Theoretical Orientation

Introduction
Discovering a theoretical orientation is a lengthy and weighty process. Stepping into this realm has been enlightening and overwhelming all at the same time. Toward the beginning, I felt it would be obvious which orientation I would choose. In my mind, it would be reminiscent of a movie scene where the guy meets the girl, the music builds, and it seems the whole world knows what is happening is meant to be. Nevertheless, as one wanders through the many variations of where problems stem from and how to help others find healing it can be easy to get lost in the minutia of this process. Consequently, as I began to process where I would land, I took a step back and started with my values to help in this process. When I say values, I mean: how do I view humanity, where do problems stem from, how can healing be achieved, and what role should the therapist play in the course of healing. Beginning here is imperative for me, and Rogers agrees when he talks about the necessity of a therapist’s congruence and authenticity as the baseline for change (Corey, 2007). After discovering my values, I aimed to find theories which aligned with my values. Lastly, I worked on finding confluence with these theories to create my own theoretical orientation.
Values

The author of Genesis writes, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth’” (English Standard Version, Genesis 1:27). Consequently, I regard every human life as sacred. Moreover, I believe every human being was created for relationship. Again, the writer of Genesis lays the groundwork for this need when they write, “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him’” (Genesis