I KNOW THE BID PRICE IS LOW, BUT I WILL USE YOU AGAIN OVER THE NEXT WEEKS FOR A SIMILAR PROJECT WITH REASONABLY INCREASED BID PRICE

Write an eight-page, double-spaced where you address each of the following: (use these topics as headings):

• A summary of the content of each chapter. Make sure you appropriately cite the text in APA format.
• How you will incorporate the content of the assigned chapters to your future practice as a counselor.
• How your own spirituality and theology interacts with the content of the assigned chapters.

text book is as follows: McMinn, M. R. (2011). Psychology, theology, and spirituality in Christian counseling. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc

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4 SCR音P丁URE K。rl r。。urns h。me from 。is fi虹。unS。hng app。in,me。,, 。P。nS his Bible to Psalm l, and begins reading.負Happy are those who do not follow the advice of血e wicked, Or take the path that simers 億ead, Or Sit in血e seat ofsco鋲が. Karl sets the Bible on hi lap and reflects on血e past ninety minutes. He thinks abou=he relief he felt telling Dr. Listner 址ngs he had never disclosed to anyone before. He血inks ofher COmfordng smile and how genuinely concemed she seemed co be. But Kad also has nagging doubts. IfDr. Listner is reauy a Christian COunSelor as she claims, Why didn,t she mention God?Why didn・t She have a Bible on her desk or in a visible spot on her book‑ She蹄Maybe the Christian antipsychoIogy books Karl has read are correct; maybe Dr. Listner is a priest ofa rival religion. Maybe he is fanowing the advice ofthe wicked,, by going to a Chris‑ dan counselor. Maybe he was sitting ̀缶1 the seat 。fscoifers,, while SWaying in the swivel rocker in Dr. Listner七o缶ce. Karl keeps reading: =But血eir delight is in the law ofthe Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night・They are like trees Planted by streams of water, Which yield their丘uit in its season, and their leaves do not wi血er. In all that they do they prosper・,・ Karl sets the Bible down again and reflects 。n a neW Set Of question§・ Does this mean that my depression will go away if I reflect more on the pro血ses of ScriptuI.e? Am =ooking Should have sex with him whenever he wanted享egardless of the fact that his wife had recendy been raped by a stranger. Many ofKarlS questions about the abserice ofScripture in his 丘rst Chris。an counseling experience seem valid・ So do many of Dr. Listner[ concems about using Scripture in counse血g. So What is the right answer? Should Christians use Scripture in com‑ Seling or not? This question 1ike the si宣血ar question about prayer PO§ed at the beginning ofchapter 3, is too general to be mear止ng‑ fu⊥A better question is COunSeling 質In u′hat初′a)′5 Should Scripture be used in 初h chents and mder初ch circumstances?,, Though Christian counselors answer this question di鱈erently depending On PrOfessional, religious, and ideological assumptions, Various methods of using Scripture in counseling deserve careful consid‑ eradon and cridcal evaluation, F O UNDATI ONS P5yCho i鍛′ PsychoIogical joumals and books include nu皿erous references to Christian Scriptures, but few have direct relevance to Chrisdan COunSeling and even fewer are directly related to using the Bible in coullSeling・As wi心血e previous chapter, my gOal is not to pro‑ Vide a comprehensive庇erature review but rather a sampling of 血e types ofardcles and books that have implications fbr Christian counselors. PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON SCRIPTURE Many psychological cridques and evaluadons of scriptural princi‑ Ples and characters are available. Between January 1990 and May 1995, the word Bible was included in lO5 articles referenced in PsychLit, an electronic index ofpsychoIogyjoumals. The m勾ority Of these arddes pertain to a psychoIogical evaluadon of a bibli‑ Cal concept or person.This is not surprising. As interest in narra‑ tive psychoIogy increases the tooIs ofliterary criticism are more widely used in psychoIogy joumals. For example, a number of 120 PSYCHOLOGY.THEOLOGY,AND SPIR【TUALITY IN CHRISTIAN COUNSEL【NG authoI.S have produced psychoanalytic cridques of biblical charac‑ ters in recent years. Applying psychology,s methods to mderstanding the Bible appears to be relatively rare among explicitly Christian authors・ perhaps because we fear the d山近ng ofscriptural tru血wi血con‑ temporary literary or social‑SCientific theories. However SOme Christian au血ors cautiously advocate using psychology and care‑ ful bibheal scholarship to understand the characters and stories of the Bible.1 SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT OF COUNSELING MODELS Some authors have used Scripture as a foundation for develop‑ ing responsible counseling strategies and techniques that share common features with traditional models of psychotherapy For example, a number of authors have advocated models of Chrisdan counseling that demonstrate a commitment to Scripture as well as psychoIogical theory.2 Ochers have used Scripture to support existing counseling methods or models. For example, Daniel Sweeney and Garry Landreth describe scriptural support for using play血erapy in treat葛 ing children.3 A number of authors use Scripture to support vari‑ ous form ofcognitive therapy, eSPeCially radonal‑emOtive therapy.4 0ne au血or condudes that ̀RET is based on a thoroughly biblical principle the importance of what one thinks:,5 using Scripture to support existing models ofpsychotherapy has generated some con‑ flict and concem among many Christians. Some Christian anti‑ psychoIogists see psychoIog)「 aS a COmPe。ng fai血・ arguing that it is completely incompatible with Scripture.6 others have o節ered more measured criticISm, SuggeSting that we must carefully eval‑ uate worldview assumptions before importing and modifying a psychotherapy technique and ca11ing it Christian counseling.7 USING SCRIPTURE IN COUNSELING Some counselors advocate using Scripture as a therapeutic inter‑ vendon・ For example, Various authors have suggested using Bible PasSageS in church‑based recovery groups to help con丘ont themes 。f codependenc男using Scripture in marital counseling to help COuPles recover丘om sexual a飴lrs・ uSing Bible stories in individ̲ ual cmd therapy”Sing the BibIe to confi.ont irra。onal be蟻in RET and using Scripture memory and meditation as homework in cogn王tive血erapy.8 In one survey almost half (43 percent) of the members of the Christian Association for psychoIogical Studies (CAPS) reported expheitly teaching biblical 。oncepts to 。ients. Over two‑thirds (71 percent) implicitly used biblical concepts in their counseling WOrk.9 while chese survey results suggest a relatively frequent use Ofbibhal concepts in counseling, they do not address the actual direct use ofScripture in counse血g・ In another survey of CAPS members reSPOndents were asked to describe Chris。an interven̲ tions they used in counse血g∴O of the interventions reported, 13 percent invoIved the direct use of Scripture in counseling. When some ofthe same respondents were interviewed and acked to describe critical incidents they had fhoed in counseling and the interventions血ey used in response, Ody 3 percent of the inter̲ Ven。ons described invoIved the direct use of Scripture・ Thus, it appears that directly using Scripture as part of comse血g is rela‑ tively rare, eVen among Chrisdan counselors. THE BIBLE AS A SELF‑HELP BOOK Ano血er use ofScripture in psychoIogy is not lin正ed to Chrisdan COuuselors. Some have suggested using the Bible as a self=help book with religious clientst Even Albert Ellis a Self=pro。aimed atheist and OutsPOken opponent ofdevout refigious f誼h・ had this to say abouc the Bible ln a reCent article: I thi血tha,t I can safty say that the Judeo‑Chris。an Bib]e is a sel址elp book that has probably enabled mOre PeOPle to make more extensive and inten{ive personafty and behavioral changes than a11 professional therapists combined.,・11 Authough Chris。ans may dislike血e idea ofreducing血e Bible to a selfhelp book言t is heartening that some non‑Christian 122 PSYCHOLOGY.T臆OLOGYAND SPIR[TUALITY IN CHRISTIAN COUNSELING therapists perceive an increasing need to work wi血in血e value systems of Christian clients. Though the Bible oifers much more than se皿elp, there are times when 。ients are searChing for answers that can be readfty found in Scripture. For example, COunSelors who use cognitive therapy often work wi血clients to modify faulty core belie短hat have contributed to poor selエavareness and umecessarily pain餌 emo。onal experiences. Medita。ng on Scripture can help Chris‑ 。an clients change these beliefi.Those who beueve they are com‑ pletely unloved and destined for r壇tion can meditate on Paulis words to Roman Christians: =But God proves his Iove for us in 血at while we stin were sinners Christ died for us,) Oiom. 5:8). Those who believe they are a11 alone・ isolated and abandoned, Can remember t:he psa血st,s proclanation: =God is our refuge and strength, a Very PreSent help in trouble,, (Ps・ 46:1)・Those who feel overwhelmed wi血1ife s burdens and God can recall the words ofJames: s apparent distance Indeed we ca11 blessed those who showed endurance滝u have heard of the endurance ofJob, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is com‑ passiomte and mercif証 (James 5:11)・ uNTAPPED P OTENTIAL? The perspectives and studies reported here reflect the ways var葛 ious authors have used Scripture in counseling. However, there may be many additional possibilities that have not yet been expIored・ Dr. Eric Johnson argues that the Bible belongs in psy‑ chological science and suggests eight ways Scripture can influence chrisdan counselors and psychoIogists.12 First, che Bible plays an e笹)eγientlat role in our lives PrOViding a rich resource fdr wis‑ dom and personal maturity Second・ Scripture plays a jbundaとionaZ role, PrOViding a common Star血g point for understanding our basic assumpdons and behiefi.Third, it plays a co′宅teat al role that ahows us to understand human nature, meaIing, and purpose in hfe. Fourth, Scl.ipture plays an 謝擁ai role, giving us standards for what should be. Fi剣h, the Bible plays an cznth卿ol̀擁al role, Providmg uS an aWareneSS Of the historical naI.rative of human sin and divine redemption. Sixth, it plays a canonical role, PrOViding an unchanging standard of truth・ Seventh, Scripture plays a dia‑ 優c4l role, ProViding rich resources for discussion and comparison between psychological knowledge and special revelation・ Eighth, the Bible plays a c,t,atl e role・ allowing us to consider and explore COnCePtS and ideas tha亡might not be considered丘om a purely PSyChoIogical worldview These eight roles that Johnson outlines SuggeSt that Christian comselors have only begun to expIore the POtential ofintegrating the Bible and psychoIogy. Chγistian丁heol撮′ Even iftheologians agreed on the role ofScripture in血eoIogy it WOuld be impossible to summarize in a few pages.動complicate the task further, theoIogians do not agree. Thadidonally Scripture has been seen as the essential foundation for Chrisdan theoIogy. David Kelsey suggests that ̀virtually every contemporary protes‑ tant theoIogian along the entire spectrum of ophion from the ̀neo‑eVangelicals through Karl Barth, Emil Brumer, tO Anders Nygren, Rudolf Bultmam, Paul T皿ch and even Fritz Buri, has acknowledged that any Christian theology worthy of the name ̀Christian must with Scripture: in some sense of the phrase, be done ̀in accord 13 But Kelsey goes on to point ou=hat theoIogy has changed in the past紙y years, and now a number of血eoIo‑ gims argue that Scripture does not, and indeed, SOme add, CannOt Serve as authority for cheology.,,14 R̀evisio正st theoIogy has risen to pro皿inence with postmodemism, and Scripture is sometimes reduced to a庇erary cons亡ruction of human attempts to under‑ stand God. The few co皿ments I make here are li皿ited by my assump‑ tion that newer血eoIogy is not necessarily better theoIogy; I begin With血e benef shared by Protestant theoIogians through血e cen‑ turies, that Scripture is an essentiaユtool for knowing God. Even 124∴∴I,SYCHOLOGY,THEOLOGY.AND SP恨ITUAL【TY IN CHRISTIAN COUNSEL[NG with this assumptio串here is considerable debate about the role of human reason in approaching Scripture. Because of the vastness of the topic, the lack of agreement among theoIogians, and my lim‑ ited theoIogical training, I make no attempt to survey the role of Scripture in Chris。