Christian Counseling &Beliefs
I’m on a quest to better
understand the concept, Christian Counseling. And I’m
interested in the Christian beliefs and practices of counselors and clients. I
wonder if there is a significant relationship between counselor and client Christian
beliefs and practices, Christian interventions, and treatment outcomes.
The criteria for identifying counseling as Christian are imprecise.
A comprehensive conceptual definition is doomed to failure at this point. An
operational definition is crucial to comparing findings across research studies
that purport to add something of value to an understanding of Christian
Counseling. But operational definitions can be too narrow when attempting to be
sufficiently inclusive.
I suggest a feature list approach to defining Christian Counseling and
Psychotherapy. I approach this conceptualization from the notion of Wittgenstein’s family resemblance. Here’s my current take on Christian Counseling
criteria.
The clinician assesses those Christian beliefs and practices of the
client that are likely linked to treatment outcomes. This entails an assessment
of the client’s Christian beliefs and practices.
The clinician includes spiritual activities (e.g., prayer, Bible
reading) linked to building rapport with the client even if those activities
are not known to be highly correlated with a treatment outcome.
The clinician selects interventions that are intentionally compatible
with the salient Christian beliefs and practices of the client. For example,
forgiveness is a Christian virtue. Two empirically supported interventions are compatible
with Christian beliefs and practices (Enright,
Worthington).
The clinician modifies an empirically validated intervention to accommodate the Christian beliefs or
practices of a client. For example, imagery is a component of effective anti-anxiety
interventions. Clinicians can assist clients in selecting imagery taken from
the Bible.
The clinician demonstrates respect for the client’s understanding of
Christian moral values. For example, most Christians groups are officially
prolife but individual clients do not necessarily accept an official view of
birth control and abortion.
The clinician’s beliefs and practices do not interfere with rapport.
For example, there is no prima facie reason why an atheist could not
effectively treat a Christian client. A problem of clinician authenticity could
be detected by a devout Christian client who expects the clinician to prayerfully
invite God’s presence into a counseling session.
Who cares about Christian Counseling and
Psychotherapy?
I am not aware of the extent to
which specific client and clinician belief-matching affects psychotherapy treatment
outcome.
The presence of several
organizations involved in Christian counseling and psychotherapy suggests that
a lot of people believe beliefs matter. And beyond that, consider the vast
quantity of books and videos on mental health topics linked to a Christian
worldview. Add to those data the number of Christian Colleges and Universities
with programs focused on preparing Christian clinicians.
What do Christians believe?
As a psychologist, I focus on
what clients believe and practice rather than the official teaching of a church.
The data are clear that within any official church, Christians vary in their
personal beliefs. Here are some beliefs that might be relevant to some
counseling issues and some clients
74% believe in God. 54% are “absolutely
certain” there is a God
72% believe in miracles
68% believe Jesus is God or the
Son of God.
68% believe in heaven
68% believe in angels
64% believe in the survival of
the soul after death.
58% believe in hell.
58% believe in the devil.
29% believe God controls what
happens on Earth.
49% believe all or most of the
Old Testament is the Word of God
48% believe all or most of the
New Testament is the Word of God
Demographics are linked to beliefs
Age, Gender, Ethnicity,
Geographic location, and Political affiliation help identify degree of
traditional religiosity. So for example, if you were placing bets that a
Christian clinician held a high degree of traditional beliefs, what age,
gender, ethnicity and location would improve your odds of being right? Take a
look at Table
2b in the Harris poll.
Does it matter?
Do you think it matters if…
A grieving Christian client
believes they will see their loved one in heaven after they die?
A Christian chaplain believes her
dying patient is going to hell within a month?
A Christian counselor or client
believes the Word of God says
homosexuality is sin but they experience same-sex attraction.
A Christian counselor or client
believes the problem is somehow
linked to the devil?
A Christian counselor or client
is one of the 74% of Americans who believe in miracles?
RELATED POSTS
My Publications
Sutton, G. W. (2010). The
Psychology of Forgiveness, Reconciliation, and Restoration: Integrating
Traditional and Pentecostal Theological Perspectives with Psychology. In M.
Mittelstadt & G. W. Sutton (eds). Forgiveness, reconciliation, and
restoration: Multidisciplinary studies from a Pentecostal perspective. Eugene,
OR: Pickwick Publications. http://wipfandstock.com/pickwick_publications
A resource I used and recommend.
(I do not earn money for this recommendation.)
Find More on Psychology and Religion
Books and papers on Academia.edu https://evangel.academia.edu/GeoffSutton
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Books and papers on Academia.edu https://evangel.academia.edu/GeoffSutton
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