PERSONAL COUNSELING THEORY

Praying_the_Scriptures_Within_Cognitive_Behavioral....pdf

Home >Psychology homework help >PERSONAL COUNSELING THEORY

Ohlschlager, George. Praying the Scriptures Within Cognitive/Behavioral/Systems Therapy : Chapter 14, Transformative Encounters, InterVarsity Press, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5389499. Created from liberty on 2025-05-20 08:04:17.

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

Praying the Scrip tures Within Cognit ive /Behavioral /Sys tems Therapy George Ohlschlager

An Excerpt From Transformative Encounters

E d i t e d b y

D a v i d W. A p p l e b y a n d

G e o r g e O h l s c h l a g e r

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

http://www.ivpress.com/academic

InterVarsity Press P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426 World Wide Web: www.ivpress.com Email: [email protected]

“Praying the Scriptures Within Cognitive/Behavior/Systems Therapy” by George Ohlschlager was originally published as chapter 14 in Transformative Encounters: The Intervention of God in Christian Counseling and Pastoral Care, edited by David W. Appleby and George Ohlschlager (ISBN 978-0-8308-9550-2 [digital] and ISBN 978-0-8308-2822-7 [print]).

InterVarsity Press® is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, write Public Relations Dept., InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, 6400 Schroeder Rd., P.O. Box 7895, Madison, WI 53707-7895, or visit the IVCF website at www.intervarsity.org.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

While all stories in this book are true, some names and identifying information in this book have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.

Cover design: Cindy Kiple Images: droplet of water: Gerard Fritz/Getty Images drop of water: © xefstock/iStockphoto

ISBN 978-0-8308-8212-0

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

http://www.ivpress.com

mailto:email%40ivpress.com?subject=

http://www.intervarsity.org

Contents

Praying the Scriptures Within Cognitive/Behavioral/Systems Therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Developing a Transformative Spiritual/Clinical Process . . . . 8

Assessment Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Transformative Spiritual Intervention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Keys to Beginning the Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Cognitive/Behavioral/Relational Therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Aftercare Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

References and Recommended Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

About the Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Transformative Encounters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

IVP Academic Textbook Selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

Praying the Scriptures Within Cognitive/Behavioral/

Systems Therapy

George Ohlschlager

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by those moments that take our breath away.

Plaque on the wall of AACC kitchen

When you judge people, you have no time to love them.

Mother Teresa

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. . . .

And when He had called His twelve disciples, . . . He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal

all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.

Matthew 9:35; 10:1 (nkjv)

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

8 Praying the Scriptures Within Cognitive/Behavioral/Systems Therapy

After I spent four years doing intensive community mental health practice as a clinical social worker in small-town and rural Iowa, I moved back to Humboldt County in Northern California to join a friend to launch The Redwood Family Institute in 1988. It was there, as a Christian counselor and California LCSW, that I began to develop a Christ-centered approach to change by praying client-chosen and image-rich Bible verses with my clients to enhance inner healing and godly intimacy.

I learned about inner healing ministry from my friend and practice partner Peter Mosgofian, an LMFT and Vineyard pastor who had long prac- ticed charismatic inner healing in both his pastoral and psychotherapeutic roles. Inner healing prayer—which is highlighted in numerous chapters of this book—is an explicit form of interventional Christian prayer aimed at helping clients “who have unresolved painful memories of their past that may involve deprivation or neglect, abandonment, rejection, harsh treatment or criticism, physical or sexual abuse, and trauma” (Tan, 2011, p. 345).

When learning this practice, I was also struck by the similarities of inner healing prayer to the process of guided visualization, a cognitive therapy technique often used in relaxation and anxiety reduction (see chapter by Tan in this book, 2013, 2011, 1992; and chapter by McDonald and Johnston in this book, 2013). In Christian counseling throughout the 1990s and into the new century, there was controversy around whether to impose a guiding visualization by the therapist, or to let the client choose a preferred image, or to let the Holy Spirit bring it to the client as God saw fit. All these ap- proaches were being done by Christian therapists all over the country, with fairly persuasive rationales being offered for each one (see Seamands, 1985; Payne, 1991; Flynn & Gregg, 1993; Smith, 2002/2005).

