Psychology Theology And Spirituality In Christian Counseling Summary

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Mark R. McMinn’s (2011) book, Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling focuses primarily on intradisciplinary integration, which is integration that occurs within a discipline. McMinn strives to provide a foundational resource for counselors that explores just how Christian counselors can integrate and utilize psychology, theology, and spirituality in a responsible, ethical and faithful way. However, this is made even more challenging due to the multifaceted goals of Christian counselors (p. 39), resulting in a number of trials to be faces when working to combine disciplines. When integrating psychology, theology, and spirituality, a Christian counselor is faced with a number of potential challenges or issues that…show more content…
Focusing on multiple areas can create conflict within the counselor as to how to best approach a session, which is another challenge that counselors face. This particular challenge further complicates the distinction between personal and professional distinctions, primarily in the case of prayer, which can be used in a number of ways on the part of the counselor. The relationship is already personal because both client and counselor invest energy, time, and experience into the relationship (McMinn, 2011). Because of the innate personal dynamic that this type of integration provides, it is important that the counselor be properly trained in all areas in which they are pulling from during the counseling…show more content…
122). While I agree that therapists who are willing to work with Christian clients’ belief system is a positive step, I am skeptical that this is entirely a good idea. Counselors who are not familiar with the Bible, Scripture, and prayer could potentially do more harm than good if they are not properly trained. The likelihood that Scripture will be misused is high, yet I have mixed feelings because it does potentially provide an opportunity to share the Gospel with someone who is unfamiliar. I am realistic to the fact that even well-seasoned Christians will always be learning, so counselors who have little to no foundation in the Lord using the Bible as a “self-help Book” (p. 121) does have me angry. This also creates a number of questions surrounding training counselors. For example, should non-Christian counselors be required to take any type of training in order to utilize the Bible during sessions? This also brings into question the process in which a counselor trains within the various areas. Should the training be individual to each area or an entirely integrated
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