Archive for Counseling Theories
The Inerrancy Debate and Counseling
Posted by: | CommentsThe Inerrancy Debate and the Use of Scripture in Counseling
In attempting to side-step the crucial implications of the current inerrancy debate, many evangelicals have tried to suggest that the controversy is nothing more than a semantical battle of terminologies and definitions. In this article, the inerrancy debate is viewed as it affects the role of pastoral counseling. In particular, the author examines the issues of “Christian” feminism and homosexuality, concluding that a weak view of the Scripture will always lead to a weak view of morality. Serious problems result from allowing cultural hermeneutics to redefine clear biblical revelation.
Why Biblical Counsel?
Posted by: | CommentsWhy Biblical Counsel?
In this article I will investigate the distinctives of a biblical orientation to counseling. While models are numerous in both biblical and nonbiblical traditions, examples from both will be limited. In particular, a discussion of the nouthetic model of biblical counsel will be addressed as an example of a well-developed approach. A general discussion of biblical counsel including distinctives, goals, and the role of the Holy Spirit will also be included.
The Godward Focus of Biblical Counseling
Posted by: | CommentsBy definition, the biblical counselor is one who is persuaded of and allegiant to a Christian worldview, that is, one who functions within a frame of reference that consciously sees all of the realities and relationships of life from a perspective that is biblically coherent and consistent, and thus honors the God of Scriptures. The one element of such a worldview that most dramatically distinguishes it from all pretenders is the commitment to a theocentric perspective on all of life and thought. Thus any model of counseling that is authentically biblical will be framed, designed, and executed in happy submission to the biblical demand that our lives be lived out entirely for the glory of God! In short, biblical counseling is animated by a godward focus.
Forgiveness in Counseling
Posted by: | CommentsMan’s greatest need is forgiveness. It is so easy for Christians to forget what it meant for them to come to Christ and be forgiven. But a lively sense of having been forgiven is essential to vital Christian devotion; without it, one easily leaves his “first love” (Rev. 2:4). And, without it, he will tend to lack the forgiving attitude toward others that is essential to proper Christian living and to dealing with many counseling difficulties. It is important, therefore, for counselors to learn all they can about forgiveness; and they must also spend time remembering their own forgiveness and reminding counselees about the pit from which they were dug.1 Read More→
The Need for Theology in Counseling
Posted by: | CommentsFrom the beginning, human change depended upon counseling. Man was created as a being whose very existence is derived from and dependent upon a Creator whom he must acknowledge as such and from whom he must obtain wisdom and knowledge through revelation. The purpose and meaning of his life, as well as his very existence, is derived and dependent. He can find none of this in himself. Man is not autonomous.
A Biblical Method for Lasting Change
Posted by: | Comments“Has God really said…” the serpent whispered, introducing doubt into the Garden so long ago. Throughout the centuries, the devil has prompted man to question God’s warnings about the consequences of sin, His promises of redemption, and His healing power. The answer to all of these is found in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” Believers since the time of Christ have found God’s promise to change man’s inner character through the work of the Holy Spirit to be true. But in our own generation, Satan has once again created doubts in God’s people that God really means what He said.
A Biblical Foundation for Counseling
Posted by: | CommentsWe are about to embark on the most exciting part of this book. It isn’t enough merely to condemn integrated counseling systems; hurting people need to know that there is a more powerful alternative—a counseling philosophy based on the eternal Word of God. For in the Bible God has in fact provided for our every need. Joy, freedom, and recovery from damaged lives are all available to us! Christians don’t have to go through years of intensive therapy to experience genuine inner peace. Breathe deeply, relax in the Lord, and take time to read this article to confirm in your heart and mind that God has provided everything—yes, everything!—we need for our physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being.
The Myth That Psychology Can Heal the Past
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to widely accepted psychological theory, humans are captives of their past. Many Christian writers use the term “adult children” to describe people who were damaged in their youth by divorce or emotional or physical abuse. They generally believe that we must return to the past in order to experience healing in the present. One Christian psychologist says, “We are as much our past as we are our present and our hopes for the future. To cut off the past is to erase part of our story, our journey, our self. The reclamation of the past involves the courage to be all that we are so that we can be all that we will be in our relationships to others.”1 He lists three purposes for the journey into the past: “removal of the denial, reclamation of the self, and movement toward real change.”2
The Myth That Psychology Is Trustworthy
Posted by: | CommentsCan a Christian trust psychology? This is the essential question one must consider in evaluating the mixing of psychological concepts and Scripture in Christian counseling.