Developing a Transformative Spiritual/Clinical Process Psychotherapy outcomes research during this time was revealing the great influence of both client factors and the therapeutic alliance between ther- apist and client (see Lambert, 1986). Believing also in the revelatory power of the Bible, I began to stitch together a client-centered counseling process that honored all three of these important variables for change. I started to encourage clients to choose their favorite Bible verses—Scripture that we would pray aloud together both to serve as an invitation for God’s healing presence to appear, and to increase client investment in and responsibility

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

Praying the Scriptures Within Cognitive/Behavioral/Systems Therapy 9

for the therapy. Not only did God come alive in the scriptural text, but clients also nearly always had a favorite verse—something we believed by faith that God would bring to the client’s mind in this therapeutic context (see Tan, 2007).

A transformative process model for Christian counseling—what is now full and robust (see chap. 22 on integrative model)—was devel- oping in nascent form in my work with clients during this Northern

A Transformative Spiritual/Clinical Intervention Model For Comprehensive Change, Growth and Discipleship

A. Assessment B. Intervention C. Aftercare

INITIATE HELPING RELATIONS.

MAY TERMINATE EAP or PASTORAL COUNSELING or BRIEF THERAPY HERE

MAY TERMINATE COUNSELING HERE

TERMINATE ALL INTERVENTIONS

1. Do multimodal assessment with ‘BeChristlike’ grid and develop goal-directed change plan.

2. Deal with crisis issues and help to stabilize client if needed.

3. Make referrals as needed, and build network of care and growth for client.

4. Do “inner healing” or invite other healing or power encounter with the Holy Spirit, as needed.

5. Apply cognitive/ behavioral/relational therapy for internalizing truth, a “transformed mind” and positive emotion.

6. Apply family therapy and other systemic interventions and resources as needed.

7. If needed, do long-term therapy for deep healing and character/ personality change.

8. Expand spiritual practices/disciplines for growth and change maintenance.

9. Give away and train others in the model (discipleship).

Figure 14.1. A model for transformative spiritual/clinical intervention

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

10 Praying the Scriptures Within Cognitive/Behavioral/Systems Therapy

California sojourn.1 Three stages of change and growth—assessment, intervention and aftercare—were acknowledged and followed. Three steps of distinctive practice were done or reviewed in each stage, for a total of nine possible steps from beginning to end. This integrative inner healing/cognitive behavioral/social systems counseling model is comprehensive, eclectic and holistic, and honors both the biblical text and the person-in-environment (P-I-E) structure that has been the root intervention in clinical social work for over thirty years now.

Assessment Phase After doing dozens of hybrid applications of “Scripture praying” in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I began working clinically with a middle-aged woman who had recently been divorced, and was referred to us after hos- pitalization for major depression and a fairly serious suicide attempt. She presented as being depressed in mood, lonely, despondent and full of anger. She often came to sessions in a prickly and surly mood, just daring me (and everyone else she encountered) to fulfill her worst expectation of criticism and rejection. Her negative self-talk was chronic and full of self-loathing—she hated herself as much as she hated her abusive family and ex-husband.

This was clearly a case where psychiatric intervention (which she was receiving) and cognitive behavioral therapy were needed to calm her chaotic emotions and challenge her toxic self-talk to replace it with the truths of Christ (see BeChristLike grid in chapter 12 for assessment, and change process in chapter 15 of Clinton and Ohlschlager, 2002). However, it quickly became clear that these therapies alone, though helpful, would not be enough. She was still struggling with suicidal thinking and was upset she had not died in her first attempt. She needed the transforming touch of her Maker, a healing touch by her heavenly Father and parent-lover from on high (I believe that “inner healing”—however God is invited to come alive— is largely a loving reparenting work of his broken children by God the Father, working through the Holy Spirit, enabled by the shed blood of Christ, who atoned for all of our sins).

1I want to thank the Rev. David Stenner, at that time the pastor of the Fortuna Episcopal Church in Fortuna, California, for his loving care of me and my family, and for spiritual mentoring in my life in the ways of Christ during my years in Northern California.

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

Praying the Scriptures Within Cognitive/Behavioral/Systems Therapy 11

Transformative Spiritual Intervention Choosing Christ as the caring shepherd. In the intervention phase—fo- cusing initially on inner healing and reconciliation with God—I encouraged the client to choose a favorite Scripture, which we then prayed together as an invitation for God to show up and mightily perform his loving wonders. My client, though a confessing Christian, had not been in her Bible for a long time, and admitted to being very angry with God. While married, she had prayed fervently for God to change her husband and save her mar- riage—and in her judgment, he did not.

