of Jesus to our world and this affects not only how we live and how we think, but also how we go about helping people in their time of need.And in order to truly be set apart in how we help people, dependence on the Holy Spirit and prayer are very essential and unique components to Christian counseling as well as using scripture as our standard and authority.
Lastly, we must look at the different models of Christian counseling and evaluate which models we can glean great information and methods from in order to be fully effective in the field. The model that I have chosen to critically evaluate is Tan’s biblically based model of counseling. Tan splits his model into three basic views: a basic view of humanity, a basic view of counseling, and basic principles or techniques of effective lay counseling.
The first important aspect to Tan’s model is the definition of counseling that he uses from Gary Collins:“Counseling can be defined as a relationship between two of more persons in which one person (the counselor) seeks to advice, encourage and/or assist another person or persons (the counselee[s]) to deal more effectively with the problems of life.” (Collins, 1972, pg.13) While I agree with the advising and assisting people to deal with the problems of life, I think that as Christian counselors, we must add in the Holy Spirit and spiritual wholeness into our definition as the Holy Spirit is our key source of wisdom in counseling and wholeness is the ultimate goal, not effectively dealing with the problems of life. These two things cannot be subtracted from our end goals or our definition.
Tan introduces His view on humanity as central to forming his biblically based model of counseling. I agree with most of Tan’s views of humanity, but I would add that we all have physical needs as well that can deeply impact our psychological and emotional needs.One of the first basic human needs Tan introduces is that we all have a deep need for spirituality and to have spirituality in our daily lives. There is also a proclivity to sin that each of us has which makes us dependent on an outside source for our redemption. I like that Tan does not make sin his proprium for Christian counseling because I strongly agree that not all suffering is a result of personal sin. I think that this changes how we approach problem behavior and problem thinking as it can be a factor, but it is not always the source.
In regards to Tan’s view on our basic need for acceptance and significance, I believe God has made us with a need for relationships as it mirrors who He is as a relational triune God (Genesis 1:26). So, there is a basic need for love and acceptance as well as emotional security. I also believe that God has not created us to just exist, but He has given each of us a specific purpose that is unique to only the individual and therefore we have a basic human need to find and live in that purpose.
Tan also says that there is an ultimate goal of humans to know and enjoy God and spiritual health (Tan, 1991, pg. 36). I have seen this human need over and over again in my own life but also in the lives of others and I think that if we ignore this deep need in Christian counseling, that we will be leaving out a huge component to living a healthy life. In terms of practical approaches to counseling, Tan places a strong emphasis on the cognitive behavioral perspective. I think that getting to the root of our problem thinking can be key to allowing the Holy Spirit to bring change in our lives. I also like that he acknowledges that a cognitive behavioral strategy might not always address the real issue but that there are also demonic and physical aspects to problems which must be considered in Christian counseling. I think that as long as we do not suppress possibilities for the causes of problems but constantly evaluate different causes, we can tackle the issue without neglecting the root.
There are many dimensions to a person including physical, emotional, social, and spiritual. My personal story here is of my brother, who is a big reason for my desire to study psychology and counseling. My brother has been diagnosed with many psychological issues including schizophrenia, bi-polar, and social anxiety disorders. Growing up with him, I know that he was involved in witchcraft and demonic activity as well as taking many mind-altering drugs. I am not sure if the psychologists who have assessed him have any faith at all, much less a belief in the demonic factors that can play into problem thinking and behavior. In my perspective, my brother’s situation has many biological, demonic, and cognitive-behavioral factors and, in order for him to be mentally healthy, we must address all of these. I think that another practical approach would be to look at wounds that were dealt to us in the past and how those wounds affect our thinking and our behavior. We deal with wounds in the organization that I work for, and it is powerful to see how God transforms men and women when they have actually dealt with some of the pain of the past. This concept of looking into the past, or inner healing is powerful and I don’t believe that we can neglect this as Christian counselors.
