Page 162 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 7

The Work and Thinking of David Benner

appropriate. Again, Christ‘s own behavior illu- judged not on the basis of who first described
strates this. His frequent healings of individuals them but rather their function. Do they sup-
apart from an explicit verbal proclamation of port the therapeutic goals? Also, they should be
the gospel show his concern to meet people at evaluated for their consistency with the over-
their point of need. His ministry was not always all theoretical framework guiding the therapy.
in ultimate dimensions, even though he never The Christian therapist will thus be cautious of
lost sight of those ultimate concerns. pragmatic eclecticism as the sole guide to which
Ellens (1980) points out how easy it is for Chri- techniques to employ.
stian therapists to substitute private philoso- Some Christian therapists do employ explicit-
phy for demandingly sound psychotherapeutic ly religious resources such as prayer, Scripture
practice. He states that „the practice of the hel- reading, or even laying on of hands. While any
ping professions which is preoccupied with the of these interventions may well be appropriate
final step of wholeness, spiritual maturity, will under some circumstances, the responsible the-
usually short circuit the therapeutic process and rapist would want to understand clearly the si-
play the religious dynamic of the patient or the- gnificance of using them for the client and the
rapist straight into the typical religious patient’s therapy process.
psychopathology” (p. 4).
The goals of the Christian therapist will also Summary
be guided by the picture of the whole mature Christian therapy is clearly not a monolithic
person that is presented as the goal of Christi- development. Little consensus exists on such
an growth in Scripture. Thus, for example, the basic questions as the role and task of the thera-
Christian therapist would seek to encourage the pist and even the question of whether Scripture
development of interdependence, this in con- should be expected to yield a definitive model
trast to the autonomy and independence valued for Christian counseling. A recent survey of
in many therapeutic approaches. Other aspects the membership of the Christian Association
of Christian maturity are also readily transla- for psychological Studies (Cole & DeVries, 1
table into therapeutic goals for the Christian 98 I ) indicated that 48% of the Christian men-
counselor. The Christian therapist will be likely, tal health professionals responding do not ex-
therefore, to share many of the goals of his secu- pect Scripture to yield a unified biblical model
lar counterpart. However, the goals that direct of counseling. The same percentage do expect
Christian therapy should grow out of the overall such a development. Also, 87% see an eclectic
Christian view of persons discussed earlier. approach as most faithful to Scripture, which
they see as consistent with a great diversity of
Techniques styles of counseling.
Is Christian therapy unique by virtue of em- If Christian therapy is not simply the applica-
ployment of certain techniques? Are there uni- tion of some biblical theory of personality and
quely Christian or non-Christian techniques? therapy, what then is it? This chapter has sug-
Adams (1977) answers these questions affirma- gested that it is an approach to therapy offered
tively and, assuming techniques to be depen- by a Christian who bases his or her understan-
dent on their presuppositional base, has judged ding of persons on the Bible and allows this
the techniques of secular therapies to be inap- understanding to shape all aspects of theory
propriate for the Christian therapist. The relati- and practice. This suggests an ongoing process
onship between most techniques and the theory rather than a finished product. Seen thus, the
with which they are primarily associated seems, Christian therapist is not one who practices a
however, to be very loose indeed. One has only certain type of therapy but one who views him-
to note the very diverse theoretical orientations self in God‘s service in and through his profes-
laying claim to the same techniques to see this sion and who sees his primary allegiance and
point. accountability to his God, and only secondarily
Most techniques seem to be neither Christian to his profession or discipline.
nor non-Christian. Therefore, they should be

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