Most importantly, she wanted to return to God—she admitted her great need of him, as well as her great ambivalence about approaching him. At the core of her soul, she was convinced that God was extremely angry with her and loathed her as much as or more than she did herself. This was a terrible psychospiritual dilemma—a dilemma that she had consistently failed to re- solve in her own strength. She clearly needed God’s help to break the impasse, but was unable to get past her anger and hesitation toward God to do so.

Seeking consent, first and foremost. After about four or five sessions to- gether, and after our working alliance had developed some trust and strength, I asked if there was any part of the Scriptures that she remem- bered enjoying. Without hesitation she stated, “Oh, yes, I’ve always loved the Twenty-Third Psalm.”

“Ah, yes,” I responded, “the Shepherd’s Psalm.” “Yes, it’s probably my favorite verse in the whole Bible . . . at least the fa-

vorite one I can remember.” Her responsiveness emboldened me to stay on this path.

I then queried as gently and softly as I could, “What if we prayed that Psalm together, asking God to come alive in the verse and the imagery? Asking him—as it states in verse 3—to ‘restore your soul’ unto him?”

Her eyes flared in surprise, and her face squinted up in a big frown as she folded her arms across her chest and pulled herself away from me and back into the chair. She said nothing but her body language was clearly screaming,

“No way!” It was the first event that seriously threatened to rupture our ther- apeutic alliance.

I continued smiling at her and said nothing, letting the request take hold as I prayed silently to God for an opening. And it came within moments (which is somewhat unusual, as the process of gaining client commitment

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

12 Praying the Scriptures Within Cognitive/Behavioral/Systems Therapy

and consent for this procedure can often unfold over one or two sessions). Slowly she softened her posture and, after a couple minutes of increas-

ingly uneasy silence in which she realized how serious I was in seeking this spiritual path, she asked, “And if I want to quit at any time . . . What if I say ‘Stop!’ will you do so?”

“Absolutely!” I retorted. Then, in a paradoxical move, I decided to assert to her my complete commitment to her safety by going the second mile of protecting her boundaries. “In fact, if I sense anything amiss, I’ll ask you if everything is okay . . . and I may stop this myself whether or not you give me a clear signal.”

She smiled at this, visibly relaxed in her chair, and verbally and in her body language consented to go forward with me in an exercise that proved to be life-changing for both of us. We then talked for a few minutes about basic ground rules and what to do depending on various contingencies like fear or the presence of distressing images. We discussed how to see and hear spiritually by tuning into our “mind’s eye” and “inner ear”—training our inner, spiritual senses to become receptive to the voice and presence of God. At this point I made it clear to her that God is a living Person with a will of his own, that he is sovereign and cannot be directed or contained like some magical jack-in-the-box. We would not be doing “guided imagery” as such, but instead would invite and allow God to come alive in his way and time, according to the images contained in the Scripture.

Beginning prayer together. When she was ready, we both closed our eyes and she followed along as I began to pray out loud, yet intoning very softly the text of Psalm 23.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want . . . He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters . . .”

“Yes, I see him!” she exclaimed as she broke into and interrupted the rhythm of the moment. “He’s in a green field next to a quiet lake.”

“What is he doing?” I asked, aware that my face was starting to flush, and I felt a change in the spiritual-emotional climate in the room. I could only conclude at that moment that the Holy Spirit was very present and ushering us both into heavenly places. I was getting excited and did not want to miss or be tardy when God came alive in my consulting room.

“He is smiling at me,” she exclaimed in genuine surprise, “and he is holding out his hand to me, wanting me to come and take hold of him. Uh,

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

Praying the Scriptures Within Cognitive/Behavioral/Systems Therapy 13

oh . . . I can’t believe this . . .” Her voice trailed off to a whisper. She then sobbed a huge, grieving, exhaling sob, and surrendered herself to holy min- istrations that were no longer invisible to her. The moment was super- natural, affecting us both, and completely charged the room with a trans- forming electricity from on high.

“He restores my soul,” I continued, barely whispering, “and leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

“Oh, yes! Now he is very near to me . . . smiling at me . . . Wow! With eyes full of love for me . . .” She broke out again in huge sobs, and didn’t stop. She was looking upward, as if staring into his face with a combination of fear and surprise and rapture.