an theoIogy here. Rather・ I w皿focus on one speci丘c problem regarding Scripture and theoIogy and discuss two implications for how Christian counselors understand Scripture. THE PROBLEM:THE CHICKEN ORTHE EGG? TheoIogical views of Scripture are plagued by the chicken‑ or‑the‑egg PrOblem. Do we fust know God through reason・ aS Thomas Aquinas believed, and then understand Scripture because we understand God? Or do we first know Scripture, Which a11ows us to know God? In other words言s our knowledge of Scrip‑ ture shaped by our prior knowledge of God, Or does it work the other way around? Each view has been supported by reputable scholars. TheoIogian Millard Erickson proposes that this debate is umecessary, that we can presuppose both a knowledge of God and a knowiedge of Scripture as simultaneous and inseparable.15 God cannot be known apart fi.om Scripture, and Scripture camot be properly understood without knowing God・Just as Scripture helps us know God, God helps us understand Scripture. Until we know God, Our Views and understanding of Scripture are cIouded by our disbelief But with salvation comes a cleaning of the lenses‑a CaPaCity to understand God,s Word more clearly 血ough not perfectly16 In血e same way, We muSt know something about ourselves in order t:O know God. In血e first ofhis J侮t/妨e John Calvin argued that knowledge ofselfand knowledge of God are iuseparable・17 we camot氏皿y know ourselves without underscanding God ter, righteousness, and love s charac‑ and we camot f皿y know God without understanding ourselves, including our capacity for sin Our human 丘租ty, and our deep Ionging for someone trauscendent・ Knowledge of se埠God, and Scripture are intertwined・ This is What scholars call the he ′′11ene擁d冶le.「the text camot be sepa‑ rated缶om the perspectives ofthe reader and the reader七perspec‑ tives are influenced by the text.The tex亡a丘ects our views of God and self we see our need for God by understanding ourselves as revealed in Scripture. God a鱈ects our capacity to understand the text, and so does our humamess: We understand Scripture because God has graciously granted us eyes to see but even those eyes are a節ected by our東山en human mture. These intercomections of human namre, Godis character, and Scripture have at least two important implicadons for Christian COunSelors interested in using Scripture in counseling. IMPLICATION l : R.ESPECT First, We muSt Culdvate and maintain respect for the Bible. Scrip‑ ture is our primary way ofknowing God. It is Godもau血orita‑ tive reveladon to humankind. VA ca11 itやecial IeWelation. Yes, We See God in nature, but nature worship without special revelation leads to animism and other heresies.Yes, We know God through Prayer and meditation, but the New Age movement demonstrates the directiouless confusion of splrituality unbounded by Scrip‑ ture. We need Scripture to understand God. John Calvin writes that Scripture, COllecting m Our minds the otherwise confused notions of deity dispels the darkness and gives us a clear view of the true God. 18 When we claim all tru血is Godもtruth, we are both correct and incorrecc. All thac is true, Whe血er disc○vered through science, literature, P皿osophy, theoIogy, COunSeling, Or ScrlPture, COmeS from God・ However, SCience, literature, Philosophy, theoIogy, COunSeling, and Scripture are not equally direct ways of knowing God, and every way ofknowing God is li血ted by our hermeneu‑ tic methods for understanding truth. Scripture is血e mOSt direct Way Oflmowing God; therefore it deserves our respect. What does this mean for the Christian counselor? V7e must not hesitate to revere the God revealed in Scripture as the ultimate 欝 wHAT一‥11‑SHAPPENED, . Your ciient, Frank, has been reading books on relaxa†ion and medi†a†ion †echnlques. The books we「e asslened by a p「evious COUnSelor, and they seem to be heiping him cope w冊his anxiety PrOblems. 1∩ †he middle o=oday s session, yOu a「e discussing肌e loneiiness Frank feit as an oniy c刑d 「aised by two busy p「ofes‑ Sional peopie” He bec○mes †ea「ful PUtS his head between hls hands, and s仕s siIently for seve「ai minu†es. Even†ua=v he冊s his head, l0Oks you in肌e eye, and says, i ve been †hinking abou† 個s, abou† how Ioneiy =ee上Some†imes =us出eel s†uck, aS i=he「e is no†hing l can ever do †o feei anv better. Bu† i know †hat s no川Ue. There is a way ou† o=his. =us† need to keep Iooking inside myself. i m learning a lot in these medita=on exe「Cises. 1f i keep iooking inside mvself, l know I w冊even書ua=y find the血th. How do you respond? Here are three possibilities: C)〆on l: ̀̀Yes, it is important to keep searching inside yourselffor your values and your ideas ofwhat t:O do next. But I m wondering why it is so important to find the answers inside yourself C)ptioタで2:寝Good idea. It is rea11y very important to keep searching fbr億u亡h, Qption 3; I don t think you 11 have much luck looking inside yourself for tru血・ The Bible teaches we find truth through Jesus. Jesus said, ̀I am the way, and血e truth, and the ife” Though a good case正ght be made for any ofthese responses in some counseling situations, I prefer option l. It gently chauenges Frankもassumpdon血at he w皿find tI.uth iuside himself without introducing harshness into the corrversation. Option l is likely to lead into a meaningful discussion of the place and authority Of Scripture in Frank s出e. Option 2 unintentionally reinforces Frank信dea that he w皿丘nd tru血inside himself Opdon 3 may be so abrupt that it will stop Frank from exploring furt:her” He might agree with the comselor only to avoid disapproval. IMPLICATION 2: HUMILITY Second, Whife we must respect the authority of Scripture, We Should also assume an attitude of初m召旬regarding our interpreta‑ tions ofScripture. Aithough Scripture is special reveladon, inspired by God, it is always interpreted by fa11ible humans (2 Tim, 3:16). Yes, knowing God helps us understand Scripture more dearly than before, but we stiu bump against the limits ofhumanity.Thus, Our humamess and the hemeneudc strategies we use in interpreting Scripture limit our capacity t。 mderstand tmth,19 WHAT =: THIS HAPPENとD? Nancy and Thom Bake「 come to see Rober†a, a lav counselor, for ma研ai heip. One o白he d櫛cul†ies the Bakers face is conflic† over †hei「 domes†ic roles. Nancy wants an egai胴「ian ma「「iage, bu† Thom wan†s a more †radi†ionai, male‑headship ma「「iage. Robe「ta lis†ens ca「efuily †o both Nancy and Thom, enCOu「ageS †hem †o exp「ess凪ei「 desires and opinions †o one ano†her, and heips Ihem iook a† the deepe「 psychoIogical beliefs tha† a「e ope「aト ing benea肌†he su「face of awareness.Thom is ope「ating f「om †he assumptlon †ha† only †he s†「Ong SUrVIve and one has †o be †ough in †his wo「id †o succeed, He †「ies †o run his family †he same way. Nancy ls operating f「Om †he assump†ion †hat her worth depends On †he app「OVal she eiiCi†s f「om othe「s. Mos† of her個ends and ex†ended famfty are in ega冊a「ian mar「iages, and they frequently ques†Ion and c冊cize her abou† her mo「e †「ad嗣onal ma冊al 「ole. She wan†s †o change her marriage to gain social approvai from those she ca「es abou†. Rober†a considers he汗WO POSSible responses. One op†ion is †o use Sc「iptu「e †o †each肌e mgh† wav当o struc†ure a ma「「1age. God by meditating on Scripture. Though both approaches are important in bo血theoIogy and Christian spiritua叫y the con‑ templative approach to Scripture is of central importance in spiri‑ tual foma。on. Richard Foster puts it well:生Whereas the study of Scripture centers on exegesis the meditation of Scripture centers On intemaHzing and person誼zing the passage・ The written Word becomes a living word addressed to you. 20 Dr” Jim Wilhoit, Who teaches courses in spirituality at Wheaton College 1oves to te皿of血e time when he and Carol brough=heir Slightly jaundiced newbom daughter home from the hospital. They secured her in an infant seat and p工aced the seat next to a window so the natural light of血e s皿could heal herjaundiced body. What a beaurful picture of God s healing presence in our lives. But we have to place ourselves in the way of God狙ght. Meditadng on Scripture is a way to place our丘ail, ailing selves in the presence of Godもhealing wamth. This is not an exercise in theoIogy In fact Foster wams血at meditating on Scripture is ̀̀not a time for technical studies Ofmaterial to share with others. Or analysis Or eVen the gathering 21 scripture meditafron is deeply PerSOnal, PrOViding healing light and spiritual sustenance for aⅡ Who long for intimacy with God and who dare to admit their ne ediness. There are at least two purposes for using Scripture during dmes Of meditation. First, it provides substance for contemplation”22 The psalnlist wI ites of the godly, Whose denght is in the law of the Lord, and on his law血ey meditate day and night,, q?s. 1:2). EIsewhere in the Psalms we read,負Oh, how nove your law! It is nry medita血on all day long.Your commandment makes me wiser than my enem上es for it is always wit:h me. I have more under‑ Standing than a皿my teachers, for your decrees are my meditadon,, qis. 119:97‑99)・ U血lke meditation in Eastem rdigions, Where血e goal is to empty oneもm王nd, the goal ofChaisdan meditadon is to 丘u one[ mind with an awareness ofGodt presence. Scripture pro‑ vides rich material to糾our thoughts and direct our paths. wHAT駿撥嫌担ED? 諒点↓ SCRIPTU民E PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SPIRTTUAL HEAITH How and when should「=OunSelors use Scripture to m。V。 。1i。nts toward greater psychoIogical and spiritual health? Let s Iook at this question in two important ways: One general and one more SpeCi丘c. Generally, We are COnCemed about Scripture in choosing our COunSeling strategies and theories eVen those that do not specifi‑ Ca11y invoIve using the Bible in counseling sessions. Dr. Stanton Jones, Chairperson of血e Wheaton Co11ege Psych0logy Depart‑ ment, has developed a useful system for considering how we m上ght conceptualize Scripture in counseli皿g, based on four types of counselmg Strategies.26 First SOme COunSeling strategies are direcdy derived丘om Scripture. For example, SOme COgni「 tive therapists teach clients to use Scripture references to coun‑ ter faulty dysfunctional thoughts, just as Paul taught Christians in Phnippi to think about血ngs that are honorable, Pure, Pleasing, and commendable.27 second, SOme COunSeling strategies are gen‑ erally supported by lmPlicadon in Scripture・ For example uSing religious imagery as a technique for depressed clients is consistent With Scripture, though not specificauy taught or comnanded in Scripture. Third, SOme COunSeling strategies are not discussed or implied in the Bible but are not inconsistent with Scripture. For example, uSing progressive muscle relaxa,tion to contI.Ol anxiety SymPtOmS is nei血er advocated nor prohibited in Scripture. Fourth, SOme COunSeling techn王ques are inconsistent with Scripture. For example,血e counselor who advocates adultery as a treatmenc for midlife depression is contradicting a principle of Scripture. We can see several bene五ts to this classificadon system. First, it reminds us that using Scrip調re in c○uusehng is not just a matter Of quoting or memorizing Bible verses. Our views of Scripture Can be considered in selecting every technique, eVen those that have no overt religious comections. Clearly, Chrisdan counselors need to avoid mterVentions血at fa11 into the fourth category‑ those that are incompatible with Scripture. Second, this 