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Psychology through the eyes of faith
Christian psychology perspective
Christian psychology perspective
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Summary In McMinn’s (2011) text Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling, he discusses the concept of integrating theology and spirituality into therapeutic and counseling sessions. He starts off in the first two chapters by explaining challenges, both professionally and personal, Christian counselors may face when they attempt to integrate both psychology and Biblical principles. Real-life experiences, the frontier of integration, and a more complex way for Christian counselors to assist their clients are some ways in identifying the most important concepts from the first couple of chapters of McMinn’s (2011) foundation. He often emphasizes the importance of how a counselor’s personal life and worldview may hinder …show more content…
According to McMinn (2011), "Christian counselors are concerned with spiritual growth as well as a mental health" (p. 39). He believed both spiritual and mental well-being intertwined together, which creates a sense of self, true understanding of healing relationships, and true sense of need (McMinn, 2011). All of these create an integration of spirituality, theology, and psychology …show more content…
Throughout these chapters, he repeatedly talks about when and how these elements are appropriate for a Christian counselor to use as Biblical principles during sessions. The first spiritual discipline is prayer. Prayer, for example, is a "more than a counseling technique. It is the primary vehicle of growth in the spiritual life" (McMinn, 2011, p. 105). Various methods of prayer are explored that can be used in counseling sessions and it’s noted that more research is needed in using these methods during sessions. McMinn (2011) also notes sometimes prayer is not the best discipline to be used during sessions as well. "Despite the power and importance of prayer, bringing it into the counseling office is not a simple task. Counselors should carefully consider the potential effects of various forms of prayer before using them in counseling. Some forms of prayer, such as counselors privately praying for clients, are always useful; whereas other forms of prayer, such as routinely praying aloud in counseling sessions, introduced both potential benefits and risks to clients” (McMinn, 2011, p. 105). The point he’s trying to make is, although prayer and Scripture are important, some client’s aren’t in a place to receive those things as of yet. But eventually, once they are in a spiritual
As a Christian counselor, we have the power of the Word on our sides, but so many of us do not understand how to properly apply scripture into the counseling relationship in an effective manner. In Interventions that Apply Scripture in Psychotherapy, Garzon (2005) attempts to accomplish the following; educate individuals on the various techniques one can use to apply scripture, and to encourage and stimulate God ordained creativity in the hopes to create new techniques and methods for applying God’s Word in the counseling relationship.
This is David Entwistle 2nd edition book published in 2010 by Wipf and Stock in Oregon. Entwistle is a Christian and a licensed psychologist; he has affiliations with Molone University in Canton, Ohio serving as chair of the Psychology Department and has taught courses related to his licensed field. This book clearly is not written for any newcomers to religion. However, it was written for those interested in the integration of science and religion. The authors’ purpose for writing this book was to define the relationship between psychology and theology. There are three specific areas this book touched upon to help readers’ better approach psychology and Christianity in a personal and more professional manner: The context of philosophical issues and worldview, to help the readers become aware of assumptions or beliefs- making the reader a more critical evaluators, and to introduce and familiarize the reader with five paradigms for integrating psychology and theology.
This paper will be reviewing the book “Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity: an introduction to worldview issues, philosophical foundations and models of integration, by David N. Entwistle. As the title states, this book discusses how to integrate psychology and theology. It also dives into to why it is so important to be able to integrate the two. Entwistle explains that just because the two are different does not mean they should be separated and that we have to use both our worldviews. “Weaving together perspectives from psychology and Christian theology can help us understand and appreciate humanity more fully than we could either perspective alone.” (p.3)
Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling written by Mark McMinn and published by Tyndale House in 2011 notions towards the idealization that Christian counselors need to be privy in the most recent psychological methods as well as theological theories. “This is a book about counseling processes techniques” (McMinn, 2011, p. 150). McMinn also alluded that Christian counselors benefit from having a spiritual maturity. With having these attributes counselors are better prepared to take note of prayer, Scripture, sin, confession, forgiveness, and redemption. McMinn (2011) model flows in the direction of healing while equating to a more advantageous relationship with The Lord Jesus Christ as well as with other relationships (McMinn, 2011).