“O Lord,” she said, trembling in body and voice, and speaking toward the ceiling. “Are you sure you want to take hold of me? I’m so dirty . . . so un- worthy . . . so angry . . .” She was sobbing in great, heaving exhalations of breath and sin.

Unmerited love poured out. I must admit that, by then, I was crying as well—but mine were tears of joy and amazement at what I was seeing take place right in front of me. The God of all comfort was coming alive, pouring out his love and changing the life of this broken woman who had surely known much more rejection and pain than love and joy in her life.

“O Lord . . . thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!” she cried out. She was, by now, totally unaware of my presence, transported to a transforma- tional place beyond these earthly bounds. Heaven had broken into my office, and I was so close, so delighted and honored to be participating in this. The living God had surely broken into our mundane world at that moment, and time and space seemed to take on highly elastic properties. Although I had experienced his presence before in counseling, this was of a different order, of knowing the presence and power of God deeply, carried along at a level of supernatural awareness that I had never known before in my counseling work.

Soon she was wailing in grief and surprise and joy, and mumbling things I couldn’t quite understand. I continued to cry as well, overwhelmed by the rapture of the moment. The presence of God’s Spirit in the room was so palpable, so unmistakable, penetrating to the depths of our souls.

“Shall I go on?” I finally asked, not quite sure what to do next and praying that God be in complete control.

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

14 Praying the Scriptures Within Cognitive/Behavioral/Systems Therapy

“Yes, yes, please,” she insisted. “There is so much more to do . . .” she trailed off, as if listening to another voice. This transformation—from frightened, faithless, angry and resistant to being open, receptive and hungry for more—was miraculous enough. What amazed me so was that a lifetime of rejection, abuse, lies and misbelief were melting away in the space of just one incredible session.

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

“Oh, Lord, that was you with me when I was dying on my bed, wasn’t it? You were there with me even when I was killing myself!” She was com- pletely incredulous. Her head was tilted upward and her tear-streaked face was contorted in a look of surprise and wonder. It was clear that she was stunned by the love of God being poured out onto her—love beyond measure instead of the condemnation and abandonment that she had so long predicted and expected. She was fully exposed to and embraced by the God of love, and for the first time in a very long time, she was humbled and receptive to it.

Heaven comes alive in the consulting room. Again, she was no longer talking to me, but conversing directly with God. And he was fully present with her, surrounding her completely with his healing and transforming love. As she told me later, God held her in an experiential embrace that was so loving and intimate. He held her in his arms and told her that he was there—that he never had left her in the past nor would he ever leave her in the future. He took her to a place of complete and utter brokenness—and was showering her with a love that gave no place for denial or resistance.

She broke out into huge sobs once again and believed in this deep trans- forming and healing love for the first time in her life. She later described the experience as one of “being born again again.” She began to thank God for saving her life, for rescuing her from her suicidal delusion and for being present with her in life-changing love at that moment.

Love facilitating forgiveness. She cried out for forgiveness, so aware in his presence of how sinful she was. And instead of condemnation and judgment, she described how God blessed her with forgiveness and held her all the more tightly in his loving arms. She was being cleansed in the midst of her sin and brokenness, but instead of feeling hopeless and sui- cidal, she was feeling her God surrounding her with his love like never

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

Praying the Scriptures Within Cognitive/Behavioral/Systems Therapy 15

before. When our time was done, she was still caught up in this amazing encounter with God, so she spent the next hour in our quiet client room before she went home. I had a permanent grin that propelled me through the last session of the day. I drove home in wonder and amazement at how powerfully God had shown up, and at the impact he had had on both of our lives.

Lessons learned as a therapist and ethicist. God’s appearance in this session was so powerful and unmistakable, tangible like never before or after this session. I have long concluded that the client was likely at great risk to attempt suicide again, and I believe that God became so power- fully alive because that suicidal risk was so powerful. Great risk seems to engender great responsiveness and a powerful presence of our ever- loving God.

In all this work, the sovereignty of God was so evident in the way he always appeared according to the need of the client at that moment, for even though I sought and hoped for God to show up again as he did then, it never again happened at that level of depth. God seems to consistently match his level of appearance to the need of the moment—it always hap- pened in a way to meet client need at a special turning point in their lives. Clients who connected deeply with God, who received his loving-kindness so overwhelmingly, were often changed forever as the Holy Spirit came alive and rendered deep transformative change. Surprisingly, client needs seems to be more relevant than client faith, for God shows up even when they expect the worst from God or nothing at all.