131 132 PSYCHOLOGY,THEOLOGY,AND SPIR【TUALITY IN CHRISTIAN C0UNSEL【NG classi丘cation a11ows us to recognize and confidently use counsel‑ ing techniques that are compadble with Scripture, eVen if血ose techniques were developed by non‑Christians・ During some ses‑ sions, Christian counseling may be almost indistinguishable丘om other forms of counseling yet st皿be e節ective. Third, it reminds us to scrutinize our counseling strategies and perspectives care‑ fu11y. In evaluating the messages of prophets Paul instructed the believers at Thessalonica to ̀くtest everything; hold fas=o what is good; abstain丘om every fom ofev辻 (1 Thes. 5:21‑22).We have a similar obligadon as counselors・ As we test new theories and techniques wit:h ScrlPture, We Can abstain from certain counsel‑ ing strategies that contradict Scripture and hold fast to those that are compatible with Scrip調re. In addition to making a general evaluation of scriptural support for counseling methods it is also important to consider the spe‑ cific effects of direcdy applying Scripture in counseling. When is it wise to quote Scripture to a client? Is Scripture memory appro‑ priate in counseling沌Bible meditation an appropriate home‑ work assignment? Tb address血ese complex questions, it is he中細 to consider血e血ree quesdons derived丘om血e model presented in chapter 2 as applied t:O tWO COunSeling scenarios・ を 轢wHAT一…一SHAPPENED, SCRIPTURE 133 He comes each week wi†h a †ypew冊en lis† of evjdence tha† Ka†e has no川uly repented and iha† she is ref=Sing †o subm冊o her ma手 「iage vows’ Pete loves Sc「iptu「e′ and a† the †op of h即sl each week a「e one or two Bibie ve「ses lha† he uses †o suppor冊s a=ega†fons †hat Ka†e is a vile simer and an unwo「†hy spouse・ ln†e「es冊glY; Ka†e never figh†s back. She rec○gnizes †hat she is a vile sime「, exp「esses reg「e† for he「 affall bul does no=eel ready †o commi‑ to the ma「「iage・ F「om 2‥00 †o 3‥30 ough† †o be inte「es†ing ‑oday. A† 3:30 Richa「d Yavis w川be用pping th「ough a *)Or/s /ルs存afed in †he wa冊g r0Om. As you usher him in†o †he o簡ce, he wiii make SOme COmmen† abou† the NBA play‑C)ffs, but as soon as he si†s down, he w111 be working. lnsigh個, mOtiva†ed, a「ticuia†e, RIcha「d Is the ideai counseiing c=en†. Forすhe pas† th「ee mon†hs he has been Seeing you for help w冊depression and has been fee皿g much be什er recen†ly. For †he las† severai weeks, yOu and Richa「d have been expioing肌e profou=d sense of loneliness he experienced as a chiid and how he †「ies †o be perfec† in o「de「†o win app「ovai and cope wi†h his Ione冊ess.しike Pe†e RiChard loves Sc「ip†ure. Wnず硫H姫,跳taui∫h a上最a脇γ Sen5e qfSeぴ? Three people are invoIved in these two counseling sessIOnS, and the proper use of Scripture in counseling may be di缶erent for each of血e血ree. Pete does not have an accurate view ofhirmelf Rather than acknowledge his anger and sadness about Kate[ a飯高 he has shielded himselfby using logic and by hurling accusations in Kate七direction・ He has doaked himself with self二su範ciency, not because ofnarcissism, but because it hurts too much to face his feelings ofloss. How could Scripture be used to give Pet:e a health王er and more accurat:e aWarenesS Of himseIf? Should a counselor use Scripture to con丘ont Pete with his selfL decepdon, Perhaps reminding Pete ofhis obligation to Iove Kate as Christ loves血e church or his obligation to forgive Kate as Christ has forgiven him? Probably not・ Pete is already using Scripmre to PrOteCt himself and remain selisu丑icient. He can move forward and admit his need for comfort ouly by getting past his Iogical de克郎e syste工n. years. In the process, Kate might leam to view herselfm。re aCCu‑ rately as a child of a loving Creator who provides us with moral bomdaries that help us establish an abundant me that brings honor to God. Richardもsense of self is changing. He has identi丘ed his seIfL Su鉦cient effbrts to eam approval through perfectionism and is lear正ng about relationships based on love, reSPeCt, and hon‑ est expression of need・ Explicitly using Scripture in counseling right be very hdpful for RTchard・ For example, he mjght memo‑ rize Titus 3:4‑7: But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared he saved us nOt because ofany works Ofrighteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water ofrebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,This Spirlt he poured out on us richly血roughJesus Christ our Sav‑ ior, SO that, having been jusdfied by his grace, We might become heirs according to血e hope of etemal晩: Scripture might help REchard get his eyes off hiuself by experiencing God more richly entering further into an awareness of Godb gracious presence in 址sⅡ危. Wn m高上わを嵐tau瓦h a且eal均′ Sen5e qfNeed? Pete has a clear sense ofKateもr eed his own brokemess. Thus bu亡he does not acknowledge if Scripture is used in working with Pete, it should be related to his need and not Kate s. It is important to recognize that Pete already feels broken, but he has hidden his inner feelings beneath a facade of sel缶ighteousness. His coun‑ Selor will probably not need to con缶ont Pete;just providing a safe reladon追p w皿be∴enOugh for Pete to begin expIoring hlS feel‑ ‑ings. Even ifcor血onting Pete is necessary it should be done only after a safe counseling relationship has been established・ Though Kate has not expressed much remorse about her a蹄ir, She is inwardly overwhelmed wi血brokenness and need. It is umecessary and probably damaging tO uSe Scripture to con「 丘ont Kate with her sin・ It is wise to f班ow血e pattemJesus used 136 PSYCHOLOGY,THEOLOGYAND SPIR丁TUALITY 【N CHRIST【AN COUNSEL【NG when con丘onted with a woman caught in adulte】ry: First he said・ Neither do I conderm you (John 8:11); then he said, Go your way, and丘om now on do not sin again・,, Counseling with Kat:e should f班ow the same pattem, With a counselor first accepting and mderstanding her, then working with her to strengthen her COmmitment to marrlage. RTchard has been insightful enough not ordy to recognize his uurealisdc goals of eaming approval through perfection but also to expIore his Iong‑Standing feelings of loneliness. Although Scrip‑ ture may be useful in other ways, it is probably not necessary to use scripture to establish Richardもsense of need for God and o亡hers. ml汀履H垂, E∫ta跡h a五胡壌Reiation5履,? I)ete, Kate, and Richard are di節erent people, and each w皿have a distinctive response to the use of Scripture in counse血g・ Some‑ times using Scripture in counseling helps establish a cIose working alliance, and at other times it distracts from a healthy血erapeu‑ tic relations哩. For exanple, Kate might have a negative response if her counselor uses Scripture and might become more resistant and cautious in exploring her thought§ and fee血gs. Even with good intentions COunSelors can sometimes introduce relational problems by explicitly using Scripture in counseling.28 P(Oblem生J cho嬢rt yot/ e(C CO脇elo% People often choose Christian counselors because their usual religious experiences have not helped them resoIve their problems. They are looking for some心lg di節erent丘om what they ,丘nd in church on Sunday moming・ If counselors use Scripture unwisely, they may violate clients, expectatious about counseling and sIow down t:he rapport‑ building process. P(Oblen1 2: Mal I 5aγ ∫0〃1et/毒履? If counselors become too stri‑ dent in providing Scripture for clients, they may end up talking when they should be llStening. Many fo rms of counse血g include didacdc components, but when the sessions start feeling llke SCRIPTURE 1ectures or lessons, Clients w皿often distance themselves丘om the COunSe止ng process. P(Oble, .鞠e擁2me. Some counsel。rS may uSe Scripture in Order to keep counseling sessions at an intellectual, logical level Of communication・This may reflect the counselors own sense of insecurfty and desire to avoid emotions as much as an ideologi‑ Cal com血tment t:O uSing Scripture. E丘ecti∇e COunSe血g usually reaches deep into a person,s emotional state and requires more than an intellectual look at life・ Ofcourse, Scripture can be used in emotionauy semitive counseling as well, SO血is criticism does not apply to au uses of scripture in comseling. P/Oblem生O脇でOゆdence phe′写0menOn・ Many social‑PSyChoIogy Studies demonstrate血at humans are consistently more confident than they are correct・ Even incorrect opinions are cherished and believed tenaciouslyWhen we approach Scripture, We are Vulner‑ able to the same phenomenon, SO We may nOt reaCⅢy recognize the limits to our hermeneutic strategies.Thus, COunSelors who use Scripture explicidy are vulnerable to appearing and being arro‑ gan亡in the biblical interpretations Arrogance hurts rapport! PγOblen膏: O勅・eliance pheno′1mO′1. Finally, We may rely exces‑ Sively on Scripture when we could be using other counseling Strategies. Cognitive‑therapy strategies can be quickly and e節ec‑ tively applied to t:reat Panic disorders. Behavioral strategies reduce Phobic reactions. Ifwe rely too heavdy on Scripture, We may miss Other vand treatment options. Because血e therapeutic reladonship is built on the assumpdon that the counselor knows how best to treat血e client[ problem, OVerreliance on a less direct techaique Can hurt血e therapy relationship. 0ne approach to this list ofproblems is to say “I don,t care. Scripture is truth, and I wi11 continue to use it in counseling・ I refuse to sugarcoat truth!” For those inclined to respond this way it is important to remember tha=ruth is almost always commu‑ nicated in embodied fom. Most ofwhat we know about grace and salvation is accessible to us because Jesus was incamated and 137 138 PSYCHOLOGY,THEOLOGY’ AND SP【RITUALITY IN CHRIST[AN COUNSEL【NG demonstrated a living theoIogy.Tb some extent Our understanding of God is a節ected by the ways our parents treated us.We remem‑ ber movies and stories more than essays because we are quicker to observe and understand truth that is embodied. In the sane way, truth is commuricated more by who the coumelor is than by what血e c。unSelor says.The vitality of Scripture in counseling is limited by the quafty of the counse血g relationship. Though less important than a chent畠elationship with God, the counseling relationship is o免en the mechanism by which Godも grace is introduced to a hurting person. By foster王ng a healthy Chrisdan輸COunSeling relationship, With or without血e explicit use ofScripture, We PrOVide clients with a glimpse ofGod s grace. FACING THE CHALLENGES Chane碓e l: M初穂fOm珊仰A,・ea5ザCon函e催e to Tわγee PsychoIogical competence in counse血g is important・ The best counselors use Scripture only afier care丘皿y considering the psychoIogical implications and the effect on the therapeutic reladonship. Unfortunately, aS with other religious interventions, the use of Scripture is rarely discussed in graduate training pro‑ grams, eVen ProgramS With a r誼gious orientation・29 Not surpris‑ ingly, explicidy using Scripture in counsding is relatively rare for Chrisdan cour朕lors.3O In reporting址s, I am not suggesdng a dis‑ mal state ofa飯irs: it seems caudon is appropriate in using Scripmre in counseling. However, COmPetenCe bring§ increased丘eedom, and Christian couuselors who have carefully considered the implica‑ dons ofvarious religious interventions are better prepared to use Scripture confidendy and appropriately in their dinical work. Basic theoIogical competence is also important. Counselors who understand the au血ority and posidon of Scripture in Chris‑ tian止ving are better prepared to deal with the complex issues they uncover in the comseling o餓ce. Counselors without minimal theoIogical competence are at risk of crea亡ing a theoIogy based on the human problems seen in the coumeling o撞ce, and血ey may distort Scripmre to丘t preconceived the01ogical notions. Understanding the role of Scripture in spiritual fomation is also important for Christian counselors.We need to be concemed not only about theoIogically proper and correct use of Scripture but also about the power ofScripture・ Scripture was given to help transform our lives. It is powerful, aC。