Selected Essays And Book Reviews

COUN 612 - Theories and Techniques of Counseling I

Lessons 4. Integrating Your Faith With Therapy: Macro {989 words}

1. Discuss religious clients. Highly religious clients may respond better to religious psychotherapy than to secular psychotherapy.

Worthington's model (1988) consists of three dimensions. The x-axis represents the authority that the client gives to religious writings (Scripture). People are not usually without opinion. The y-axis represents authority that people give to their religious leaders. The z-axis represents the amount by which people identify with a religious group. Every person can be located somewhere on this grid, and this is like a model of the person. The therapist must consider how someone else fits in with the person. Most of us can get along with people who do not agree with us, but we need for our disagreement to not be too severe. We have a zone of toleration, and some people have a more narrow zone than others. Even the counselor must be within the person's zone of toleration, and the person will drop out or stop cooperating.

Goldsmith and Hansen (1991) elaborated on the Worthington model by picturing a castle, a mote, and an outside world. When people are under stress, their values can erode, and the outside forces can attack them and bring them down.

Beit-Hallahmi (1989) said that people have 3 levels of values, and he represented them by 3 concentric circles. The outer level is group identity, which is how others view you and how you view yourself. The middle level is social identity, which affects how we behave. The inner level is the religious ego level, and it affects how we organize our lives.

2. Discuss the integration of psychology and theology. First is interdisciplinary, which is how people integrate theology and psychology. Most of the writing has been on this. Second is intradiscipline, which is within psychotherapy and how one integrates their faith. Third is faith practice integration, which is how one lives out their faith in a secular world. Fourth is experiential integration, which is how one integrates theology and psychology in light of their relationship with the living God.

3. Discuss the early models. The early wave (1950-1975) involved unsystematic exploration. The evangelical integration (1975-1982) consisted of macro models that were proposed for integrating theology and psychology. The systematization and study (1982-present) has been more intradisciplinary with people proposing ways to integrate the two. Tournier, in 1964 and 1968, proposed a macro model called denial because he said that there was not any strain between theology and psychology. In 1958, Meehl came up with a railroad tracks approach, which said that the two run on parallel tracks and do not really deal with the same thing.

4. Discuss the middle years (1970-1982). Richard Bube described two levels of analysis with two theses. First, the universe exists moment by moment because of God. Second, a situation can be described at many levels, and the therapist must look at the levels to find the problem.

Carter and Mohline (1976) and Carter and Narramore (1979) said that theology and psychology answer different questions (the integrated models approach) in explaining the same phenomena. They defined eight areas that had a theology and psychology counterpart perspective (1. anthropology/personality, 2. ecclesiology/social psychology, and so forth).

Crabb promoted effective Christian counseling through 4 approaches. He described the systematic but equal model, the tossed salad model, the nothing but theology model, and the nothing but psychology model. He recommended the spoiling the Egyptians model by suggesting that therapists spoil secular psychology and use some of the things out there.

In 1977, Collins instituted the rebuilding psychology approach through 4 integration techniques. They are psychology against religion (Ellis and Freud), psychology of religion, psychology parallel to religion (Meehl), and psychology integrating religion. Collins recommended expanded empiricism which says to measure everything that counts. The therapist must recognize free will and determinism, biblical absolutism, modified reductionism (the ability to break things down into smaller concepts), Christian supernaturalism, and biblical anthropology.

Maloney criticized Collins on the nature of Scriptural authority. He said that the Bible was only propositional truth, but of course, we would disagree. Maloney advocated a less rigid approach and came up with the ALABAMA acronym. "A" is for the assumptions of faith by the therapist. "L" is for the life predicament of the client. "A" is for the therapist examining "L" in light of "A". "B" is for the background variables of the client's past. "A" is for the therapist examining "B" in light of "A". "M" is for the therapist's model for manipulating the client. "A" is for the therapist examining "M" in light of "A".

5. Discuss systematization and study approach. Five models of integration were defined by Farmsworth as being the most used. They are (a) the credibility model, (b) the convertibility model (theological facts into psychology), (c) the conformability model "A" (secular facts reinterpreted in light of Scripture), (d) the conformability model "B" (theological facts reinterpreted in light of psychology), and (e) complementary model (theology and psychology are non-competing).

This study revealed 7 common themes. They are: (a) modeling and immitation are effective ways to learn, (b) there are many forms of Christian counseling, (c) imaging is an effective tool in Christian counseling, (d) people can be mentally ill wihout being demon possessed or sinful, (e) homosexuality is not a normal, healthy lifestyle, (f) the scientific method is here to stay and not contrary to Christianity, and (g) all truth is God's truth. In conclusion, people can benefit from counseling.

				Tom of Bethany

"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)

"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)

 

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