The Inclusion Of Spirituality Within The Counseling Process

How can a Christian counselor effectively counsel clients while holding to their convictions of faith? This question is one that many have to think upon. In reading the textbook for this class, the author takes the secular theories and breaks them apart. As a counselor, Christian or not, it is very important to pull from different theories rather than devote solely to one theory. Each individual coming in to the therapist’s office is wired differently in personality and belief system. As a Christian therapist, it is important to know the individual in the client’s chair. Being open with them about where one stands spiritually is a priority. The goal is to be able to take any theory and “think” Christianly. Every counselor is different, but there are central characteristics that one must focus their practice on while working with clients. The main goal as a Christian therapist is to integrate psychology, professional ethics, Scripture and the very character of Jesus in a way that never compromises the authority of God.

The psychologist must carefully assess his/her clients’ opinions and needs of religious intervention and, in most cases he/she must obtain informed consent (Fisher, 2012; Standard 10.01, Informed Consent to Therapy). Many religious interventions may be considered appropriate by some clients and inadequate by others. Different spiritual beliefs may affect clients ' hopes, expectations and needs in therapy.

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

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

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

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.

I ultimately agreed with the importance of building trust to construct an effective therapeutic rapport between Danielle and the counselor. Trust increases the chances of the treatment success. McMinn discusses a variation of religious interventions to aid with psychological and spiritual health.

Psychology, Theology and Spirituality in Christian Counseling by Mark R. McMinn is a conscious effort to apply all the major elements of Christian faith to the work of counselors. McMinn has created a workable blueprint for Christian counselors by writing at length about Christian faith in and out of the counseling office, psychological health, prayer, scripture, sin, confession, forgiveness, and redemption. In doing so, McMinn has successfully blended modern counseling techniques with Christian life in such a way that a Christian counselor can easily apply it to his/her own life and ultimately to effective counseling for his/her clients.

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).

Jim appears to be a troubled client because of his past. Since Jim carried issues from his childhood into adulthood, there was no healing from his past. Jim seemed to have children by many women and wasn’t able to take care of them. He only comes to the counseling center to achieve the benefits offered by the center. Now Jim is in and out of the center appearing to be no compliant. My first approach to Jim as his Christian counseling is to let him know that as his counseling I truly care for him. Then I will inform Jim that God loves him unconditionally. I will offer him prayer during the beginning session, during session and out of session. Jim doesn’t have to know if I pray for him out of session, because he deserves the best care. The counseling from McMinn (2011) is the approach I will use. I believe incorporating spiritual health approach is necessary for a client such as Jim. Although according to McMinn, prayer is an important part of counseling (McMinn, 2011). A broken person such as Jim is needs the inner peace from God. “To enter the kingdom, we must acknowledge that the inner peace we yearn for can never come by our own efforts but only by admitting we are powerless to conquer our self-centeredness and by turning over the rule of our life

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

What stood out to me the most was the statistics provided in Ethics of Prayer in Counseling (2007). It states that 78% of counselors in Christian agencies believe it is appropriate to pray with or for a client. I would have thought it would be more than that. But, perhaps not all those employed are Christian. 11% of those in secular practice believe praying with or for a client is appropriate (Weld & Eriksen, 2007). Again I would have said there would be more than just 11%. I feel that it depends on your clients and their beliefs. I work for a secular practice but have done many Christian based groups as well as, spiritually based groups. During my Christian based groups I typically have a client pray as stated in the article that I would be best for the client to pray. However, if I pray I “make the prayer general, supportive, affirming, and hopeful” (Weld & Eriksen, 2007, p. 131). I also like how the article stated that religion could be part of a clients pathology, and as a counselor we need to be aware of that and discourage prayer as part of the group (Weld & Eriksen, 2007).

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.

Integration of psychology, theology, and spirituality provides students an overview of integration models as a theoretical and practical foundation for faith-based counseling. In order to practice Christian counseling, professional counselors must be able to articulate a Christian worldview and understand the way in