Through the reading of both David Entwistle and Mark McMinn’s books, I found myself considering how I could incorporate their information while counseling clients. The first concept, or guideline, that I found to be insightful was the importance of knowing my theory of healing. Is my theoretical concept allowing God to be the center focus of the counseling relationship? As a Christian counselor, it is my goal to reveal the Word and use it as a guide for my practice. While I understand that integration of psychology and theology is important, as a Christian I want to ensure that I use the Bible to guide my clients toward healing. The second concept was a statement made in this week’s presentation, “Multi-tasking in Christian Counseling”, that …show more content…
Are my facial expressions providing the client with approval of maladaptive behaviors? This is important for me as I do not have a poker face. I feel that I need to pay close attention to this in an effort to ensure I do not make my client feel that I am being judgmental of their situation or approving of their sin. The third concept, or guideline, that I intend to use in counseling is the importance of the therapeutic relationship. As a Christian counselor I want to ensure that I am using the gift that God has bestowed upon me without creating a dependency in the relationship. McMinn stated that the therapeutic relationship serves as a model of a healthy relationship for our clients (McMinn, 2011, p. 58). As a natural helper, I need to be more aware of my influence to ensure that I am therapeutically fostering healthy boundaries while rejecting the feeling of imposing my wishes on the client. I have learned that the therapeutic relationship has significant influence on the success of the client’s outcome in therapy. Another concept I noted, when reading Entwistle’s book, was the need for intellectual humility. He described this as the ability to be open to correction of others and the ability to accurately judge ourselves (Entwistle, 2015, p. …show more content…
I do not feel that I am a judgmental person, however, after considering the words of Entwistle, regarding humility, I recognize I have work to do. Further, as a Christian counselor, I am confident that I will be posed with situations which I may feel uncomfortable. By prayerfully working on my weakness, of intellectual humility, I can further prepare myself with the intellectual courage needed to walk with God through these times. The final concept that I found encouraging is both Entwistle and McMinn spoke of the importance of caring for ourselves through the nurturing of our relationship with God. Their emphasis on self-care was further validation to me that to be capable of helping others, we must first care for our own
As a Christian counselor, we have the power of the Word on our sides, but so many of us do not understand how to properly apply scripture into the counseling relationship in an effective manner. In Interventions that Apply Scripture in Psychotherapy, Garzon (2005) attempts to accomplish the following; educate individuals on the various techniques one can use to apply scripture, and to encourage and stimulate God ordained creativity in the hopes to create new techniques and methods for applying God’s Word in the counseling relationship.
Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling written by Mark McMinn and published by Tyndale House in 2011 notions towards the idealization that Christian counselors need to be privy in the most recent psychological methods as well as theological theories. “This is a book about counseling processes techniques” (McMinn, 2011, p. 150). McMinn also alluded that Christian counselors benefit from having a spiritual maturity. With having these attributes counselors are better prepared to take note of prayer, Scripture, sin, confession, forgiveness, and redemption. McMinn (2011) model flows in the direction of healing while equating to a more advantageous relationship with The Lord Jesus Christ as well as with other relationships (McMinn, 2011).
Clinton, T. & Ohlschlager, G. (2002). Competent Christian counseling: Foundations and practice of compassionate soul care. Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press.
The counselor, Sue Johnson, alerted the clients to her engagement in the therapy session by her verbal and nonverbal cues. She held eye contact with both clients, depending on who she was speaking to. They eye contact demonstrated to the clients that she respected and was sincere about the process they were involved in. It also showed the clients that she was interested in the conversation. If Sue had looked down or away while the clients were speaking or she was speaking to them, it could have been misinterpreted negatively by the clients. Sue also demonstrated engagement by passively leaning towards the clients. She nodded her head at appropriate moments and engaged in reflexive facial expressions. Mirroring a client’s facial expressions outwardly shows them that the counselor is closely paying attention and hearing what they are saying. These expressions could exhibit a wide array of emotions such as sadness, anger, happiness, contempt, or fear. Sue kept the tone of her voice even and soothing in nature, allowing the clients to feel relaxed and comfortabl...
In the first chapter of Psychology in Christian Perspective by Harold W. Faw the author talks about psychology as a subject, the different aspects of the subject and how psychology fits into the Christian world. Faw begins the chapter by describing what others think psychology and his views on psychology as well. He describes that “psychology can be described as a systematic attempt to understand human behavior and conscious experience” (Faw, 1995, p. 12). He then goes on to describe the many different types of specialties of psychology which include, neurobiological, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, and psychoanalytic. These specialties are then integrated into the Christian worldview. They are all different so they all fit into
I know as I further my education in the counseling field my philosophy of counseling will change. For myself, I feel that I am still young and learning about myself and my surroundings. In my eyes to be suitable to help others I need to continue to grow as a person myself both professionally and mentally. I want to be able to move forward and develop new distinctions and aspects to my philosophy of counseling as time goes on. I hope to continue my growth in understanding of what it means to be a good therapist or counselor by using good theories and techniques to help future clients.
