Page 34 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 9

Shannon Wolf (USA)
Therapeutic Goals in
Christian Counseling
Case Study
Anna, a 75 year-old petite woman, was full of
energy and smiled almost constantly. She and
her husband had recently celebrated their 57th
wedding anniversary and the couple had three
adult daughters, six grandchildren, and two
great-grandchildren. When she spoke of her
family, her smile grew and her love for them
was evident. Anna also described having a deep
faith and some might have suggested that she
was a biblical scholar for she knew the Bible well
and had memorized much of its contents. Anna
quietly stated the past 57 years were “wonder-
ful”. She said that she has had a “good life.”
Anna made an appointment to see a therapist
following an upsetting phone call from one of
her seven brothers. As Anna described the call,
she began to tearfully recount a childhood that
was very different from the family she and her
husband created. Her childhood was extreme-
ly violent. Anna’s body carried numerous scars
of this violence. Some scars could not be seen.
Anna’s oldest brother, Henry, was cruel and see- 2006), Dr. Ian Jones likened the assessment
med to have focused much of his brutality on
his younger sister. He frequently beat her and
on several occasions, he attempted to kill her.
From choking her until someone stopped him,
breaking her bones, cutting her with a knife and
even raping her, his violence knew no bounds.
Anna’s other brothers learned to fight back, but
Anna, being so much smaller, learned to be a
peacemaker and when that didn’t work, to run.
Anna’s parents told her to fight back but didn’t
step in to stop the abuse. Anna attributed much
of her parents’ neglect to an absence of any kind
of faith. In fact, Anna’s parents denied that there
was a God and taught their children that rules
were made to be broken.
It was after an upsetting phone call from Henry
that Anna began to relive the abuse. For weeks,
she stopped eating, frequently cried, was an- to where they need to be with the first step in
xious, and began having nightmares. Her hus-
band and adult children were very concerned
33
Shannon Wolf
(USA) Ph.D.,
Licensed
Pro-
fessional Coun-
selor, Associate
Professor, Ma-
ster of Arts in
Counseling, Dal-
las Baptist Uni-
versity.
shannonw@dbu.edu
Former article by Shannon you can see
here: http://emcapp.ignis.de/5/#/88
for her and stayed close by her side, attempting
to offer comfort. When Anna asked to see a the-
rapist, they were relieved. Once before, Anna
had attempted counseling to resolve her issu-
es surrounding her formative years before but
the experience was not a positive one and Anna
ended counseling prematurely. This time, she
wanted a Christian counselor – one who would
allow her to include her faith as she explored
the horrors of her childhood.
Locating the Client
In his book, Counsel of Heaven on Earth (Jones,
process to a forest. His metaphor included an
unknown forest with the patient lost within its
boarders. Jones took this metaphor from Gene-
sis 3. Following the fall of man, Adam and Eve
hid themselves from the Lord. God responded
by asking the couple “Where are you?” (Gen.
3:9). For Jones, the therapist locating the pati-
ent within their forest also asks this question.
Location includes the questions of “Where are
you in relationship to others?” “Where are you
in relationship to yourself?” and “Where are
you in relationship to God?”
The Problem
In Jones’ model, the wise therapist takes careful
note of the terrain, observing areas of danger,
and mapping a path from where the patient is
the therapeutic process being determining and
fully understanding the problem that causes the