As a clinical ethicist, I have heard that it was inappropriate for therapists to love their clients deeply, especially if that love was prone to be experi- enced erotically. God, however, made it clear to me that his agape love is the most powerful healing force in the universe—how could I refuse to transfer that love toward clients, especially when consent was given? Though secular powers would dismiss and delegitimize even that kind of love, if the client consents to it and the therapist is open to it, God then delights in delivering it to anyone in need. There truly is no legitimate law against that kind of healing love. Understanding and participating in this kind of love—the love of God for all those who would receive it—fundamentally altered the way I practiced psychotherapy from that day until I retired from full-time clinical and mediation practice in 1999.

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

16 Praying the Scriptures Within Cognitive/Behavioral/Systems Therapy

Keys to Beginning the Process Since the early “common factors” and meta-analytic research at the time was revealing client factors as one of the most significant influences in therapy outcomes (Lambert, 1986; Wampold, 2001), and since the level of client resistance often determined whether or not they were even slightly open to godly intervention, early on I decided to let clients determine the best route to connecting to God via client-chosen biblical imagery. I ap- plied a three-phased step-down process that was linked to the degree of openness (or not) of the client to such intervention:

1. When clients were most open to God, we both yielded to the Holy Spirit, asking for and believing by faith that God the Holy Spirit would implant in us the needed imagery or word from the Scriptures that he wanted the client to know at that moment in his or her life. While some inner healing practices insisted on one particular way as the only truly Christian intervention, I found that the degree of client openness versus resistance by the client best determined whether or not this approach was doable.

2. When clients were cut-off from God but had some history with him and the Bible, I would ask them to scan their memories for a favorite verse or image of Jesus that they remembered fondly. I then would use that, as in the case above, as the organizing image or verse for recon- nection with the God who was ready to do miraculous interior work.

3. When clients were cut-off from God and had no or a limited Christian history, but when they were open to godly intervention and gave consent for it, I would often suggest a simple metaphor that was strong on client safety and imagery from the Scriptures—such as Psalm 23; Jeremiah 29:11-14; Matthew 11:28-30; or Colossians 3:12-17.

Cognitive/Behavioral/Relational Therapy After this life-changing session, my work with this client concentrated on forgiveness and mind change via cognitive behavioral therapy. She reported in a subsequent session—and counseling with her was so easy and fruitful from that session forward—that God had made possible by his trans- forming presence what was utterly impossible for her to do in her own strength. She realized then that the Christian life—that sanctification and

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

Praying the Scriptures Within Cognitive/Behavioral/Systems Therapy 17

maturity—was something that only God and not she herself could produce. This revelation was life changing as it freed her from the chronic failure that is built into a performance-based Christian life.

Throwing off a crushing load via forgiveness. Over the next several ses- sions God enabled her to forgive her ex-husband and her abusive family, and to set her free of the poisonous legacy that her history had forged upon her. God transported her Bible focus onto Matthew 11, guiding her into throwing off the crushing poison of anger and fear, and entering the rest that God promises to all those who come honestly unto him. She willingly

“put on the yoke of Christ” and learned how light and freeing such yoke was—a yoke of truth-being-accepted-in-love. She admitted, without any prodding, how light and easy was the yoke of Christ compared to carrying the yoke of sin and death for so long.

Doing spiritual cognitive behavioral therapy. For the next three months of mostly weekly sessions, we worked in a Christian spiritual mode of cognitive behavioral therapy. She quickly learned how to identify and refute the lies she believed and to replace with God’s truth the many lies she had come to believe in her years of darkness (see Thurman, 1991; Tan, 2011, and chapter in this book; Vernick, 2000, and chapter in this book). For example, connected to the work above, she renounced the lie that a godly yoke was heavy and restricting— lies that the enemy and the world had reinforced for a good portion of her life.

Truth, a transformed mind and new emotions. God also freed her of the automatic habituation to self-hatred and self-loathing that had dominated her thinking and emotional life. There were four lies embedded in her mind that were most tenacious and treacherous for her:

• “You are junk, and your life is not worth living or saving.”

