What´s Celebrate Recovery?

All three disciplines are useful in counseling. He gave practical insights on using religion in the counseling office, moving toward psychological and spiritual health, using prayer and scripture in counseling, and choosing whether or not to address sin in a client’s life. McMinn (2011) also gave practical insights on confession, forgiveness, and redemption. McMinn (2011) discussed various challenges counselors could encounter in working with their clients. After reading McMinn’s (2011) book I do not have any criticisms. The book is an easy read; however, the reader does not want to rush through it or else important points will be

After reviewing the important concepts of the Hawkins and Clinton book, I was able to finalize the 8 most interesting points. During the book review, it was mentioned that as Christian counselors, we need to maintain a steady pace with the progression in research, practice, and treatment (Hawkins & Clinton, 2015, p. 2). From my understanding, enhancing our counseling methods and incorporating valuable resources, will result in a more spiritual work in the ministry of counseling.

Highlighting some theological assumptions that are critical for Christian counseling will be done in this section. The term counseling should be considered in the broadest of definitions such as counselor, helper, advocate, giving advice, teacher, and one who is called

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

I attended Celebrate Recovery at Fellowship Bible Church in Rogers, Arkansas on October 7th. This meeting is not for any specific addiction or problem, but spans many issues and therefore was very different than any other support group I have attended. The fact that it is a faith-based meeting was another interesting difference from the Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meeting I visited last semester.

Prior to reading this book I was unclear as to how the counselor could go about introducing spirituality into the counseling relationship. I believe that McMinn provides us with a good foundation on how Christian counselors can guide their clients to rely upon God. One thing that I would like more clarity on is how counselors can integrate spirituality into the counseling relationship when there is a difference in beliefs? If Christian counselors are to lead and guide their clients to God then how do we effectively do that when our beliefs may be different from our clients?

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

September is National Recovery Month. As such, it is a great opportunity to celebrate people who are in recovery. Celebrating someone’s sobriety doesn’t have to be an expensive, or an over-the-top party. Most people in addiction recovery appreciate even small gestures. The following are some activities people in recovery can participate in and maintain their sobriety.

For this assignment, an interview was conducted with Traci Richards, a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with Genesis Counseling Center in Chesapeake, Virginia. Relying on Christian principles as the basis of the therapy, Genesis Counseling Center offers comprehensive counseling and psychological services, including individual, marriage, family, Biblical counseling, psychological testing, group therapy, life coaching, online counseling, consulting, leadership coaching, and licensure supervision, in an outpatient setting. The office in Chesapeake is part of a larger practice, the Genesis Group, which has served the Hampton Roads community for decades and has locations in Hampton, Yorktown/Newport News, Williamsburg, and Suffolk.

To be honest, I have had no formal training in counseling. In fact, because of an unproductive experience in a psychology class in college, I have not been looking forward to attending class. I was content with just using common sense, and personal experiences to assist parishioners in coping with specific situations affecting their lives. I knew God had prepared me for my job as pastor, but when I read Webb’s book, “Crisis Counseling in the Congregation”, I realized that this book would prove useful in facilitating me in becoming a better counselor. When I was assigned to Rivers Chapel as a pastor, I used strategies I had learned, in the classroom, and on my previous jobs in counseling, which were common sense and life experiences. But now, after reading “Crisis Counseling in the Congregation”, I can perceive where common sense and personal experience would have been more productive if I had had a better understanding of the techniques Webb introduced in his basis toolbox. After reading Webb’s book, I know I can be a better counselor for my parishioners, their families, and my own family.

Have a counseling team that will work with churches, give counseling sessions, and have different speakers to come in.

Even though Psychologists have generally been uninterested in sin or the concept of sin, as Christian’s counselors, we must understand sin from theological and spiritual perspectives. McMinn’s believes that changing behavior in a client is not more important than changing the inner life of a client. These methods will also allow personal honesty, humility, and discernment in the Christian counselor’s personal and spiritual

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

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.

One focus of biblical counseling is to help others develop a biblical worldview of their life and recognize the core truth that guides right thinking and actions. The goal of biblical counseling is spiritual maturity. True change is the result of the Holy Spirit working in one’s heart. This work often includes intervention by other people such as a pastor, a mentor, or a counselor. The biblical counselor helps people identify their problems in biblical terms that may involve a renaming of the problem, such as, alcoholism versus drunkenness. As this is done, the individual’s view of his or her problem is changed and becomes biblical. This process is filled with grace and is ultimately redemptive. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the foundation for the work of biblical counseling.