... By having them journal their prayers to God daily and encouraging them to read these entries frequently to refresh the memories of those prayers and seek for those that are answered allows for each client to find their way to a spiritual understanding that is not necessarily demonstrated by my impact, but that of God Himself. I am available to answer questions that pertain to the bible, but allow clients to interpret the teaching to their lives and recovery. These approaches allow clients to not rely on my experiences, but on their own encounters and knowledge. Gently guiding them to hear and see how God works in a client’s life is a rewarding and satisfying experience.
Confidentiality. Confidentiality is just as important in Christian counseling as it is in secular counseling. According to the American Association of Christian Counselors (2014), “confidentiality recognizes that every client has a fundamental, moral and legal right to privacy and to have a wide range of personal thoughts, opinions, beliefs, and behaviors that are protected from public knowledge” (p. 22). It is crucial for counselors to maintain client confidentiality unless what a client discloses brings harm to themselves or other people. Confidentiality should be kept at all
However, it does not matter how strong a person’s faith is or how weak a person faith is, everyone in Christian counseling starts off the same. It is a process how a person develops overtime. This is similar to a child learning how to tie his or her shoes. At first they do not get it but overtime, it becomes of habit and the person get better. According to Clinton, Hart and Ohlschlager (2005),” they believe that Christian counselling has to do with and learning applying the principles of the kingdom on living to the chronically sins, fears, failures, and dark areas of our life (p.21). When people are at their lowest point he or she turn to Christ to get the throughout tough times. Furthermore, in chapter two a person learns about the trust and fined our truth. In chapter two it discusses becoming a trust worthy counselor. In Chapter two, I realized that is all about gaining the clients trust. If the client, does not trust the counselor then no typ of relationship can be bonded. The client is in a venerable state and the counselor has to make sure that the can feel free to be
Biblical Counseling is making a strong impact in today's churches and community. Counseling is seen as one of the most productive ways of helping a
Values, Morals, and Beliefs are components that play a role in an individual’s self-identity. The establishment of these components shape human nature, behavior, and the development of an individual’s purpose. The basis of these fundamentals has contributed to my desire to become a counselor. This paper will discuss my views of human nature, factors of behavior changes, goals of therapy, the roles of a therapist, and the counseling approaches that I chose to incorporate in a practice.
It’s interesting studying Psychology from the perspective as Jesus Christ being the Chief of all psychology. It is already known by Christians that Christ is the Co-Creator of humankind. Genesis 1:26 (NKJV) states, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all of the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth”. However, the Christian’s outlook regarding this passage of Scripture is usually very limited only considering the exterior creation of mankind. When God made humanity, He also created the mind of man. Who can better give instructions to the people which walk this earth other than its Creator? Eric Johnson emphatically shares, “God created all things and continues to hold them together by the word of his power” (pg 46). Nothing was made without Him, including the mind which exists in man. It is crucially necessary for psychologists who profess a relationship with Jesus Christ to also consistently be in prayer to have the mind of Christ while being responsible for their areas of professions.
It is very clear to me, as a facilitator, to understand the importance to offer gentle, non-judgmental support and guidance without trying to fix or change the outcome of the person I come in contact with. During the healing process of resolving trauma/challenging emotions, we need to be aware of giving people the power to trust their own intuition, keep your own ego out of the way, and make them fell safe enough to
Even if the client says something that is obviously distorted, do not attack or challenge their views, as you likely are pushing them to face something they are not ready to face, and telling them in effect that therapy is about being pushed to face unpleasant things.” I do not agree with this portion of the article. Pushing the client to deal with their problems is what therapy is about, but I say I will not argue or degrade the client. Challenging the clients to accept their demons, or trauma is what seeking help is about. Enabling the client to not focus on their past is coming their therapy session stuck. I understand to meet each client “where they at,’ but I have a hard time accepting that. I do agree with the article when stated, “Do not interpret the client 's words or actions to the client, or speculate on the dynamics underlying their personal functioning or the functioning of those around them.” The very difficult thing a person can do is assume what you are about to say or
Biblical counseling is the sharing of information found in the Word of God with the goal of improving the life of another person. The Bible contains excellent material for counseling. Knowledge of scripture is essential for the person of God who wishes to help others achieve a better life. Biblical counseling is the application of the principles of relationships found in the Bible and is often given to other Christians experiencing difficult circumstance.