• “God is angry with you, and does not care whether you live or die.”

• “Family and friends have abandoned you, and you are all alone.”

• “There is no hope—you might as well die and be done with it.”

The strength and toxicity of these lies were revealed in her suicide attempt— actions that nearly killed her. However, when taken out of the darkness and analyzed in the light of God’s truth, it made sense to her why she was driven to the brink of death. The cognitive triad of depression—worthless, helpless and hopeless judgments that are applied to oneself and to God—also became evident as we noted these lies and discovered how often she ruminated and

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

18 Praying the Scriptures Within Cognitive/Behavioral/Systems Therapy

dwelt upon them. It quickly became clear to her how much of her thought and affective life was dominated by these lies and their many variants.

Successfully battling the enemy. We then recalled the story of Jesus in the wilderness, being tempted by the devil, and used that story as a pow- erful model for counteraction in her own life. For each lie, we developed a resounding scriptural truth that she would pronounce openly and against the lies of the enemy when they came upon her. She recounted Psalm 23 and our time with God in this session whenever the enemy lied about God and asserted that God had not truly “restored her soul” and did not love her with his great and life-changing love.

Moreover, when the enemy attempted to show how hopeless she was, she would shoot back with a personalized form of Romans 15:13—“Now may the God of hope fill me with all joy and peace in believing, that I may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (nkjv). And when the enemy at- tempted to discourage her by reminding her how alone and lonely she was, she recalled how God had moved her to forgive her family and how recon- ciliation with some family members had already begun.

Mind you, it was not that she didn’t have occasional trouble with those toxic thoughts after this life-changing session, but it was the session and its powerful fruit that she often called to mind—and often verbalized out loud—whenever she became aware that her old dead tapes were starting to play that poison all over again. She also learned to use the deadly thoughts of the enemy as a cue to stop what she was doing and remind herself of God’s goodness and revival in her heart. These were powerful processes that strengthened in her what God had done and defeated the enemy whenever he attempted to ensnare her all over again (and the enemy often works overtime to reensnare a Christian who has been set free to live in God’s abundant ways).

Aftercare Phase The aftercare phase concentrated not on long-term counseling, but on anchoring her in the two spiritual disciplines that are usually at the core of most discipline work with revived Christians—prayer and Bible study. All the other disciplines tend to rest upon these two legs for evangelical believers—anchoring and strengthening prayer and Bible study allows one to pursue and live maturely in any other discipline one might choose to learn and use in one’s life.

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

Praying the Scriptures Within Cognitive/Behavioral/Systems Therapy 19

In her case, she combined prayer and the Bible by relearning the valued role of lectio divina, or listening to God and praying the Scriptures as a pathway to Christian peace and maturity. She left the Catholic church when she became a Christian as a young adult, but decided to rejoin a charismatic Catholic church in our community after our work together. She also became deeply involved with a group using lectio divina, and with the Cursillo community in Hum- boldt County. Cursillo was a unique ecumenical and renewal community that held a nearly equal number of Protestants and Catholics, many of whom expe- rienced Cursillo as a reawakened spiritual event in their lives.

Lectio divina is an ancient art of combining silence with contemplative prayer, practiced at one time by all Christians. As a person focuses and slowly prays the Scriptures, God enables his Word to become a means of union with him. This practice has been kept alive over the centuries in the Catholic monastic tradition and is one of the precious treasures of Bene- dictine monastics and oblates. Among the Benedictines, liturgy was tied to daily labor, and time was set aside for lectio divina to discover in daily life an underlying spiritual rhythm. Within this rhythm, contemplatives dis- cover an increasing ability to offer more of themselves and their relation- ships to God the Father, and to accept the embrace that God is continuously extending to us through the person of Jesus Christ.

When we read the Scriptures we learn to be able to listen for the still, small voice of God (1 Kgs 19:12; Ps 46:10)—which is God’s voice touching our hearts. This quiet listening, or “atunement” to the presence of God in the Scriptures, becomes the seed of an ever-strengthening relationship. In lectio divina we learn to heed the command to listen and turn to the Scrip- tures, knowing that we must “hear” the softly speaking voice of God. In order to hear God, to really know his presence experientially, we must learn to love silence and become adept at quieting the mind. The practice of lectio divina, then, requires that we first quiet down in order to hear God’s word to us. Listening in silence is a reverential listening in a spirit of both hu- mility and awe (see Dysinger, 1990).

