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Julea sighted her religious beliefs as reason for referring her co-student to another therapist. The University's rationale in removing Julea from their program was that they were follow the American Counseling Association's code of ethics.
This, in my opinion, is the real danger of seeking to counsel from a secular, state licensed position. Apart from believeing that the secular theories are incompatible with Scripture, the ultimate concern is that you are placing yourself under the authority and guidelines of the state.
You are putting yourself in the position that Believers have been trying to seperate themselves from since the founding of our Country. Counseling belongs where it began, in the church, not in the offices of the "professionals." This point is forcefully driven home in the above article and is a clear definition of why, fundamentally, Freud and God cannot co-exist in the counseling world.
When those who dominate a discipline are largely secular humanisits, their influence will go beyond mere diagnostics and seek to also define a code of ethics. The main rule of their code will be the freedom of the individual to do what is right in his own eyes....their is no code of ethics, except that you cannot discriminate.
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I read your article regarding the counseling student (have not read the FOX NEWS article) who was removed from her counseling program because she refused to provide counseling to a student who was homosexual. I will politely have to disagree with you on this situation.
ReplyDeleteIn writing my response to your article it is important to understand that I am a White male, a "conservative" ordained Southern Baptist minister, a licensed therapist, and a Clinical Supervisor for the State of Florida. I graduated from UCF with a BA in Psychology and from Rollins College with an MA in Counseling. Both, of which, are secular schools.
I have had the honor to serve The Lord for almost 20 years by creating a Christ -centered / Church based counseling ministry located throughout Central Florida.
Here are a few things that I have learned over the years.
1) Don't judge an individual because they have a different lifestyle or are dealing with issues with which you disagree.
2) You have to create a "relationship" of trust so that the client feels safe in sharing with you.
3) Be very clear of your values and what you believe, regarding the truth of the Word and God, and then learn how to share the Love of God through His Word while you are in the counseling relationship. The key is learning to "weave" God into those sessions.
4) Neither, the "Church Staff / Pastors", or Lay-counseling programs have the time or training to deal with the complexity of issues being found in the Church, today. That is the reason for the local church to form a partnership with the Christian Counselors in the area who can work with the Church families and families from the community.
5) The families in the local Church deal with the same issues as un-churched families. These include; abuse, addictions, eating disorders, relationship problems, ALL types of sexual dysfunction, along with all of the emotional and behavioral issues.
Since I have not read the article, I am assuming that the student was in a "secular" program at one of the Universities. I would encourage her to attend one of the Christian based counseling programs. There are several in the Central Florida area. But, regardless of where she attends school, she will be confronted with the same issues, whether she works with Christian or Non-Christian individuals or families.
Rev. Charles Wise
Pathway Counseling Ministry