On the topic of the relationship between psychology and theology, Tan uses the integration of psychology and Christianity and it is based on three approaches, nounthetic counseling, people helping, and biblical counseling. I agree with the idea of nounthetic counseling being a main approach to Christian counseling because one of the main reasons I desired to study counseling is that the Lord has already used me many times in my position in J-Life to confront behavioral issues in our trainees. I think that healthy confrontation is something that is lacking in most of our churches today and that this has contributed to a large number of sins not being dealt with until they have done a lot of harm, or sometimes, not being dealt with at all. I believe that as Christians, we have a calling to each other to confront sins and to love each other enough to restore each other to righteousness, although I also believe that this should be done in humility and with much prayer so that we don’t think of our selves more highly than we ought to (Matthew 5:18, Galatians 6:1, Romans 12: 3). I like that Tan uses nounthetic counseling as only a part of the whole approach because it leaves space to deal with the root of the sins so we are not just unveiling the sins. It also gives the freedom to listen, as seen in the people-helping approach, which sometimes is all people really need. In a sense I think people helping has its place in Christian counseling, but I would also steer away from making this a main focus because it can become too humanistic. If you take any of these approaches by themselves, they would be insufficient because each one to the extreme is very unbalanced and can be easily distorted to serve the counselor’s personal agendas. I think that a balance of Tan’s three approaches is the key to ministering most effectively.
Finally, Tan has 13 basic principles for effective lay counseling. I would like to discuss three of them in more detail. The first principle that I deeply agree with is that the relationship between the client and counselor must be authentic and caring. Relationships between the counselor and counselee are very important to the effectiveness of the counseling in general. In our organization it is very evident that the warmth and caring attitude of some of the staff makes the trainees much more willing to open up to them and seek their advice. If I do not have a great relationship with one of the girls that I am counseling, it takes much more time to get them to trust and open up to me. Warmth and compassion is key in forming paraklesis relationships. John Piper, in his article, Toward a Definition of the Essence of Biblical Counseling, says, “Biblical Counseling is done by a person who has a healthy awareness of his own emotions and those of others and what is being felt, even if not expressed, by himself and others” (Piper, 2001, pg. 1). I would also say that if there is too much dependence on you as a counselor and on your relationship, the counseling would not be effective.
Another principle is that counseling involves a process of exploration, understanding, action phases, and changing of problem thinking. This model corresponds with van der Spy’s Paraklesis model in that there is a time for developing a relationship and exploring the issues, then a time of enlightenment into those issues, then periods of action to change the problem behaviors and problem thinking (van der Spuy, pg ). I mostly agree with these two models and believe that it is a dynamic process where the counselee might need to return to previous issues in order to fully sort out some new problem areas and then mature into wholeness. My mentality is that we tackle the issues with the wisdom and enlightenment God gives us for that time, and that we are always growing into wholeness; we will not achieve wholeness completely on earth (Romans 7:14-25).
The last principle I want to unpack is that cultural sensitivity and cross- cultural skills are required. I work in an organization that has trainees staying for four months on a training site from as many as 14 different countries. There are many cultural conflicts that we deal with during the four months and each time that we help our trainees sort things out, I learn something new about a value or way of communication that is different to my culture’s values and communication. The way people think, behave, and communicate is largely based on their cultural background. I believe that as counselors, we must be sensitive to these things especially as Christians because our God has made each of us unique and we do not want to cause psychological problems because of a different cultural value that is not necessarily scriptural.
The subject of Christian counseling and Christian psychology is constantly changing and growing and I have only skimmed the surface of the deep waters of these subjects. I believe that we have a very high calling to counsel one another to wholeness and fullness in Christ and we must not take this lightly (Ephesians 4:1). I pray that as we continue to strive for excellence in the field of psychology and counseling that we are constantly connected to and reminded of Him who is The Counselor and that we continue to live lives that are holy and set apart for the glory God.
Bibliography
1.)Collins, G.R. (1988) Christian counselling: a comprehensive guide. (Rev). Dallas: Word.
2.)Crabb, L.J. (1975) Basic principles of Biblical counselling. Grand Rapids: Zondervan
3.) Meier, P.D., Minirth, F.B. & Wichern, F. (1989) Introduction to psychology and counselling: Christian perspectives and applications. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
4.) Tan, S. (1991) Lay counselling: equipping Christians for a helping ministry. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
5.) Piper, J. (2001) Towards a Definition of the Essence of Biblical Counseling, page1. http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Articles/ByTopic/81/1517_Toward_a_Definition_of_the_Essence_of_Biblical_Counseling/
Posted by michelle at 11:53 AM. Filed under:
(0) Comments