ve and useful for training OurSelves to be righteous (Heb・ 4:12; 2 Tim・ 3:16). Competent Christian counseling calls us to know the power of God in trans‑ fuming hives and the vital role Scripture plays in血e transforming ProCeSS. This type of trai正ng can rarely be accompHsh9d in血e 。assroom. But it ca11s us to lives ofspiritual discipline and a per‑ SOnal love for Scripture. Chai′el留2: B初rγed P眺Onat‑P函料iona王D巌mtion5 In one sense・ uSing Scripture in Christian co皿sehig can be lim‑ ited to a professional discussion. For exa皿ple Certain Scripture PaSSageS Can be used to dispute various forms of unheal亡hy self‑ talk.31 These verses might be equa11y e晩ctive as counsehing tooIs regardless of the counselorもpersonal reHgious values. In血e sane Way a COunSelor mjght leam to use facial expressions to commu‑ nicate interest and ac。ve histening・ and those expressions might be helpful even lf the counselor is not actually histening. But in another sense, the use ofScripture, 1ike the use ofactive liste正ng skflls is a reflec。on ofthe counselor s imer i息Appear‑ ing to hiten is no substitute for listening.Appearing to Iove Scrip‑ ture lS nO Substitute for loving Scripture. Our irmer life by God Shaped s transfomation of our character through Scripture and Other means・ is our greatest resource in helping hurting people. A Chris。an psychiatrist writes =The healer who would be spiritual, Who would practice healing in a Christian context, muSt be con‑ Stantly vig担nt for the falsely spiritual in his/her prac。ce. Genuine SPiri調ality w址be evidenced by血e appearance of丘uit of血e Spirit (love,joy, PeaCe, Patience, etC.) Jn fhe pmc鋤one : ,,32 140 PSYCHOLOGYT鵬OLOGY’AND SP[RITUALITY萱N CIJRIST【AN COUNSELING wh。n Scripture is used crea。vely spontaneously, and confi‑ dently in counseling, it is only because血e counselor is so close to God・sW〕rd血at the ideas and principles in Scripture have become contagious・ For counselors wi血chis type oflove for Scripture, the goal is not to caref皿y pick and choose verses that can be /嬢面ed into counseling practice but t:O be sa初脇ted by God,s Word so that c。unSeling prac。ce (and every other part of life) is transfomed and renewed by Godis presence. Sometimes these counselors explicitly use Scripture in counseling, and sometimes they do not:. But血ey r。utinely consider the血emes ofScripture when evalu‑ ating, Plaming treatment interven。ons and relating to clieritS. Cha夢te照e 3:層堅,anded D匂うn存ion∫ qf鯖壷n履 How do we train ourselves to use Scripture sensitively for血e spir‑ itual development of our clients? By fust leaming to use Scripture in our personal spiritual development. I o節er two suggestiom. First, both Dallas Wiuard and Richard Foster describe study, including study of Scripture aS an important discipline for血e spiritual rfe. Willard describes study as an important contribution 血at we make to our relationship with God.う3 This is not neces‑ sarily the cram‑for‑eXam tyPe Of study that we leam in college and graduate school工t does not require us to have a desk filled wi血open commentaries Bible dic。onariesJexicons, and so on. Rather it is a commitment to reading and to trying to understand Godもw皿revealed in Scripture. Foster suggests selecting a book 。f血e Bible and reading it straight血rough to iden的the themes and flow of血e book,34 Second, uSing Scripture for spiritual grow血requ王res time for re且eccion.We get ac⊂uStOmed to readmg quickly to survive the challenges of the academic and prof料ional worlds but reading quickly is not an effective goal when approaching Scripture. Afier reading a book of血e Bible through in one sitting, it血ght be helpful t:O SPend thirty minutes per dry for the next year reading it very sIowiy and reflecting on the promises of Scripture.Willard instmcts/̀we not only read and hear and inquire, but we meditate On What comes before us; that is, We withdraw into silence where We Praye血11y and steadily focus on it・ In this way its meaIling for us can emerge and fom us as God works in the depths of Our heart mind, and sour,35 Medita。on is an essential part ofthe SPiritual discipHne of study Challe,磐4; Co′み)nti′営Dominant Viet捗QfMentaZ Hea脇 Insofar as dominant models ofmental health encourage clients to Iook inside themselves or to a counselor for standards of conduct and principles of morality, uSing Scripture takes counseling in a di節erent direction by suggesdng an extemal source oftruth. 142 PSYCHOLOGY,THEOLOGY AND SPIR【TIJALITY IN CHR【ST【AN COUNSEL【NG Though Dr.rfeeguy might sa)γ that he holds no religious values he actua11y has deified hiruselfby assu血ng that his values of right and wrong are better and more caref皿y reasoned than Wendy s. He encourages Wendy to accept his values and fed greater peace about havlng Slep亡with lbm・ This is an extreme example, Chosen to illustrate血e problem of removing extemal standards of right and wrong fro皿the coun‑ seling o缶ce. Most counselors, regardless of their religious per葛 spec。ves, are mOre SenSi。ve t:O religious values than Dr. rfeeguy B.t even religiously sensitive counselors are sometimes gu叫y of undermining extemal standards of right and wrong and of encouraging clients to Iook inside themselves for truth. In his presidential address for the American Psychological Associationis Division of Psychotherapy, Dr. Stanley Graham stated‥ Quite eady in the treatment process, the patient begins to use words like good and bad, and it is our tendency as therapists to diminish the intensity ofthese words since they relate to a value system within the individual that has led to the current state of stress‑ My own personal view of the las=hirty years ofpsychotherapy is that we have cc)llectively done an excellent job of diminishing the demon‑ stration of good and bad and a very poorjob ofreplacing these concepts with acceptable defin誼ons that allow血e individual seIf‑ acceptance and peace:,36 Though Graham was not arguing for explicitly religious forms of psychotherapy Christian counselors can resoIve his concem by respecting Scripture as an extemal au血ority fu values and moral‑ ity. Chris。an counseling, rOOted in a commitment to Scripture retains words such as r蓮華and胸像Clients can s皿1ook inside 血emselves for feelings, eXPerlenCeS thoughts, and assump。ons, but they do not have to find truth i瓦de themselves. Christian coun‑ seling leaves room for extemal authority: God can still be God. Ofcourse,We muSt be careful not to be too strident in our asser‑ tions about Scripture in counseling because our interpretations of Scripture are limited by human fa11emess and our imperfect hemeneutic strategies. Some clients have unhealthy beliefi that they supp。rt With a distorted understanding of Scripture. So do SOme COunSelors. We must be humble, Sub血t ouI.Selves to GodS guidance, and leam丘om one another. Chane懲e 5:助a跳h佃a Scien節c Ba∫e Unfutunately the use ofScripture in counsehng has received very little scienti丘。 attention” The hypothesis, Which awaits scienti丘c Verification, Was Stated well by Dr. Siang‑Ⅵng Tin:負It is proposed that a biblical approach to counseling … that exp追tly u亜zes Christian r。igious values or perspectives and interventions (e.gっ Prayer and the use ofScriptures) and relies on appropriate spiritual gifts and血e power and mjnistry ofthe Holy Spirit, makes unique COntributions to counseling e径ctiveness eSPeCially with religious, Christian clients. Further research is needed to determine the empirical validity of this proposal・,,37 In 1993, When Dr. Brad Johnson reviewed the outcom。 hiterature on religious forms of psychotherap男he found only fiv。 Studies′ rePOr。ng血e e蹄ctiveness of Christian foms of therapy.38 0fthese Orlly血ee used Scripture as a direct intervention. In the best designed ofthese studies,Johnson and his colleagues used two different foms of Rational‑Emotive Therapy (RET) and tested their effectiveness. One fom・ Christian RET used Scripture rather than the human reason of the therapist as the source of tru血. Clients leamed to challenge irrational belie玉with Bible PaSSageS” Although the treatment e蹄ctively reduced depression, t:he researchers found no di節erences between the overau e宜ective‑ ness ofR‑ET and Chris。an RET among their depressed Christian ParticIPantsj9 T読other published studies both using Scripture as a tool to combat irrational belief;, PrOduced sinlilar results.40 Interestingly, twO Studies in Johnson s review showed rengious interventions to be more e節ective than nonreligious interventions, but bo血of these studies rehed on Christian imagery more than Scripture for the re止gious intervendons.41 144 PSYCHOLOGY,T髄OLOGY.AND S皿ITuALITY IN CHRISTIAN COUNSELING At this time, the research is so linrited血at it is pre皿ature to draw any conclusio】rs about the eifective use ofScripture in coun‑ seling・ As academicians and chicians work together to collect additional infbmadon and report results・ We Will be better pre‑ pared to use Scripture in e鶴c。ve and sensi。ve ways in counseling. Cha胸懲e 6: D少子n堰Reieuant動ica工S青andaγd5 Many ofthe same ethical issues considered at the end ofchapter 3 are relevant here.The principle of competence suggests that coun‑ sel。rS Sh。uld use Scripture only in ways that are consistent wi心 血eir training. For example, the psychoIogist who has no training in theoIogy needs to exercise special caution when using Scripture in counseling・The principle of infomed consent requires coun‑ s。l。rS Wh。 uSe Scripture extensively in counseling to teⅡ their clients so near the beginning of the counseling relationship. The counselor should also disdose the dient油tematives by discussing other models of treatment available elsewhere. Charging fees and filing insurance daims for scripturally based interventions creates the tensions already discussed in chapter 3. Using Scripture in counse血g introduces another risk not dis‑ 。uSS。d previously:血e risk of signi丘cantly reducing chient freedom by imposing the therapistis values on the client. Rdigious psycho‑ therapy, in general, introduces the risk of imposing unwanted valu。S 。. b。Iie烏on a client, and explicitly using Scripture in counseling quickly magniies this risk・42 wHA川TH‑SHAPPENとD洋 ′享鰯籠騒撥 Ms.Young ls see’ng a COUnSeio「 a=he Ridge id Counseling Cen†e千・ she ls facing a d棚cui† decis’on abou川e「 fufure ed=Ca†lon and is iooking fo「 Ch「istidn guidance・ Ms.Young has always d「eamed of being a ped‑atrjcian bu川er paren†s and her fianc6 wan川e「†o ma†riculate in a two‑Year nu「SeS‑†ralning p「og「am. Wi†h nurses †rain‑ ing世ey†ell he「, She can mo「e qUickiv en†e冊e workfo「Ce and w川 have an eaSier tlme giving up her career when her ch=d「en a「e ㌻ ● 田 島 146 PSYCHOLOGY,T皿OLOGYAND SPIRITUALITY IN CHR【STIAN COUNSELING counse血g, but survey researCh suggests tha=he explicit use of scripture is quite rare among Christian coumselors. when coun§elors choose to use Scripture in comseling, it is important to consider血e speci丘c effects it might have on a client・ based on a careful assessment ofthe client relationship, and ethical standards. AIso s needs, the血erapeu。c it is important to balance a healthy respect for Scripture as God,s special revela丘on with per‑ sonal hum址ty, reCOgnizing that an interpretatlOnS Of Scripture are lirrited by our imperfect hermeneu。c methods. Our knowledge of God, Self; and Scripture are all interrelated, and our capacity to und。rSt。nd any one of士hese elements w皿add to our abifty to understand the others. In order for Scripture to e蹄ct significant change in the lives of counselors and clients, it must be intemalized and persomlized outside of counseling sessions” Medita。ng COntemPlating・ and praying fi.om Scripture are often help餌in spiritual growth eSPe‑ ciauy when we discard the notion that more is better. Some。mes thirty nrinutes are better spent contemplating one or t:WO VerSeS than reading several chapters. 間置 一小皿ん ‑青一団′ ▲}〇〇〇.喜.巾i、̀書●‑岬でこ、基一㌢ → 一 ̀ 1 一子へ/、一‑ヽ◆ノー▼へ‑モー￣叩▲ …二〇レし‑ ‑ ●一つへ高点→.