Essay On Christian Worldview

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

The word worldview means how an individual view the world around them. A worldview is a complete system of how we perceive the world and process it. According to Waddell (2014), “a worldview is a foundational set of assumptions to which one commits that serves as a framework for understanding and interpreting reality and deeply shapes one’s behavior.” The worldview of an individual is usually influenced by the person’s cultural background, life experiences, and upbringing. The Christian worldview is under the board umbrella of theism, which is “a worldview that entails belief in the existence of at least one personal and intelligent divine being” (Cosgrove, 2006). A person of a Christian worldview itself is someone who believes in the teaching of Jesus Christ and believes God created the world and everything in it. This paper would attempt to summarize and analyze the essential elements of the Christian worldview describing God, Humanity, Jesus, and Restoration. The writer will also reflect on his own worldview.

There are many views held among Christian counselors about how to Scripturally approach changing human behavior. For some who seek to base the motivation for change on Biblical grounds, an approach to counseling is geared toward changes that would allow one to conform more

Professional counseling focuses on relationship that empowers different individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, and wellness. However, the part that professional counselors don’t focus on is the spiritual stability in an individual so they could properly serve God and be impactful in the church. There are many approaches that professional counselor used that could also aid a Christian counselor. Some of the approaches are as follows: Client-centered therapy, Active Listening Approaches, Cognitive & Solution-Focused Approaches, Inner Healing Approaches, and Mixed Approaches. Furthermore, theses above approaches could be even more effect when Christian counselors used the Bible too. It must be known, that secular approaches are not inherently wrong; however, if a Christian counselor rely on these approaches it is. Subsequently, when secular approaches are use independently it falls short of the goal of a Christian

According to ACA (2014) indicated that when counselors spend more time with client it will pave the way in building trust and therapeutic relationship. Also, when a counselor is not grounded well with diverse multi-cultural and religious system the counselor should consult more qualified and experienced counselor for advice. Mary Ann needed the counselor to resolve her feelings of depression and motivate her in order to do better in school and to get involved in any way with her religious faith. It is essential to understand the religious and cultural background of the client and the family in order to initiate appropriate intervention.

McMinn unveils the realism of what essentially happens in the counseling office. He dives into the fitting together “Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling”. McMinn explains how “those who enter therapy in the midst of their pain experience a restorative counseling relationship that brings acceptance hope, and meaning into their broken lives” (McMinn, 2011, p. 20). There are various questions surrounding Christian counseling that McMinn faces head on in this book when it comes to the challenges counselors face as it relates to integrating religion and spirituality in their sessions. Life on the frontier as McMinn puts it, is where counselors face six basic challenges. Challenges such as moving from two areas of competence to three, blurred personal-professional distinctions, expanded definitions of training, confronting dominant views of mental health, establishing a scientific base or even defining relevant ethical standards (McMinn, 2011). Personal journey’s that McMinn has taken throughout his career provide him with the knowledge, skills and abilities to depict how we should face these challenges. McMinn talks about how many counselors have a need to interpret studies, have good psychodynamics and figure out which cognitive therapy is right for their counseling. As he states, “Christian counseling is more complex than other forms of counseling because our goal are multifaceted (McMinn, 2011, p.

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).

Christian counselors have a responsibility to their clients to integrate psychology and theology in their therapeutic approaches. Incorporating multiple components however is not as straight forward as one might think. In Psychology Theology, and Spirituality (McMinn, 2011) McMinn discusses the benefits of an integrated counseling approach that strives to promote “both spiritual and emotional growth” (McMinn, 2011, p. 5) by including a third element; spirituality, or more specifically, spiritual formation. Finding the proper blend of elements can be challenging even for a seasoned therapist.

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).

Their approach incorporates both theology and psychology in their method of use. Both take a holistic viewpoint on what is best for their client’s well-being. They both take the view that “when a person is suffering with emotional problems, it affects the physical body and the spirit” (Brewer & Clinton, n.d.). Both theories whether being used individually or together function on the same concepts of building bridges or pathways been the counselor and the client in order to develop a relationship that will enable the counselor to help in the healing of the mind, the body and the soul/spirit as both psychology and theology both strive to succeed in. Faith plays a large role in counseling as it “enhances physical and mental health” (Hawkins & Clinton, 2015 p. 17) and it can in turn show that “faith-filled clients become stronger and healthier physically and mentally” (Hawkins & Clinton, 2015 p. 17) and isn’t that what all counselors strive to achieve for their clients

A worldview is a term used to describe one’s theories and beliefs about the world. “No human being lives without a worldview, but few ever give thought to what worldviews are, how they come into being, how they change and how they are held.” (Webb, p.1) Upbringing, life experiences, attitudes and morals can all have an effect on a person’s worldview and in turn, will affect how one decides to live their life every day and the choices they make. “All of us at some time ask what is real.” (DeWeese, pg. 34) Christian Worldview answers, with certainty, the questions to origin, identity, meaning/purpose, morality and destiny. When you believe the Bible to be true, you allow it to be your guide for what you say and do. –Word count 128

The first and most important theme in a Christian worldview is believing in the one true God. The creator of all things in the universe.

The author suggests that theology, psychology, and spiritual formation should all work together in order to help a client reach a state of health (McMinn, 2011). When reading this book, I recalled a point in my life where I wanted to reach out to a counselor in order to get help due to abuse that I had experienced in my life. I had left home and had begun to experience mental breakdowns in the workplace. My employer approached me and told me that I needed to go and seek help, but I refused. I remember thinking about conversations that I had previously with my father about counseling.

A Christian worldview leads us to believe in moral absolutes, miracles, human dignity, and the possibility of redemption.

My theological of pastoral care and pastoral counseling I will view all the human being as it was written in the beginning with Genesis 1:27: "And God created man to his own image: to the image of God he created him: male and female he created them." As I know the creation of human being, therefore, my pastoral care and pastoral counseling will also views all human being as spiritual and bodily creatures created by God. As a result, my priority in pastoral care and pastoral counseling is that I was called into relationship with God and with one another. the same way my counseling session with client my main goal with he / her as a clients is to meet them where they are at now in their trials, tribulations, and suffering; we also celebrate their moments of personal growth, self-awareness, discovery, and change. As a pastoral counselor, the stakes are changed in the sense that there is an additional responsibility to look after the client’s journey in towards spiritual growth and a more mature faith. We seek to aid in the process of humanization, psychological wholeness, and well-being where we desire to give our client’s a taste of what is means to be “a fully functioning, free, consciously aware, responsible, and loving” individual. God did not create human beings to suffer any evil; that was the fault of man. Therefore, the ultimate questions I will ask of my clients are these: “What part is God playing in the story of your life?” and “What is God asking of you in this