The Contrived Medical Model
William Kirwan presents his case for integrating psychology and theology in his book Biblical Concepts for Christian Counseling. He believes that psychology is “the science of mental processes and behavior.”1 If psychology is a science along the lines of medicine, one could expect a fair amount of agreement within the trade. Indeed, newcomers normally view psychology, psychiatry, and other forms of counseling as a rather unified discipline. Those who have studied the field, however, know that there are literally hundreds of distinct and contradictory therapeutic approaches to counseling—with thousands of conflicting techniques—all claiming to cure the human psyche.
The Myth of Psychological Labels
Posted by: | CommentsAll around America are self-help groups that meet to provide mutual support for hurting people. Many of these groups meet in churches. One common factor in their discussions is psychospeak, a vocabulary composed by psychological experts and taught in books, magazines, radio, and television. Psychospeak uses labels to describe every human behavior. The labels are often presented in noun form: “an ill person,” “an adult child,” “an abused person,” “a handicapped person,” “an addict,” “an alcoholic,” “an enabler,” a “codependent,” “a kleptomaniac,” “a psychotic,” “a foodaholic,” “a schizophrenic,” “a nymphomaniac,” and an endless selection of other designations. In common conversation, these terms are often preceded by the confession “I am…” as a person accepts his assigned role in our “dysfunctional” society. The labels produce more confusion than solution.
The Myth That Psychology Is Motivated by Compassion
Posted by: | CommentsThe popular image of the money-grubbing fundamentalist preacher has grown in recent years due to the excessive lifestyles of some televangelists. Most people should be aware, however, that the average pastor is on the low end of the professional pay scale. His weekly responsibilities include sermon preparation, business administration, committee meetings, hospital visitation, staff leadership, long-range planning, teaching, preaching, and a host of other tasks. In addition, his parishioners call on him for comfort, help, and advice. Rarely does he charge extra for counseling, though people often expect him to schedule sessions during evenings or weekends. Yet people are heard to whisper as the offering plate goes by, “All the church wants is my money.”
In sharp contrast, psychiatrists and psychologists seldom pass the plate for a freewill offering. Their fees are set, and if the client expects continued service, he had better pay, and pay promptly. The patients are expected to take time off from work and come for counseling when there is an opening in the doctor’s schedule. Yet the stereotypes persist that psychotherapists are motivated by compassion, while pastors are greedy money-vacuums.
The Myth That Psychology Is Effective
Posted by: | CommentsA woman, age 31, complains of chronic depression and low self-esteem. She has been under psychiatric care since she was a teenager, but has not improved. A fed-up husband is ready to call off his marriage because of the perpetual expense of his wife’s psychiatric sessions, which are producing no positive results. A young woman has been diagnosed as schizophrenic and has been given strong psychoactive drugs which temporarily mask her symptoms.
The majority of experienced pastoral counselors have met many such clients of psychological counseling.
You might be tempted to ask, “Why would anyone submit to psychological counseling if it never helps anyone?” Few serious critics of psychology go so far as to say that no one is ever helped through psychological counseling. A better way to ask the question might be, With its claims of superiority over pastoral counseling and its high expense, why is psychological therapy so relatively ineffective?
The Myth That Psychology Is Scientific
Posted by: | CommentsAn exciting new science explaining the human mind and behavior was introduced by a doctor in Vienna, Austria. His theories influenced prominent writers like Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Educator Horace Mann declared that he was more indebted to this fresh science than to all the metaphysical books he had ever read. The world-renowned preacher Henry Ward Beecher praised this innovative explanation of human behavior as revealing the principles which underpinned his entire ministry. Horace Greeley thought this new method of evaluating people should be used as the basis for hiring applicants for dangerous jobs. This new understanding of the mind was received enthusiastically at Yale, Harvard, and the Boston Medical Society.
A Biblical Theory of Psychology
Posted by: | CommentsThe Meaning of Psychology
The term psychology is ordinarily defined as the science which examines the mind, mental states and processes, human nature, and behavior. The word comes from a combination of the Greek word psuché or psyché (which originally meant “the breath” or “the breath of life,” and came to represent the concept of the inner man, the immaterial or invisible part, or the soul) and the suffix ology, which denotes any branch of science or knowledge. Technically, then, psychology is supposed to be the science or study of the immaterial part of man.
Is Psychology Needed in the Church?
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There is growing confusion in today’s Christian community about the best way to help people overcome their personal problems of living. Some believe that Christians should submit only to biblical counseling, while others passionately support psychological counseling so long as it is integrated with the Scriptures.