←喜一生=‑→●、寄ト)丁 す IカO竹R甥ed宅on since I wrote the first edition of this book,血ree humbhhg eVeritS have caused me to think further about the use ofScripture in coun‑ seling・ First, a COlleague at Wheaton College wrot:e a Chapter on hemeneutics, Which was pubHshed in a book that a血eoIogian co11eague, Timothy Phillips, and I editedJ4 In his chapter, REchard schultz gave example after example of Christian counselors mis‑ using Scripture in their written work. REchardsthapter stopped me sho串eminding me ofhow se瓶erving we can be when approach‑ ing Scriptue It is temp血g to go to Scripture to frodバproof for an idea that we already have ra血er than to fom our ideas based On a SOHd and wise understanding ofScripture. Let me state it even Stronger: as a PrOfessional movemerlt, We Ought to be ashamed of how we have distorted Scrip請re for our own benedt, SOmetimes With blatant disregard for the intended meaning of the Bible, The second humbling experience occurred in a recording Studio. As I mentioned in the previous chapter update, On Prayer, SeVeral years ago the American PsychoIogical Association (APA) asked me t:O reCOrd a psychotherapy video demonstra。ng Chris輸 。an counseling・Thi invoIved seeing four clients in one evening, With sessions at six, SeVen, eight, and hine, in each case surrounded by three cameras and their operators‑ For a momng person, this was a bit of a challenge eSPeCi:山y when hine o,dock rolled around. Afier the even王ng of血e taping, I slept lightly and then Went back to the studio血e f班owing moming to review the ses‑ Sions and select a recording for the published DVD. Fran勘I was appa11ed to see my counseling approach with the rrine o,dock cli‑ ent from the evening before・The session began with the dient te皿ng me血at he had memorized Romans 8, While also describ‑ ing his desire to live a pure and godly ife. Rather than fanow血e emotional cues and dig deeper into the con址ct he was缶oling about temptations and struggles, I began to talk with him about the end ofRomans 7. BibHcally speaking, it is an important pre‑ lude to Romans 8, but our conversation seemed to be more about impressing each o血er with our knowledge ofScripture than about me hitening‑really listering「tO the client,s presenting concems. The host of血eA払psychotherapy series smiled when I told him I didn t like how血e session star亡ed・ He replied,=Yes, it sounds as if you were playing Bible BowL,, I passed over that session and chose 血e seven o,cIock session for the publishedAPA video. I 11 describe the third humbling evenc at the end ofthis update. Bu=he丘rst two experiences remind me that Scripture is critically important in shaping our understanding of God, SC埠one another, and the world aromd us but this does not mean that using 148 I)SYCHOLOGY,THEOLOGY AND SPIRITUALITY IN CHRIST事AN COUNSEL【NG Scripture more often or more exphicitly in counse血g is always a good idea. Should we give up on using the Bible explicitly in Chrisdan counseling? No. But we need to be wise and discem‑ ing. In this update I o往er two cautions fof the use ofScripture both皿ustrated by血e humbling experiences I have just described‥ (1) counselors nright unwittingly go beyond their knowledge and misuse Scripture in the process, and (2) the use of Scripture can have∴an intellectualizing effect on conversations. Then I租m that Scripture can indeed be used explicidy in Christian coun‑ seling and give two exanples丘om the recent literature. Fina皿y, I conclude with my third event‑「a StOry about Dallas Willard that moves me every dme I recall it” CAUTION l : MAINTAINING A HUMBLE AWARENESS OF OUR. LIMITED KNOWLEDGE One ofthe basic e址cal principles of every counseHng profession is that we not go beyond the boundaries of our competence. If we don,t know how to use a particular type oftreatment or tech‑ nique, then we get supervised training before o鉦ring these ser‑ vices in counseling工remember back in the early 1990s when counselors were stardng to talk about Eye Movement Desensitiza‑ tion and Reprocessing (EMDR). It seemed fairly simple, Which tempted me to start waving ny血ger back and forth in front of ny dients, eyes to see what happened. Fortunately I resisted the temptation because I was not trained to use EMDR. A few years later many Christian counselors were talking about Theophos。c Ministry Again, the methods seemed紅rly straightforward, and I was tempted to try the imer‑heahilg‑Prayer methods血ac I saw on a training video. But I had not received adequate tralning, and I resisted the urge” I don t regret passing up either ofthese oppor‑ tunities, holding角rm to my ethical commitment to provide only those services I am competent to provide. Ⅵたough=o hold t:O Similar principles when it comes to bib虹 cal hermeneutics. Having a cursory understanding of the Bible may not be su範cient even if a passage see工nS fairly straightforward and easy to understand・ Scripture is a grand and beautiful narrative Of God s dea血g with broken humanity but we camo=ake one VerSe丘om a portion of Scripture and assume it applies however We may Want it to apply. There are guide血es and principles for biblical interpre融on,just as there are for EMDR. or Theophosdc Ministry One exceⅡent source for getting started is Fee and Stu‑ art s Ho面O Read /he BiblejbrAll Jt∫ %rth.45 工magine a client who has just been diagn。Sed with cmcer sitdng in your o缶ce.Ybu comfort血e client withJeremiah 29: 1 1 : ̀ 血e plans I have for you, I know says the LoRD;They are plans for good and not for disaster, tO give you a future and a hope (NLT).Ybur client feels hope and comfort丘om血ese words, and rightly so. Indeed, these words show the character ofa God who Iongs to save and redeem us丘om dlSaster, and it may we11 be血at this client w皿be SuCCeSSf叫y treated for cancer. But it is also true that these are spe‑ Cific words, Written by Jeremiah, tO the southem kingdom of Israel to provide comfort for a nadon that was to spend seventy yeal.S in Capdvity in Babylon・Whife Jeremiah七words still reveal the general Character ofa gracious and redempdve God, they camot be taken as Godt prom王se for every troubling situation we患ce m contempo‑ rary ife工fthis verse丘om Scripture is used at all in the couuseling Si調ation just described, Perhaps it would be good to add, ̀Jerem上ah WrOte血ese words for a different situation than what you患ce, but they sdll tell us something important about Godhaature. R上chard Schultzもchapter has caused me to think twice before mentioning Blble verses in my c。unSeling and my wridng. Scrip‑ ture is powerful and life changing, deserving proper respect and 血ough血I interpretadon. CAUTION 2: THE INTELLECTUALIZING EFFECTS OF USING SCRIPTURE My Bible Bowl experience has taught me bow easy it is to use Scripture to avoid血e more di鉦cult task ofsitting with pain and 150 PSYCHOLOGYTHEOLOGY.AND SPIR【TUAL【TY 【N CHRISTIAN COUNSELING struggle. Using Scripture ofien moves convers誼ons to an inteuec‑ tua1 1evel, and ifwe are not cautious, We may unWittingly use it to ease our own an‑走ety about our clients pain. For example: Client: The test came back posidve工t which is treatable, but it Counselor: Oh m坊I s a stage IⅡ cancer, s hard to know what w皿happen. m so sorry to hear it・That s such hal.d Client: Yes (sobs quietly). Counselor: At times like this I often think ofJerem王ah words,̀ I know the plans I have for you, s says the LolOD.̀They are plans for good and not for disaster, tO give you a future and a hope. Client: Yes, thank you・ At丘rst glance心is intervention may appear to be wise and spiritu‑ ally mature, but it may be neither.This use ofScripture moves血e client away缶om expIoring the pain associated with血is shocking and painful diagnosis, and back to some theoretical, intellectual level血at distances the counseling and client缶om the angst of the mo皿ent.While叫e Jeremiah passage might be helpfu1 1ater in the session, for now the counseloris task is to sit with血e client in 血e midst of仕is pain, uSing words of empathy, if words are to be used at a11. Perhaps sitdng silently is the wisest and most spirituatry mature option at this moment・There will be time fbr words lacer. SCRIPTURE CAN BE USED WELL IN COUNSELING Having hig址ghted these caudons, 1ec me again emphasize the fact that Scripture can be used well in counseling explicitly The impheit use of both lmPlicidy and scripture is a given for Christian counselors・ The Bible helps us understand human nat:ure‑What We Strive for how we糾short, how we long for healing and redemption・ Ⅵthout Scripture we would be left only with血e Prominent counseling and person誼ty血eories ofour 。me, and as useful as these may be, they camot possibly provide a co皿prehen‑ Sive Christian understanding of our diseases and our healing. Scripture can also be used explicitly as血e counsel。r 。ffers WOrds of hope and perspective at timely moments. I could give many examples ofthi, but I w皿focus on two that have recendy been described in the integration ]iterature. Dl.. Femando Garzon46 discusses血e use ofScripture in therapy in a recent ardde that has two speci丘c alms.The丘rst is to increase Christian counselors awareness of the myriad types of Scripture interventions that can be used in treatment, and the second is to stimulate creativity about ways scripture can be integrated in COumehig. Garzon begins by hig皿gh。ng the importance of. con‑ Siderlng e址cal, C血ural and assessment issues when making deci‑ Sions about血e use ofScripture interven。ons;血en he goes on to give examples of various ways Scripture can be used within the COnteXt Of di節erent血erapeudc approaches. The article o鎖ers an encouraging and thoughtful presenta。on ofhow Scripture, apPlied ethically and creatively, Can faciItate grow血and healing in clients. Another recent article, by Dr. Donald VAlker,47 focuses on the explicit use of Scripture in parenting trai11ing. The a.rticle dis‑ C11SSeS biblical and behavioral perspectives on parenting roles and PraCtices With an emphasis on the ways these two perspec。ves boch correspond and diverge from one another in tems ofbasic assumptions. Walker fllustrates various ways that Scr王pture can be incorporated into a behavioral training model for parents and describes the specific condi。ons in whieh血e exphicit integration Of Scripture into paren。ng training can be m。St e銃c。ve. FINAL THO UGHTS I mentioned at the beginning ofthis chapter update that I had three humbling stories to share. The third occurred in血e late 152 PSYCHOLOGY,T雌OLOGY’ AND SPIRITUALITY IN CHRISTIAN C○UNSELING 1990s when I taught at Wheaton College. Well‑known Chris‑ tian author and philosopher Dauas Willard ca皿e to the campus to speak in chapel・ He also graciously agreed to speak to one of ny doctoral classes in cmcal psychoIogy. I can,t remember what he talked about, but I do remember this: a=he end of our time・ One of the students asked him what brings hin hope and encoul.age‑ ment in life. D。uas anSWered quic勘as if he had known the answer for many years. ・・I love the Bible,,・ he said. He went on to describe how much he erjoys reading the Bible, how many Bibles he has wom out over the years, and how precious he五nds the wol.ds of S crip ture. I don t think my students could see iらbut I was sitting 。ose to Dauas as he answered血e student七quesdon, and I saw tears welling in his eyes売血s answer, SO Vivid to me after au these years struck me as beautiful and true. Oh how I Iong to Iove Scripture as Da11as Willard does. How beautiful the lives of those who cher‑ ish Godis Word. I丘nd Dr.W皿ardis example inspiring as I do the work of Christian counseling. 近所高車me to loγe Scγ互所作aS Da胸筋liaγd doe∫・助it函,e mγ 第本γgOOd ∫0脇で∫it in初心dom and妨ne∫∫初tho5e初0布e pain and 5t了解Ie. ACKN OⅧD GMENT Thanks to Ryan C. Staley for helping me with血is chapter update. when Ryan served as my reseaI.Ch assistant he helped me find current research for a number of the chapter updates. Ryan is cur‑ rently doing his dissertation on social support among pastors and their spouses and hopes to work with pastors and their families after f nishing his doctoral degree. ADDITIONAL READING G。