Biblical Worldview
Christian counseling is based on faith, in God the Father, His son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit; with the belief that mankind is created in the image of God. According to, Genesis 1:27 (NIV) “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” With this being said, the worldview of the counselor will determine and lead them in all of the decision making process with the client. “Human beings are created in the image of God and thus possesses personality, self-transcendence, intelligence, morality, gregariousness, and creativity” (Alban Jr., 2012, p. 55). The counselor will function in these qualities as God has designed within the counseling sessions.
Personality and Self-Transcendence
For instance, while counseling with a client the counselor’s personality can make or break the client/counselor relationship. It is important for the counselor to create an environment for the client to feel safe and trusting of the counselor, just as Christ does for us. We are told in Romans 8:29 (NIV), “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” The counselor is continually being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ and so display the Fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV), “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
A counselor’s job is to journey along with their client and to provide insight and support to those who are at risk and those who are hurting and searching for comfort and acceptance. If the counselor is a Christian they will also want to share our Heavenly Father’s love with the counselee and help guide them on a path that will lead them to Christ. There are several different techniques that can be used to break through the walls of some people in order to help them recognize the basis for their feelings whether it is such things as sin or faulty
I am so thankful for the amazing gift of grace that God as gifted us. Grace, as defined by McMinn is, “merciful kindness offered by God to those who do not and cannot ever deserve God’s kindness, and it is our only hope.” Grace is such an interesting concept. The idea that we have already been forgiven for our sins before we even commit a sin is not widely accepted by most people nowadays. When people sin, they feel a sense
According to Hawkins and Clinton (2015), Christian counseling is a collective process that includes at least three persons which are the counselor, the client and God’s trinity (Hawkins & Clinton, 2015, p. 39). The main objective of the relationship between these three forces is to obtain transformational
I believe counseling is a collaborative partnership between client and counselor. Furthermore, this collaborative partnership is built from trust and acceptance of both client and counselor. I hope in conjunction with clients to understand the issues and concerns so to help them tap into their wisdom, creativity, and strengths to meet their current challenges. I believe in a comprehensive perspective through which clients can better comprehend themselves in the framework that our thinking about events can lead to emotional and behavioral upset. Moreover, counselors are to provide a safe environment for clients to explore their challenges and identify ways to move differently in overcoming these challenges.
Christian counseling is all about integrating psychology, theology and spirituality into counselor and clients lives. Psychology, Theology and Spirituality in Christian Counseling gives insight into how these three perspectives can be used to help individuals identify certain aspects of their lives that might be enhanced when the counselor includes spirituality into their counseling sessions. We also see how important it is for the counselor to be in touch with their own spirituality so that
Dr. Larry Crabb’s book “Effective Biblical Counseling: A Model for Helping Caring Christians Become Capable Counselor” Crabb, (1977), this book models how counseling can be gracefully integrated into implementation of the local church. The Goal of Christian Counseling that Dr. Crabb states within his book Crabb, (1977), is “any approach to counseling that is truly biblical will work most effectively when carried out into the context of a local body of believers” (pg. 13). As Dr. Crabb states within his book that “The goal of biblical counseling is to promote Christian maturity, to help people enter into a richer experience of worship and a more effective life of service” (pg. 31), This allows them grow
It is not an exaggeration to say counseling is a one of big parts in Christianity. One of the goals of Christianity is to sanctify and edify the saints with words of encouragement, exhortation, and admonishment. Through a process of counseling, therefore, Christians face problems and suffering of this world as well as being built up in faith. As a
The integration of psychology and theology is so intertwined that it has caused ill-well between the two disciplines. The over-arching concern for a counselor is to understand the why of a person disorder. In trying to understand the why, there are issues concerning the mind of the person, the thought process, their body, their soul, their temporal and the supernatural systems that can be manipulated if they are not living with a healthy lifestyle. So what a counselor is trying to discover is the physical function of individuals as well as trying to uncover the spiritual components of their lives, which can be worked through within the intake process, however it does not need to be left out during the counseling process. This is best said in the words of McMinn (1996) who declares “the best interdisciplinary integration work usually comes from those who have formal or informal preparation in both psychology and theology” (p. 9). Scripture states in, II Chronicles 1:10, says “give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours” (New International Version)? This research article will endeavor to search through varies theories to aid counselors in the integration process of psychology and theology. Because the ultimate goal for any counselor especially the Christian counselor is to be used as an instrument for God to bring about healthy living, corrective thoughts, and eradicate persistent sins.
