Published: December 21, 2007 07:09 pm            

Mike Scarlett: Christian counseling has advantages

A popular slogan that can be seen around town this holiday season says, “Jesus is the reason for the season.”

The truth is Jesus is the reason for a lot of things. In my case, if it were not for the birth of Jesus I would probably be a secular counselor instead of a Christian counselor.

Some of you might wonder what makes Christian counseling different than secular counseling. Is one better than the other?

Most counselors have studied the major secular-counseling theorists. Sigmund Freud and Carl Rogers created counseling theories that have had a great influence on counseling for years. Their theories are based on assumptions about how the human brain or personality works. These assumptions are often formed through observation and scientific testing.

The one thing secular theorists have in common is that they ignore God as a resource in the healing process. Often, science will only talk about what can be measured or proven, and because science has been unable to invent a way to prove or disprove God, it simply turns a blind eye to him.

With the absence of God, man is elevated to having to solve his own problems. And thus the assumption is that mankind does not need God.

In this approach there are no absolutes, no rules and no universal standards for living. Each person is his or her own de facto God, creating his or her own rules of right, and wrong. This is known as humanism.

Christian counselors come from two basic viewpoints. One is the “Bible-only” approach: The Bible has all the answers to mankind’s problems. Just as the secular approach rejects God, the Bible-only counselor often rejects or ignores truths that have been observed by the secular theorists.

I think that in general the Bible has the answers to mankind’s problems. But specifically, man faces many problems the Bible does not address.

For example, “How do I change the fuel pump on my car?” “How do I reformat my computer?” “If I am having hallucinations, what kind of anti-psychotic medicine should I take?”

Because Bible-only counselors often reject the secular approaches, many times very little, if any, clinical training is involved in their education.

The second approach to Christian counseling assumes that all truth is God’s truth. This approach takes the position that truth, wherever it is found, should not be feared because it will not contradict God’s word, which is the essence of truth.

In other words, truth will not negate truth. Counselors with this approach usually have a master’s degree in counseling, which includes four semesters of supervised practicum (counseling) training and intensive Bible training. Because of their professional training they often become licensed counselors.

The idea behind both approaches to Christian counseling is that mankind has a basic fundamental need for a relationship with God, and that the Bible offers a blueprint for living a physically, mentally and spiritually healthy life.

In the Christian approach, the counselor enters a counseling session with an openness to be led by God’s Spirit as he listens to the client. This can cause greater insight and, in my opinion, quicker results in the counseling process than secular counseling.

I don’t mean to suggest that secular counseling is necessarily bad. After all, secular counselors have helped many.

It is my opinion though, that Christian counseling, coupled with truths learned in the secular field, often leads to a greater degree of understanding for the counselor and the client and therefore has a greater potential for emotional and mental healing than secular counseling alone. What do you think?



Mike Scarlett is a Christian counselor and public speaker and is staff counselor at

Southwest Family Church in

Cleburne. He may be contacted at www.mikescarlett.com or 817-556-2750.

        

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