,.d。n D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, Ho所o Read fhe朗lejbγ Al胸筋ICh, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003)・ SC良IPTUR雇∴ 153 BIB LIO GRAPHY Fee・ Gordon D.・ and Douglas Stuart・助のO Read ,he鋤eJZ)r All Jt朝6rth, 3rd ed・ Grand Rapids: Z。ndervan, 2003. Garzon・ Femando.寝Interven。oas that Apply Scripture in Psycho血erapy ルγm材均chol閣′ and meol幼′ 33 (2005): 113‑121. Schultz, Richard・負Responsible Hemeneudcs for Wisdom Literature・ In CaγejZ)γ the So話Eや/0極fhe擁e朋C/i。タで q牢tychol捌′ and物eol昭)′, edited by Mark R. M。Mim and Timothy R. Ph皿ps 254‑275. Downers Grove, Ill∴ InterVarsity Press, 2001. Walkeroonald E高Integra。ng Scripture wi亡h Paren砧aiing in Behavioral Interventions. J初γm母均cho履〉′ and Chγ初anitγ 26 (2007): 122‑131. 一帯 Isi。函 hospital on a regular basis. Neither the patients nor血e researchers who assessed the outcome knew to which experimental condition the patients were assigned・ On some (but not all) of血e outcome measures, the recipients ofintercessory prayer were heal血er upon discharge丘om the hospital血an血e contr01 group.The probab乱 ity ofsome of血e observed di節erences between groups occurring by coincidence or random chance is less than one in ten血ousand! These丘ndings w皿come as no surprise to those who accept the Bible as authoritative. None血eless, the丘ndings are i皿portant because they translate血e e紐ectiveness of prayer into血e?Ciendfic language that is acceptable to those in mental health professions. Ofcourse, these studies do not speci丘cally address the focus of thjs book:What about the use ofprayer in counseling? PRAYER IN COUNSELING Based on survey data, Prayer aPPearS tO be a丘equent but not rou‑ tine part of Christian counseling and psychotherapy.4 prayer is used with some but not all counseling clients, depending on the theoretical orientadon of血e counselor and the diagnosis of the client.5 Among those who view prayer as an important part of counse血g, the methods 。f implementing prayer vary widely. Some studies advocate praying aloud with clients during血er‑ apy sessions. In a recent survey of doctoral‑1evel members of the Christian Associadon for Psych01ogical Studies (CAPS) , reSPOn‑ dents reported using in‑SeSSion prayer with approximately 3O per‑ cent of their clients.6 There are multiple mo亡ives for in⊂1uding prayer in a counseling session・ Some counsel。rS Pray in session because prayer can enhance clients spiritua1 1ives and clarify their perspecdves. Craigie and Tbn write丘om a cognitive‑behavioral perspective: =Indeed, Praying with clients that they may be lib‑ erated fi.om resistant misbelie食, that血ey may be e皿powered to do the truth, and that they may come into a deeper reladon追p with t:he truth can sometimes be a most powerful experience・,,7 0血ers report using prayer because it models healthy interpersonal 84 PSYCHOLOGY.THEOLOGY AND SP事R事TUAL【TY JN CH】ヽ事STIAN COUNSELING 血e remainder of therapyThe researchers used a dme‑Series design to test the e節ects ofpsycho血erapy alone versus psychothempy plus COntemPlative prayer. The participants showed a striking decrease in su12jecdve levels of di§COmfort as a result of psychotherapy plus Prayer but litde change on the scales used to measure personal SPirituality Because of the limits of血e design (no control group), it is di鉦cult to determine whether the overall bene五ts were due to psycho血erapy, Prayer, Or a COmbination of both. Until more research is reported, We Can Only speculate that the use of prayer Outside counseling sessions provides therapeutic benefit. Finally therapists can combine prayer and counselmg by pray‑ 1 ing for clients outside of the counseling session. On the average, doctoral」evel CAPS members report praying for 64 percent of 血eir dients and view it as a valuable part oftheir dinical work.16 The helpfu血ess ofpraying for dients outside ofa counseling ses‑ Sion is impossible to test scienti丘c叫y in a double‑blind study because counselors would always know which clients they prayed for and might inadvertendy change the counseling process as a result. Even wi血out scientific proof; we can assume that praying for chents outside of sessions helps counselors maintain a m竜stry focus and helps couuseling clients in their spiritual and emodonal healng∴̀The prayer of the righteous is powe血I and e鉦x:tive (Ja皿es与;16). Chγ巌an Theo彼榊′ TheoIogian J. C. Lambert notes that prayer has two meanings in Scripture・ In the narrowest sense, Prayer is petition, asking God fbr something. In the wider sense, Prayer is worship, reflecting on God,s character.17 PRAYER AS DIRECT PETITION Prayer as direct peddon is often used by people in need, including COunSelors and their cllentS. But this creates an interesti重1g ten‑ Sion・ On the one hand, if God is sovereign and dready knows the future,血en what di鉦I.enCe does it make for us to pray? On the o血er hand, ifprayer can change the future・ then is God not rea11y sovereign? This tension re且ects血e larger discussion of theological determinism versus丘ee wi11, a discussion that has gone umesoIved though centuries of debate・ Though we must appeal to paradox and nnystery rather than attempt a thorough resolution of the debate between determinism and丘ee will, Millard Erickson helps by discussing our partnership with God in prayer.18 when we pray we humble ourselves and ask to become a partner in knowing and doing God God s w皿From this position of humility, We Can See s will more cleady, and God grants us our deepest desires. For example, Only Peter walked on血e water because only I)eter asked (Matt. 14:22‑33). By praying, We COmmit our w皿to partnership with Godもwill. ̀̀May the force be with you,, is not a good understanding of peddonary prayer.We are not hamessing a power that we control・ and we are not simply creadng a posidve good things to come. Rather eXPeCtant attitude for Petitionary prayer creates in us a longing for Godis w皿のPrayer is not so much getting God to do our w皿as it is demonstrating that we are as concemed as is God that his w皿be done, 19 Many prayers are not answered the way we would like, but we are to continue tuming our hearts toward God and conforming our will to God s will in prayer. Eventu‑ ally we change. ̀̀In prayer, real prayer We begin to think God s thoughts after him: tO desire the things he desires・ tO Iove the 血ings he loves tO W皿the things he wills:,20 Ⅵたare told in Scripture to pray persistently because persistent prayer comes丘om a sense ofcompelling urgency (Luke ll:8‑10)・ Prayer is not to be a casual encounter like a Christmas list for Santa Claus; Prayer Should be an extension of the passious of our heart. By praying persistently and consistendy, We remind our‑ selves to seek God while telling God our deepest desires. Using petitionary prayer in coumeling, Where the counselor prays for the dient, Can help model the qualities of e柾ective prayer. However, it can also introduce problems. Mr. Baidwin p「ays a† fhe end of each counseiing session wi†h Gene, his counseIing cilenl. Gene師ds i† 「eassu「ing and comfo冊ng †o know his counseio「 P「ayS fo「 hlm. Gene also feels he can iea「n abou† p「aye「 by observing hls counseio川e has s†「uggied with an inconsis†en† p「aye川fe fo「 yea「s and feels reiieved †o know tha† God is now hea「ing hlS needs †hrough his counseio「 s prayers. The good news is that Gene is leaming about prayer and that his counselor is praying for him.There is also bad news. First, Gene may believe his counselor潰ntercessory prayer removes his obliga‑ tion to pedtion God direcdy. Ifprayer is partnering with God, 血en direct personal petition is an important element of e節x:tive Prayer. Second, if prayer demonstrates a personis desire for God[ W皿to be done,血en it is an important personal discipline that Should not be regularly delegated to another. Gene is Iosing an OPPOrtunity for shaping his character by relying on his counselor to pray for him・ Third the persistence of effective prayer might be C○mPrOmised by the natural lim王ts ofweekly counseling sessions・ The beauty ofprayer is that we can approach God anydme: Clients and counselors can pray outside ofthe office as丘equendy as血ey desire. Mr. Baldwin would be wise to teach Gene to petition God direcdy, bo血inside and outside ofthe counseling o範ce. PRAYER AS VroRSHIP Christian prayer goes far beyond petitioning God with our needs. In prayer we confess our sinful nature (Ps. 51:3‑5), give thahks for God s providence throughout history (Ps, 136) and in our per‑ SOnal lives (1 Sam” 2:1‑10), and express adoration to God (Rom. 1 1:33‑36). In this wider context of understanding prayer, many mystics and religious leaders have written about spiritual and emotional healing.21 As with petitionary prayer in couns誼ng, there is good news and bad news.The good news is that contemplative prayer and worship 88 PSYCHOLOGYTHEOLOGY.AND SPIR【TUALITY IN CHR萱STIAN COUNSEL[NG COmmunion with the Father.,,26 In his classic book, P′t準! Ole Hallesby comes to a sinlilar conclusion:̀̀Prayer is the breath ofthe SOul・血e organ by which we receive Christ into our parched and Withered hearts‥ ‥As air enters in quiedy when we breathe, and does its normal work in our lungs, SOJesus enters quiedy into our hearts and does His blessed work there:,27 This, Of course, raises a nagging quesdon for many Christians. If Prayer is so powerful and ifit ushers us into God[ presence, Why is it tha亡we can糾our r旋full ofprayer and yet so rarely experi‑ ence God in deep ways? Many Chrisdans pray before meals, Pray throughout the day pray in church, Pray With children at beddme, and stⅢ feel distant丘om God. How can this be? Perhaps the spiritual power ofprayer eludes us because we f追to have a balanced diet ofprayer and other spiritual discipline in our lives. Ifprayer serves two functions in Scripture‑i)etidon and wor‑ Ship‑We Often overemphasize petition and neglect worship.召Lord, bless血is meal to our bodies: destination: Dear God, grant uS Safe travel to our Heaverdy Father, Please restore my physical health. We keep prayer lists in which we describe our petitions and record 血e dates ofanswered prayers.These prayer activides are good; Ped‑ tion is an important part of prayer. But we must remember that Prayer is also an act ofworship, a Way Ofcelebra血g God七character and gracious provision.Worship takes time. Dauas W皿ard suggests that we camo=r山y understand spiritu‑ a11y transforming prayer unless we are also practic王ng the disci‑ Plines ofsolitude and fasdng.28 Time‑PreSSured prayer rarely allows us to enter into meaningful worship. It is di缶cul=o worship God th章ough prayer when t:he lasagna is getdng cold or when the con‑ gregadon is anxious to get home before血e play‑Off game starts. Worship requires us t:O reflec亡deeply on our need and God七pro‑ Vision, insights that come most naturally in moment:S Of quiet. Bi11 Hybels Of in his book Tbo B郷γ No吊o P′物describes the irxportance RPM reduction, sIowing down each day to worship and lis‑ ten to God through prayer.29 Tb pray meaningfully, We muSt understand our deep thirst for God. HaⅡesby writes: “Listen, my缶iend! Ybur helplessness is your best prayer. It calls丘om your heart to the heart ofGod with greater effect血an au your uttered pleas. He hears it丘om the very moment that you are seized with helplessness・ and He becomes actively engaged at once in hearing and answering the prayer of your helplessness.,,30 We o免en cram our lives so full ofactivity that we fail to rec‑ ognize our need for God・With solitude and fasdng we are forced beyond our defenses of busyness, and we begin to see ourselves accurately as血irsty, needy people longing for a gracious Savior. What are the implications for counselingうFirst, it seerus clear that the transforming power of prayer camot be f皿y experi‑ enced by praying at the beginning or end of a counseling ses‑ sion. Spiritua11y