Conclusion There is nothing quite like surrendering to the living God and allowing him to use you to bring life and love to another. To become a participant, a cocreator of new life in the heart of a seeking person, is one of the great privileges of the

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

20 Praying the Scriptures Within Cognitive/Behavioral/Systems Therapy

Christian life, of Christian counseling in particular. Tim Clinton and Pat Springle (2012) reveal the truth of the gospel in their new book, Breakthrough:

“The human heart longs for attachment, and that’s what God offers in the gospel of Christ. The message is simple: We are wonderfully made, tragically fallen, deeply loved, completely forgiven, and warmly accepted in Christ.”

Therefore, professional Christian counselors should refute the lie that any spiritual practices—that inviting God in Christ to show up and bring miraculous change in psychotherapy—is illegitimate and to be avoided. Al- though some secularists would assert that any and all such spiritual prac- tices are not proper for mental health professionals, this assertion fails to respect both the cardinal clinical doctrine of client self-determination and the religious liberties that are part of our constitutional rights as citizens of the United States (see appendix chapter by this author).

Competent adult clients and their therapist are free to invite God into and define legitimate spiritual goals in professional clinical relationships— and to do so without any interference by the state. Moreover, when the empirical foundations of Christian counseling are becoming so well estab- lished (Hook et al., 2010; Worthington et al., 2009), it is absurd to believe or argue that God has no right to participate in the process.

God is truly a love force to be reckoned with, and when needy clients are brought face-to-face with the God of the Bible, healing and change can and do happen in both mundane and miraculous ways. I am all for letting God be God, without the state interfering in any way in these holy relations.

References and Recommended Resources Clinton, T. E., & Ohlschlager, G. (2002). Competent Christian counseling: Founda-

tions and practice of compassionate soul care. Colorado Springs: WaterBrook. Clinton, T. E., & Springle, P. (2012). Breakthrough: When to give in, how to push back.

Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing. Fr. Luke Dysinger, O.S.B., (1990). Accepting the embrace of God: The ancient art of

LECTIO DIVINA. Valyermo Benedictine, 1(1). Flynn, M., & Gregg, D. (1993). Inner healing. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. Hook, J. N., Worthington, E. L., Jr., Davis, D. E., Jennings, D. J., Jr., Gartur, A. L., and

Hook, J. P. (2010). Empirically supported religious and spiritual therapies. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 66(1), 46-72.

Karls, J. M., & O’Keefe, M. (2008). Person-in-environment system manual (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: NASW Press.

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

Praying the Scriptures Within Cognitive/Behavioral/Systems Therapy 21

Lambert, M. J. (1986). Implications of psychotherapy outcomes research for eclectic psychotherapy. In J. C. Norcross (Ed.), Handbook of eclectic psychotherapy. New York: Brunner/Mazel.

Lazarus, A. (1981). The practice of multi-modal therapy. New York: Springer. Pargament, K., & Krumrei, E. (2009). Clinical assessment of client’s spirituality.

In J. Aten & M. Leach (Eds.), Spirituality and the therapeutic process: A com- prehensive resource from intake to termination. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Payne, L. (1991). Restoring the Christian soul: Overcoming barriers to completion in Christ through healing prayer. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

Seamands, D. A. (1985). Healing of memories. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. (Repub- lished as Redeeming the Past. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 2002).

Smith, E. (2002/2005). Healing life’s hurts through theophostic prayer. Campbellsville, KY: New Creation.

Tan, S.-Y. (1992). The Holy Spirit and counseling ministries. Christian Journal of Psychology and Counseling, 7(3), 8-11.

Tan, S.-Y. (2007). The use of prayer and scripture in cognitive behavioral therapy. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 26(2), 101-11.

Tan, S.-Y. (2011). Counseling and psychotherapy: A Christian perspective. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

Thurman, C. (1991). The lies we believe. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. Vernick, L. (2000). The truth principle: A life changing model for spiritual growth and

renewal. Colorado Springs: WaterBrook. Wampold, B. E. (2001). The great psychotherapy debate: Models, methods, and

findings. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Worthington, E. L., Jr., Hook, J. N., Davis, D., & Ripley, J. S. (2009). Empirically

supported Christian treatments for counseling. Christian Counseling Today, 16(3), 35-36.