Cunningham, M. (2012). Integrating Spirituality in Clinical Social Work Practice: Walking the Labyrinth (1 ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Inc.
David Entwistle's (2010) Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity is geared more towards Christians with conservative evangelical views and provides the reader an outline to different worldview disputes and truth-seeking groundwork that surround the connection that underlies psychology and theology. In addition to analyzing the possible connection of psychology and theology, Entwisle discusses the consideration of integrating Christian faith with the practice of psychology. “Christian understandings of person-hood, the purpose of human life, our need for God, and the ethical teachings of Christian faith are integral to psychology, not merely parallel to it” (p. 199). Entwistle’s viewpoint on this matter is stated clearly. He believes that it is necessary for theology and psychology be integrated in order to fully understand human nature.
Clinton, T. & Ohlschlager, G. (2002). Competent Christian counseling: Foundations and practice of compassionate soul care. Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press.
In the first chapter of Psychology in Christian Perspective by Harold W. Faw the author talks about psychology as a subject, the different aspects of the subject and how psychology fits into the Christian world. Faw begins the chapter by describing what others think psychology and his views on psychology as well. He describes that “psychology can be described as a systematic attempt to understand human behavior and conscious experience” (Faw, 1995, p. 12). He then goes on to describe the many different types of specialties of psychology which include, neurobiological, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, and psychoanalytic. These specialties are then integrated into the Christian worldview. They are all different so they all fit into
The book Counseling in African-American Communities discussed how the gospel brings liberty to men, woman, and children bearing every conceivable sin and affliction. Psychology can provide a tool for applying the power of the gospel in practical ways. By combining the truth of the Bible with psychological principles, Christian counselors, pastors, and church leaders can meet the various needs of our communities with life-changing effect.
As you read through the chapters you can clearly see that there are times when overlapping ideas and thoughts about human-beings can be seen in theology and psychology. Helping readers become more aware and to understand that their presumptions are the basis to these issues and that our understanding between the relationship between psychology and Christianity are based on the assumptions. After reading this book it can be easily seen it is geared more toward students of psychology and other behavioral sciences as well as pastors that may be interested in the integration. Some questions that have arose after reading through this book is as a Christian Counselor, what are the ethical concerns that one may have in using the models of integration? And for pastors or a Christian outside the behavioral sciences, what does this book help them to achieve if they were to follow the models of
Confidentiality. Confidentiality is just as important in Christian counseling as it is in secular counseling. According to the American Association of Christian Counselors (2014), “confidentiality recognizes that every client has a fundamental, moral and legal right to privacy and to have a wide range of personal thoughts, opinions, beliefs, and behaviors that are protected from public knowledge” (p. 22). It is crucial for counselors to maintain client confidentiality unless what a client discloses brings harm to themselves or other people. Confidentiality should be kept at all
Worthington, E. L. Jr., Hook, J. N., Davis, D. E., & McDaniel, M. A. (2011). Religion and spirituality. In J. C. Norcross (Ed.), Psychotherapy relationships that work (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press
When it comes to the point of understanding of how Christian counseling can be effective, the accepted requirements for the standards of counseling
Values, Morals, and Beliefs are components that play a role in an individual’s self-identity. The establishment of these components shape human nature, behavior, and the development of an individual’s purpose. The basis of these fundamentals has contributed to my desire to become a counselor. This paper will discuss my views of human nature, factors of behavior changes, goals of therapy, the roles of a therapist, and the counseling approaches that I chose to incorporate in a practice.
Johnson, Eric L. (2007). Christ, The Lord of Psychology. In Daryl H. Stevenson, Brian E. Eck & Peter C. Hill (Eds.). Psychology Christianity Integration: Seminole Works that Shaped the Movement (pp. 42-57). Batavia, IL: Christian Association for Psychological Studies, Inc.