transforming prayer takes time and disciplined training・ For prayer to be an active agent for change in a client s life, it must become part of a discip血ed spiritual life outside the cou調se止ng o缶ce・ Second, SPiritually sensitive counselors may somedmes need to teach dients about prayer. Counselors give homework for a vari‑ ety of reasons and prayer homework can be considered a legid‑ mate assignment for many Christian clients. Bi11 Hybels oudines a series ofbehavioral steps that he uses each day to pray:jour‑ naling, Writing out prayers, and listening t:O God.31 Implementing these sa皿e steps can be a useful counseling assignment in many situatiom. Sometimes prayer traming can begin in the counsehng session, eSPeCiaⅡy when devotional meditation is used as an inter‑ ventlOn for anxiety‑related problems. There are important ethi‑ cal considerations for血ose using spiritual interventions, eSPeCia叫 for those receiving insurance l.eimbursement for speci五ed treat‑ ment protocoIs. These will be discussed later in血is chapter and throughout the book. Third, the insight people gain in counseling may o免en prove helpful in their personal prayer ife. Ife圧ective Chrisdan counse血g 90 PSYCHOLOGY.THEOLOGY.AND SPIRITUALITY IN CHRISTIAN COUNSELING bring§ PeOPle to a healthy sense ofseIf‑identity and greater aware‑ ness of their brokemess and the fa田en human condition, then it also prepares people to reach ou=o God・ Our sense ofneed pro‑ Pels us to meaningful prayer. Conversely, When counseling causes PeOPle to think of themselves as victims, their prayer ife is hin‑ dered・ Some people have been victim王zed and wounded by past events and eifective Chrisdan co皿seling a11ows people to explore their pain, anger, and griefabout pa§t hurts. But deep inner heal‑ ing requires more.Wounded people must recognize their personal need and their capacity to wound others before f皿y knowing Godもhealing grace. PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SPⅡuTUAL HEAITH From the preced王ng discussion, it seems clear that prayer is an important element of spiritual and psychoIogical health” Prayer lS a=he heart of Chrisdan piet男a11owing us to humble ourselves and worship God and to bring our concems directly to God. Preliminary scientific evidence, as reViewed eadier, SuPPOrtS the e鉦℃dveness ofprayer in promodng health. Bu亡we must also recognize that not an prayer is e節ecぐive. In the Sermon on the Mount, for example, Jesus was critical of Public prayers o往ered by those thinking more about the social impact of血eir prayers than about God (Matt. 6:5).Jesus taught, Whenever you pray, gO into your room and shut the door and Pray tO yOur Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in SeCret W皿reward you (Matt・ 6:6).Jesus also condemned prayers Of emp七y repetidous phrases and prayers of smugness (Matt. 6:7; Luke 18:9‑14). Because prayer is a good thing that can be I正sused言ts use in COunSeling warrants careful monitoring. Some foms ofprayer are always an important addition to e節ective counseling, and others Can be easily misused and at times can work agaimt血e goals of Christian counseling. The amount of risk I associat;e Wi血various foms ofprayer is shown in丘gure 4. Some foms of prayer are almost always wise and productive. What case could possibly be made against a counselorもpraying for clients outslde ofthe counseling sessions? If; as Chrisdan counsel‑ ors, We are COmmitted to the health 。f our clien亡s and we beheve in the power ofprayer,血en we have a spiritual obligadon to pray 鋤thfully for those in our care.These prayers ofpetidon are t。 be persistent and regular, an eSSential part of the disciplines exer‑ cised by the spiritually vibrant counselor. It is encouraging to note t:hat on t:he average, CAPS members report praying outside ofses‑ sions for the m違iority of their clients.32 praying outside ofsessions provides spiritual resources for counseling clients, While reminding coumelors of血e importance of humbly seeking God s direction. Similarly, Praying for clients sifently during pauses in the coun‑ se血g dialogue is an exce11ent way to remind ourselves that we are imperfec ministers ofGodもgrace and truth, Seeking血e Holy Spiritもguidance in each word and expression we use. Of course ifwe are engaged in silent prayer too丘equendy or too acdvely 92 PSYCHOLOGY.THEOLOGY. AND SPIR【TUALITY IN CHRISTIAN COUNSELING during the counseling session it could compromise our listening acuity, SO the counselor needs to set some per§Ona=imits for sifent in‑SeSSion prayer. Devodonal‑meditadon ass王grments outside of sessions can also be helpful fbr many clients, esPeCia]ly血ose who are dea血g with anxiety‑ Or患ith‑related problems. Devodonal meditadon appears to be at leasc as e節ective as progressive relaxation in reducing anxi‑ ety and anger and should be considered a legitimate altemadve for Christian counselors.33 However it is importan=o recognize that devotional medi融on is not equally appropriate for all counsel‑ ing problem.AIso SOme COunSelors have expressed concems that imagery and meditadon are spiritually dangerous intervendons.34 Devodonal meditation can also be e髄ectively used as paI.t Of COmSeling sessions. This is sometimes e宜ective in behavioral interventions when muscle tension needs to be reduced, AIso, imagery and meditation can be used in reducing symptoms of depression among religious clients and in modifying faulty core belie怠in cog正tive therapy.35 The risk ofin‑SeSSion meditation is that血e social demands of血e situation might signi丘candy change the worship experience. Chents might be concemed about being spiritual enough to please the counselor, Socially tense c工ients may find it threate正ng to dose their eyes for a prolonged period during the session, WOnder王ng what the co皿selor is doing or thinking during血ose moments of silence. It is equally eifective to make an audio recording of instructions and have clients do devotional meditation someplace where the social demands can be avoided. For some dients in‑SeSSion prayer training might be an appro‑ / Priate intervention.Just as some clients bene丘t丘om appropriate SO。王al skills or more accurate selitalk, Others benefit丘om skills in spiritual disciplines. Clients can leam various types ofprayer in SeSSions and then complete out‑Of‑SeSSion homework assignments to strengthen their prayer li免 Prayer training holds potential but also introduces signi丘cant risk for several reasons. First, nOt all counseling is skills oriented” Those functioning缶om a client‑Centered or psychodynamic per‑ spective may fhd that overt skills training detracts丘om the over‑ a11 therapeutic process. Second, Prayer training may pose ethical problerm for counselors who are representing their techiques to insurance companies as mainstream interventions.This relates to a third problemニWe have no scienti丘c evidence for the e節ective‑ ness of prayer training. Alth。ugh as Christians we may fed no need for such evidence (because we have experiential and scrip‑ tural evidence for praye土), We need to speak血e scientific lan‑ guage ofthe mental heal血profisions ifour me血ods are to gain cre dib址ty Occasional in‑SeSSion prayers of peti丘。n Can be helpful under some circumstances. On血e average, CAPS members use in‑ session prayer with approximately one‑third of their clients.36 However, as the cases at the begiming of this chapter皿ustrate prayer can be more or less use餌in various situatio】rs. In‑SeSSion prayer for those facing acute stress and grief reacti。nS may Often be helpful, and a prayer of血anksgiving can be a spontaneous act ofworship in the midst of a sig正負cant break血rough in counsel‑ ing牒ut praying in other situations can be harmful. For example praying wi血an actively schizophren王c or manic padent could be destrucdve and harmful to the fi‑agile psychological st:ate Of the patient and to the treatment relationship.37 Fin叫y though some competent Christian c○unselors w皿 disagree with me I believe routine in‑SeSSion prayer introduces significant risk and rrrinimal benefits to the counseling relation‑ ship. On血e positive side, routine in‑SeSSion prayer can model a comm王tment to spirituality, and it can remind both the counselor and client oftheir desire to follow God s leading. Some counselors advocate praying to invoke the Holy Spirit,§ POWer in counseling, but these prayers can be done privately and silently without intro‑ ducing the therapeutic risks of praying aloud・ On the negative side, there are many concems to consider. First although praying 94 PSYCHOLOGY,THEOLOGY.AND SPIR【TUAL【TY 【N CHR【STIAN COUNSEL【NG Wi血clients may teach effective communication skills言t is this type ofpraying that Jesus condemed when he told血e re堰ious leaders ofhis time to stop praying for social eifect.38 Instead,Jesus taught血at prayer should be an indmate part ofa private relation‑ Ship with God (Matt・ 6:5‑6). Second, COunSelors who pray rou‑ tinely with most or all oftheir clients face a risk ofpraying words Of meaningless repetidon, as is common ofprayers before meals. Prayer is not meant to be a ritual ofspecial w。rds血at invoke GodS blessing hour after hour bu亡a way of humbling ourselves before Our」uSt and gracious God・When we give up the essence ofprayer md rely instead on血e empty symboIs of language, We grieve God and deceive ourselves. Third, al血ough counselors sometimes Pray tO mee=heir Chrisdan chents, expectations言t is often more important to understand the origin of the clients, expectadons 血an to placate them. Rengious practices can be used as a defeuse agaiust insight and seliunderstanding, as Was血e case for many of the religious leaders that Jesus criticized・ Four血, Praying aloud in COuuseling somedmes weakens the dients sense of d正ect account‑ abifty to God∴̀My counselor prays for me every week, is quite a di任erent experience丘om praying without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17)! Fifth, Praying together introduces a fom ofinterpersonal intimacy that may not be wise in every counseling situation・ Sixth, Pray‑ ing toge血er inhibits some丘om disdosing important informadon. Because roudne prayer may elevate counselors to spiritual‑giant StatuS in dients eyes, SOme W皿hesitate to discuss their strugales With sin,玩ring ajudgmental response, Thus, SOme forms of prayer (e.g., Praying for clients outslde Of sessions) are always helpful, and others (e.g., rOutine in‑SeSSion PrayerS With dients) are sometimes helpful but pose significant risks. My goal is not to idend与′ a Hst ofgood types ofprayers and bad types ofprayers but to keep the quesdon a=he beginning Of this chapter in the fore丘ont: ′肋待ch forms of prayer should be used with Which cHents and under Which circumstances?,, In answering this question for each specific counseHng situadon, it is important to reme皿ber the model of psychoIogical and spiritual health described in chapter 2. Three specific questions can help counselors assess血e appropriate use ofprayer in a variety ofdini‑ c血si亡uadons, Wli丁妹丑掲出tabn∫h a Hea脇γ Sen5e qfSeぴ●? In 。