Your job is to help people deal with the changes that come into their lives and make changes that will improve their lives (Collins, 2007, pp. 3-4). Additionally, Pastoral counseling can be both distinctively pastoral and psychologically informed. This occurs when it takes the identity from the rich tradition of Christian soul care and integrates appropriate insights of modern therapeutic psychology… (Benner, 2003, p.14). ). The primary goal lies with change; and our change is stemmed by our reliance upon the Father for change and healing and through “Jesus Christ [who] is the only all-sufficient and perfect healer for hurt people” (Wilson, 2001, p. 14).
McMinn tells how psychology, theology, and spirituality are used and how they should be used in Christian counseling. A Christian counselor has to look at not necessarily psychology and theology in a counseling session but how religion and spiritually is brought into the session. McMinn (2011) states, “Religious interventions require us to understand spiritual formation, place priority on personal spiritual training as well as professional development, challenge prevailing models of mental health, work toward a stronger scientific base, and sensitively recognize ethical issues” (p. 26). Counselors need to work on their own spiritual foundation so they can are able to help clients. This consists of prayer, scripture, redemption, sin, forgiveness, and confession (McMinn, 2011).
God, the counselor will have wisdom that can be easily tapped by the clients because an empty well cannot give out water. Secondly, it will constantly remind the counselor of our finitude nature that is the awareness that we are finite creatures, dependent upon God for our abilities and for our very being (Entwistle, 2010). And lastly, it will create a serene atmosphere that will allow clients to develop trust and freedom to let out all issues tormenting them because where the Spirit of God is there is liberty (2Corithians 3:17).
Chapter two starts off with the author talk about his education of true christian counseling before settling on one called the discipleship approach (Collins, 23). Readers explore some people-helper principals; starting with “the helper.” This principal starts out citing Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia in which Paul instructed the leaders there to “restore” the individuals who were apparently struggling with sin and other issues (23). Paul instructs that only those who are spiritual may help the struggling individuals so that the struggling individuals may get the real help they need by means of healthy, loving caring relationships. In principal two, we learn how to help people that can be difficult to penetrate
If the client is found to have mental issues they will be placed on medication and I would utilize mental health techniques along with theological principles. As a Christian counselor, I would incorporate scriptures, prayers, fasting and meditation in the counseling sessions. My client will be given homework at each session. The homework could be to study and memorize one scripture that they would bring to each session. I would also ask them to pray sometimes at the counseling
specialists but what can be difficult is attempting to discover what makes a counselor great. It can be agreed upon that some of the characteristics that make up a great counselor include, but are not limited to: empathy, compassion, being nonjudgmental, trust, confidentiality, and commitment. These are all traits of Jesus Christ who is referred to as the Great Counselor. It has taken the mental health industry decades to even begin to reach the place Jesus reached in His three years of ministry. By comparing Jesus and the counseling world one can see why Jesus is referred to as the Great Counselor and where the counseling world does well in helping individuals but still falls short.
It is evident in the world today that there is a need for guidance and counseling. There are many statistics of issues the world faces that prove the need treatment. For example, 35% of persons who marry end up divorced. 40% of children live in a home where a father is not present. By age 18, 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused by someone they love and/or trust. Approximately every 20 minutes a person commits suicide within the United States (Clinton, 2005). This list goes on and is even found within the church. Professional counseling and lay Christian counseling have found a way to help individuals overcome these issues though certain techniques and methods. These techniques and methods are often adopted from secular psychologists such as Carl Rogers who founded Client-Centered Therapy. While both counseling groups have a goal to help individuals overcome their issues, should Christian counselors, specifically, accept secular professional counseling techniques?