The author of this book, Gary R. Collins, has done an amazing job of covering almost every conceivable topic that would be of relevance in the ministry. Simply looking over the table of content will make this point clear. Of course one might suggest other topics that were not covered, but again Mr. Collins has done a masterful job covering as many topics as he has. The book is broken down into nine parts, each dealing with a central topic. For example part one is titled, “Introductory Issues” and is broken up into seven chapters. These chapters deal with issues such as “The Changes in Counseling, The Church and Counseling,” and “The Legal, Ethical, and Moral Issues, in Christian Counseling”, to name just a few. I really liked this format because …show more content…
In this chapter the author asks a very important set of related questions. He asks, “Why do people come for counseling? What do they want to accomplish? What are your goals in trying to help people through counseling?” The author makes the point that most people who seek out Christian Counseling don’t do it because they need help with prayer or spiritual growth. They come to counseling because of issues such as marriage problems or some major crisis. The author states that, “These people need counseling that involves something other than evangelism, one-to-one preaching, or traditional Christian education.” To complement this statement of the goal of Christian Counseling the author says this in chapter forty-two, “Christian counseling can have a variety of goals, but at its core is the effort to help people find peace with God, peace with others, and peace with themselves. Sometimes, this peace comes closer when people admit their problems and talk about their feelings, acquire better interpersonal and communication skills, change their attitudes and control harmful thought patterns, get insights into their own actions, and learn how to change their ways of doing things. All of these are ways in which counselors help people to face and cope with the conflicts that block or disrupt peace.” In many ways these goals are the goals of the preacher. Preachers are seeking to lead people to Christ that they might have peace with God, others, and themselves, as they are forgiven of their sins by being baptized into Christ. They are at that point reconciled with God and Jesus also brings peace between them and others that is the church, the new humanity. Certainly the Christian counselor and the preacher are working to bring about peace with God in the lives of individuals in different ways and no man will have peace with God without first being immersed into Christ, but the counselor and the
McMinn (1996) uses a cognitive/behavioral approach. Many clients, especially those in the “Bible Belt” seek our Christian counselors. They look for a counselor that will hold them accountable for their actions and make them question themselves. However, I also believe that the counselor must identify when their client is ready for this approach. Too much too soon can lead to dissolution of the counseling relationship. I enjoyed McMinn’s approach to prayer. I agree with McMinn that God is always a part of the counseling session. Without God we cannot experience healing. In my opinion, the way a counselor displays their spirituality and approaches spirituality in the counseling setting is a key factor in how well the counselor can blend psychotherapy
The book contains a series of breakdowns of thoughts, outlooks, and emotional schemes. There are numerous exercises that help one to come to terms with issues relating to the various chapters the book contains. Some are more specific than others and require serious dedication to exercises, such as writing letters to your inner child, some are different tasks than others such as clearing your mind and imagining good in a specific person. As I
The two final segments covered by the author include the aspect of forgiveness as well as redemption. McMinn indicates that the main objective of a Christian counselor involves ensuring that the clients experience forgiveness while they take responsibility for their sins (McMinn, 1996). In this case, he emphasizes humility as one of the essential factors that govern forgiveness. Finally, his view of redemption is that it is close to forgiveness and confession (McMinn, 1996). For this reason, McMinn indicates that clients have to take a moment and reflect on their pain and their shortcomings to realize healing (McMinn, 1996).
Earley & Gutierrez (2010) “Ministry Is…How to Serve Jesus with Passion and Confidence” (Nashville: Broadman & Holman).
In this paper I will review the article “Interventions that Apply Scripture in Psychotherapy.” (Garzon 2005). Overall counseling can be very tricky, especially when the client is religious. This will require the counselor to use multiple resources, such as the Bible, when coming up with a treatment plan. The word of God is superior when it comes to healing. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)
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
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
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).
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.
David Powlison’s book, “The Biblical Counseling Movement: History and Context” (Powlison, 2010) highlights the historical context and impact of Jay Adams’s Positive System theory of Biblical Counseling. Adams makes three striking claims in his anti-psychiatry movement in support of counseling being a pastoral call versus a psychological practice. First, he claims that modern psychological theories perpetuate bad theology and misinterpret life’s problems. Secondly, he claims that psychotherapeutic professions are a false pastorate embarking upon tasks that rightfully belong to pastors. Thirdly, Adams claims that the Bible teaches
In addition, the new Christian counselor is committed to imparting truth available to humanity through biblical scripture concerning sin, the brokenness and damage people experience because of sin (Hawkins & Clinton, 2015, p.33). Additionally, the Christian counselor is also devoted to knowing God deeply and to the certainty that transformational change is a challenging process that involves specific attention to all components in the human
To conclude my review from “Christian Counseling Third Edition: A Comprehensive Guide” by Gary Collins, PH. D., as an excellent practical manual for professional in practice. The Biblical principles are nondenominational and can also be introduced to the needs of others in multicultural environment. The information is reliable for both the young and the matured.
In order to go forth with any counseling session; one needs to study the Bible passage carefully to discover biblical principles applicable to each person and what they are going through, then one will need to utilize said Godly principles. Consequently, one will need to be creative in how the Bible is used in each counseling session. One will need to ensure that they get to know the person that they are counseling, the issues that they face, and what their spiritual belief is.
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