ne SenSe, Prayer may be a perfect illustration of getting beyond our human tendency to be sel鮪ocused to a state of selfforget輸 fulness. Those who are broken and weary find comfort in the presence of Christ (Matt. 11:28‑30)・Those who are selfabsorbed must see beyond血emselves to see Christ (Luke 18:9‑14)・ Coun‑ selors can use prayer to help their dients gain perspective∴and a more accurate understanding of themelves. WHAT IF THiS HAPPENED? Sabrina suffe「s f「om selトha†e and an impoverished se附mage. Sexua=Y and phys’Ca=y abused as a chlid Sabrina beiieves †ha† she w=l alwaYS be hu「†, abandoned, and lejec†ed. Afte「 being in a hea皿y counsei’ng reiationship fo「 seve「ai mon冊si Sab血a s†a「†s fee=ng be什e「 and exp「esses an inte「es† in s†reng†hening he「 spi「i†ual iife. He「 c○unselor assigns a med(†a†ion exercise †ha† she compie†es th「ee times week「y ou†side of †he counseiing sessions. Sabri∩a Pic‑ †u「es he「seif in Chris† s presence, With a warm look of comfort on his face, Ch「ls† speaks to he「, Come †o me, a= you †ha† are wea「y and are car「ying heavy bu「dens′ and l w用give vou 「es†・lt]ke my yoke upon vou, and lea′n from me; fo= am ge=†ie and humble in hea「t, and you wi=血d 「es†for you「 SOuls (Ma旧l:28‑29)・W船tlme, Sabrina begins †o expe「ience an emo†lonal warmth as she個nks of God s Iove. P「ave「 plays an impo「†an† 「o丁e in he「 hea=ng p「OCeSS. Though prayer is ideally suited to help us get our eyes off our‑ selves and onto a loving Savior, We are adept at distorting prayer and a11owing it to distract丘o皿a healthy sense ofself. For example, what if Sabrmaもcounselor has her do the same imagery exercise during a session? As she doses her eyes, trying to picture Christ, she instead is flooded with other distracdng thoughts. Trmat /5 96 PSYCHOLOGY.THEOLOGY, AND SPIRITUAL】TY !N CHRIST[AN COUNSELING nγ CO硯doγ do毎while I ha nγ eye5 aγe Clo5ed? 4m J /脇aed m0鱈h? Do e fhe γg雄t cやγe∫高説On ,11リノr房? b he staγ硬ot mγ bo匂′? In this context Prayer becomes a vehicle of greater selfLfocus and reinforces a faulty self‑image. 0r what if Sabrina七counselor prays routinely at the begimring and end of each session? Sabrina begins counse血g feeling angry at God and silently questions whether there is a benevolent God. She asks herseIf; F Godわso Jo ha汐e 雛)ened fo ,ne /n l,移fhm hot CO初d /楊e a砂l /hi喝s hepa∫t? Each dme her comselor prays in SeSSion, Sabrina feels uuspiri血al and increasingly comm王tted to hiding her doub亡s丘om her couuselor.As a result, She does not feel froe to explore meahin如I issues of futh in counseling。 When prayer helps a client establish a healthy, aCCurate SenSe Of Self it ca11 be a helpful part of treatrnent. When it is used insen‑ Sitively or as a pe血nctor)′ Part Of treatmen白t can be spiritua11y and emotiona皿y harmfuL 脇li Thi5上崎嵐ta跳h aエ軸殉′ Sel離す椀ed? Prayer assumes need・ Prayer and helplessness al.e inseparable”),39 Jesus described this in a parable of two churchgoers in Luke 18. One man, a re塵ious leader, PrOnOmCed his seIf=su鍋cienc)了God, I thank you that I am not Hke other people:址eves, rogueS, adul‑ terers Or eVen like this tax collector. I fas”wice a week; I give a ten血ofall my income The other q uke 18;11‑12). a taX COllector・ Prayed a simpler prayer:買God, be merciful to me, a Simer! (Luke 18:13).The tax co11ector knew more about prayer than the religious leader did・ Prayer requires a humble awareness ofour need for God. 工n the mental health professions, We Value autonomy and seIf= confidence more than brokemess and neediness. I beneve both are important・A heaユthy sense ofself a11ows us to exercise丘eedom, accept responsibility, and make good decisions. A healthy sense of need auows us to keep our humamess in perspective and to keep us Jooking to God for hope and direcdon. The tax collector in Jesus parable showed signs of both seIf‑ con丘dence and neediness. He had the con五dence to come to 血e temple,血ough he knew he was a sinr]er and to ask God for mercy, though he knew he was undeserving. He had the humility to admit his need and ask for help. Prayer that is used eifecdvely in counseling is also based on both: enOugh self‑COn丘dence to ask for help and an accurate understanding of human need◆ God is found not by wallowing in shame or by feding better about our human potendal but by humb血g ourselves and looking to a tran‑ scendent Creator for sustenan。e. Tbday, the parable Jesus told might take a di鯖erent form. Tivo counselors prayed with their clients. Counselor A prayed‥ Dear God, help Sabrina recognize that she is a wonderful person cre‑ ated in your lmage. She is creative, energetic直n, and caring・ Help her see her value and stop being so critical ofherselr Ⅵs CounselorA talking to God or to Sabrina?This prayer may help Sabrim,s self:‑image and seIf‑COn丘dence but there are more direct ways to accomplish these goals. And more signi丘cant, this prayer may hurt Sabrina in her spiritual quest by communicating that God loves her because ofher qualities rather than because of God七gracious character. Coumelor B teaches Sabrina to meditate on Psalm 40:17 ten ninutes each day‥くくAs for me, I am poor and needy but血e Lord takes thought for me.You are my help and ny deliverer; do not delay O my God. Counselor B teaches Sabrina to recognize that Godもlove does not depend on her qualities.At血e deepest emo。ona1 1evel・ Sabrina does not want to be loved becanse she is good enough to be loved; she wants to be loved regardless of her strengthe and weaknesses. God oifers such a love, and Counselor B helps Sabrina see it・ Wii丁寂5出物王誌tau読h a上物夜Reta〆ons履,? Because effective counselors simultaneously observe and partici‑ pate in counse血g rela。onships it is important to an。cipate the 98 PSYCHOLOGYTHEOLOGY.AND SP‖¥【TUAL!TY 】N CHRISTIAN COUNSELJNG relational ei毘cts ofvarious forrus ofprayer in comse血g. Coun‑ Sehig requires a cIose, COnfiding relationship and in many cases, Praying toge血er dmws two people cIoser toge血er・ In址s sense, enhancing the human interaction can be a useful side e鱈ect of Praying toge亡her in counseling. A免er an initial血erapeutic bond is established, however, the counselor sometimes has to watch血at the counse血g relationship does not become excessively cIose. A COunSelor and client share∴a temPOrary tranSidonal relationship, and the counselor must maintain sole responsibhity for keeping the relationship at an appropriate level of interpersonal intimacy When the counse血g relationship appears to be get。ng too dose, Praying together in a session is usually not a good idea. Similaly 血ose who are inclined toward dependency may natu‑ rally look to their counselors for emotional and spiritual streng血. As counseling progresses, it is important for the counselors to give clients progressively more responsibifty for personal spiritual Well‑b eing. Most important・ e節ective Chrisdan counselors recognize血at COumeHng reladonships often point clients toward a healthier view Of God. The counsedng rela。onship is helpful when it displays aspects of GodS cha輪cter; it is harm血l when it becomes a meaus of PerSOnal power, grandiosi坊( r Se岨gratification.When prayer draws more attendon to the counselor or the client than to God, it misses the mark. The beauty and changing power of eifecdve prayer is accomplished as we humble ourselves and draw dose to God. FACING THE CHALLENGES All the challenges of intradiscip血ary integration discussed in Chapter l can be seen in Chris。an counselors understanding and use ofprayer. Challe′呼で:規読売碓f・Om勧′O AγeaS〆Col型etenCe tO丁hγee Many Chris。an counselors have training in theoIogical perspectives On Prayer and many have thought in dep血about the psychoIogical 100 PSYCHOLOGY,THEOLOGY.AND SPIRITUAL[TY IN CHR事ST【AN COUNSEL】NG respondents indicated that止ttle attention was given to prayer in the curriculum.42 similarly, little emphasis was given to other dis‑ ciplines ofthe inner life including魚s血g SO址ude, and meditation. 工n the Wheaton College doctor ofpsychoIogy program, We find it use蘭書for students to take a spiritual formadon course during t:heir first semester of study. In臆addition to giving students an opportunity for fbcused study on the spiritual disciplines, it allows 血em to develop personal practices that enhance their spiritual development. Chanel讐e 2: B初γ(ed P郎Omi‑Pγq佃5ionai Di訪解訪on5 Virtua11y au mental health professions recognize the importance of the counselor s emodonal health for eifective counseling・ A distressed counselor is a dangerous counselor.43 The American Association of Marriage and Fam王ly Therapists (AAMFT) has addressed personal distress in i亡s ethics code:くくMarriage and family therapists seek appropriate prof料ioml assistance for their personal probleIm Or COnflicts that may impair work perfermance or dini‑ cal judgment: 44 The National Association of Social Vforkers has a simhar state‑ ment in ltS ethics code: The social worker should not a1low his or her own personal problems, PSyChosocial distress, Substance abuse, Or mental health di範culties to interfere with professional judg‑ ment and perfomance orjeopardize the best interests of those for whom血e social worker has a professional responsib址ty The American PsychoIogical Association ics requires that 45 s (ARAis) code of eth‑ psychoIogists recognize tha=heir personal prob‑ lems and conflicts may interfere with their e宜ecdveness: American Counseling Association stat:eS血at 46 The the member avoids bringing personal issues into the counseling reladonship, eSPeCially ifthe potendal for harm is present: 47 These guide血eS liIm=he extent to which a counselor s止fe is PerSOnal, eSPeCially ifpersonal issues a節3Ct PrOfessional wock. In the Same Way, the personal prayer life of a Christian counselor一・One who deals wi心血e care ofsouls on a daily basis‑is not private because the spiritua1 1ife ofthe counselor spills over into the coun‑ selor s understanding ofproblems WayS Ofrelating, and therapeutic strategies. Though Chrisdan counselors m王ght like to define clear boundaries between personal, SPiritual, and professional concems, no such lines exist. A Christian counselor s ability to understand the place ofprayer in eifecdve therapy is limited by the counselor[ personal spiritual disciplines.The丘rst step for counselors who want to increase the use ofprayer in血eir counseling work is to evaluate their persoml Prayer PattemS. ChaneI魯e 3:脅堆,anded D少子n巌on∫す冊ain夜 Because effective prayer m COunSeling emel.geS丘om a counselor[ imer life,血e counselor畠evel ofspiritual maturi句′ W皿provide an upper limit for血e potendal impact ofprayer in counseling” Thus, training is intensely personal. Several excellent books on spiritual formation and spiritual dis‑ ciplines are avahable. Richard Foster! books Celeb庇ton QrDisci‑ p妨Ge and Pmleγ are inviting books with practical suggesdons for personal tmiring,48 Dauas Willard, in T7?e &)iγ訪qf fhe Dis毎筋e阜 argues persuasively for the importance of personal discipline and training in spiritual formation.49 Don Postemaもめacej♭γ God pro‑ vides appealing and pracdcal examples for prayer and spiritual development.50 ole Hallesby七Pml′e占s a passionately written das‑ sic a缶ming the essential role of prayer for the growing Chris‑ tian.51 R̀eading is an important starting point, but pracdcing the imer disciplines, including prayer is an essendal part of spiritual formation. Each of these authors, and many others, describe help‑ ful ideas for enriching one s prayer r脆. These ideas include tak‑ ing courses in spiritual formation, enlisting the help of a spiritual director, getting away for a dme ofprolonged solitude and prayer, and participadng in weekly prayer groups and special events such 製S C○nCertS 〇千pr叩er. 102 PSYCHOLOGY,THEOLOGY.AND SPIRITUAL]TY IN CHRIST【AN COUNSELING Chanel懲e 4: Co所ont毎Dominan月#e砂5 qfMentaiエfeait九 Though we are in血e midst of an encouraging trend that leaves room for religious values in counseling, PSyChoIogy and coun‑ seling have generany been overly concemed with selidetem王‑ nation and egoisdc goals.52 In stark contrast, Prayer moveS Oneb eyes away from selfand onto God. In血s regard, Chrisdanity and POPular psychoIogy often point in di宜erent directions: PSyChol‑ Ogy tOWard greater self:‑determ上nation and Christianity toward greater reliance on God・ Though some psychologists may pity those who deny personal 丘eedom for the sake of religion, Christians believe that those Who have joumeyed far into self二forgerfulness by im皿ersing themselves in the c龍ciplined life of spiritual formation are not to be pitied. Rather, they are in the center of Godもwill, Where they find peace∴and comfort and joy to sustain them through lifeis many challenges. Jesus put it succincdy: For a11 who exalt themselves will be humbled, but a11 who humble the重uselves w皿 be exalted (Luke 18:14). Chanenge J: E5ta掘5hi′qg 4 Scient堆Ba∫e Aithough psychoIogists once thoug…
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