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

About the Author

George Ohlschlager, MA, MSW, JD serves as senior editor of Hope Notes and all other publications for the Center for Counseling and Health Resources (A Place of Hope). He is executive consultant to the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC), and is also a clinical and forensic consultant with Spiritual Interventions, Inc., serving churches and Christian counseling worldwide. He is chairman of the AACC Law & Ethics Committee, and drafted and helped revise the AACC Christian Counseling Code of Ethics.

From 2003 to 2008, George was senior editor and writer of Christian Counseling Today, AACC’s flagship publication, and was cofounder and executive director of the International Board of Christian Counselors, the AACC-affiliated creden- tialing agency, from which he is credentialed as a Board Certified Christian Counselor. He was the cofounder, supervising clinician and mediator at the Redwood Family Institute in Northern California. He also teaches in the graduate counseling program at St. Petersburg Theological Seminary in Florida and the DMin program in Marriage and Family Therapy at Denver Seminary, and he consults with Liberty University in the conception/construction of a new School of Social Work. This is his tenth book as author, coauthor or editor. He has written and published over 330 articles, chapters, columns, codes, editorials, reviews, re- ports, monographs and legal briefs, and has made over 100 conference, seminar and webinar presentations in his many fields of interest.

George earned a BA in Psychology and Religious Studies with honors from Humboldt State University in California, an MA with high honors in Coun- seling Psychology and Biblical and Theological Studies from Trinity Evan- gelical Divinity School, an MSW and JD in Social Work and Law at the Uni- versity of Iowa, and is now completing an interdisciplinary PhD in Counseling Psychology and Spiritual Formation at the International University for Graduate Studies (West Indies). He now serves worldwide as a writer, editor, and practice and ethics consultant, and can be contacted at [email protected].

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

About the Editors

DAVID W. APPLEBY (PhD, University of Del- aware; PhD, University of Northern Colorado) is a minister, counselor and trainer working in the over- lapping fields of family counseling, psychology and deliverance ministry. He is the founder and pres- ident of Spiritual Interventions Inc., a nonprofit or- ganization that promotes spiritual interventions in Christian counseling practice. He also teaches courses in psychology and professional and pastoral counseling at the Center for Counseling and Family Studies at Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia.

GEORGE OHLSCHLAGER (JD, MSW, University of Iowa) is a psychotherapist, ethicist and writer. He is a certified Christian counselor with the Interna- tional Board of Christian Counselors and a certified professional Christian counselor and Christian me- diator with the American Association of Christian Counselors. Among Ohlschlager’s many books and publications are Caring for People God’s Way (co- edited with Timothy Clinton and Archibald D. Hart, 2009) and Competent Christian Counseling, Volume One (coauthored with Timothy Clinton, 2002).

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

Transformative Encounters

What would it mean for Christian counseling and pastoral care to take seriously the idea that God intervenes in the world? What would it look like for therapists and pastors to see themselves as opening the door to a miraculous divine en- counter? How would counseling change if the in-

tervention of God was not merely a theoretical idea but a lived experience? Building on Gary Collins’s classic work, The Rebuilding of Psychology, the

essays in this volume explore what a God-centered model of Christian coun- seling or pastoral care would look like. The contributors share the conviction that God is able to bring about lasting psycho-spiritual change here and now.

Some of the topics discussed in the book include:

• Inner healing • Prayer ministry • Deliverance • Christian holism • Contemplative prayer • Cognitive-behavioral therapy • Emotion-focused therapy • Group therapy • Forgiveness • Visualization and EMDR • Addiction • Life coaching

This book seeks to encourage and aid counselors, pastors, church staff, clinical practitioners, academics and students in developing this kind of God- encountering, Christ-centered ministry of miraculous change.

For a list of IVP email newsletters, including information about our latest ebook releases, please visit

www.ivpress.com/eu1.

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .

http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=9550

http://www.ivpress.com/newsletters/%3Febooks%3D1%26source%3Debook

http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=9550

Finding the Textbook You Need

The IVP Academic Textbook Selector

is an online tool for instantly finding the IVP books

suitable for over 250 courses across 24 disciplines .

www.ivpress.com/academic/

C op

yr ig

ht ©

2 01

3. In

te rV

ar si

ty P

re ss

. A ll

rig ht

s re

se rv

ed .