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the counselor and is paramount in a creating to emotion-focused therapy, we began to make
a successful counseling experience. Without a great strides in our sessions. This example high-
clear goal, the purpose of counseling becomes lights that the theory we apply to the patient
vague and introduces ambiguity into the pro- may need to be adjusted according to how we
cess (Hampl, nd). When the therapist does not understand the goal of therapy. For Anna, the
know what she is working towards, choosing goal was to explore her abusive family of origin
interventions lack purpose and sessions fail to and strengthen her sense of self. This goal, then,
meet the needs of the patient. Imagine a thera- fits well with either emotion-focused therapy or
pist locating a lost and confused soul in our me- a psychoanalytic approach.
taphorical forest but not knowing which way to
go to get them to safety. Without this knowledge, Redemption in the Therapy Room
it is likely that the two of them would wander The 19th century Christian philosopher, Kier-
aimlessly until they happened to stumble upon kegaard, believed that people could be thought
the edge of the forest. This approach takes much of as operating in one of three motivational
longer and tends to create frustration in both realms: aesthetic, ethical and religious. Out of
the therapist and patient. these realms, individuals create significance
Perhaps a better approach is for the therapist for their lives. Eric Johnson (2007) expounded
to keep the goal in mind as he or she counsels. upon this work and concluded that people ope-
Conversations are understood in light of the in- rate primarily out of a biological order, psycho-
tended direction and counseling skills are used social order, ethical order, or spiritual order.
to promote therapeutic change in the patient Johnson noted that if an individual’s brain were
(Carkhuff, 2009). Again, we can think of this damaged, the person would live a compromised
process as one of locating the patient within the life. When the body does not function properly,
forest. As the individual begins to move from it is difficult for the mind (emotions, thoughts,
where they are to where the want to be, the behavior, and forming relationships) to work
mindful counselor mentally plots their location correctly. Thus, the biological realm provides
– always keeping an eye on the terrain – conti- the foundation for all advanced functioning
nuously aware of where they are, where they’ve (Johnson, 2007). The psychosocial realm en-
been and where they are going. This does not compasses the self and interactions between
mean that detours are not taken. However, people. This sphere includes the mind, the soul,
when they are, it is intentional. Thus, goal set- cognition, and the ability to relate to others
ting does not distract from flexibility within the within a cultural context. Yet another realm is
sessions. ethics, which Johnson believed was founda-
Theory choice is a part of goal setting. Various tional to human life. Values, moral awareness,
personality theories define wellness/health dif- personal agency, the conscience, and integrity
ferently. For example, the goal for psychoana- are all part of this third sphere. It is within this
lysis is to strengthen the ego, or sense of self, area that good and evil become driving forces
while the goal of cognitive behavioral therapy in making decisions. The final realm is the spi-
is to correct faulty thinking patterns. Over the ritual order and denotes the work of the Spirit
years, researchers and therapists alike have no- of God. Johnson writes, “Though all the orders
ticed that people are too complex for a single belong to God, this one is especially God’s sphe-
theory to address all problems (Johnson, 2007). re” (Johnson, 2007, pp 345). It is the highest of
A skilled therapist, then, knows that goal setting all the spheres and provides meaning and signi-
requires choosing the theory that best fit the ficance for life.
needs of the patient. Some years ago, I worked Johnson recognized that therapists must work
with a woman who had experienced a horrific in the lowest realm necessary and the highest
event and subsequently developed trauma sym- realm the patient will allow. For example, if a
ptoms. In our time together, her thinking was patient suffers from clinical depression, reco-
clear and no distortions were found. Still, the gnizing the biological origin of this disorder
symptoms persisted. By adapting my approach and adjusting therapy in light of the depression

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