Running head: FUNDAMENTALS IN CHRISTIAN COUNSELING
Fundamentals in Christian Counseling and The Challenges We Face:
A McMinn Review
Bryni Tiggs
Liberty University
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FUNDAMENTALS IN CHRISTIAN COUNSELING
Fundamentals in Christian Counseling and The Challenges We Face:
A McMinn Review
Client History
Star Davis is the twenty-one-year-old break-out star in the new hit television series, Star.
I chose Star as my “client” for this project because she has dealt with so much in so little time as
a young woman. In trying to grow from her past, learn from the mistakes of her parents, and
build something stable for her sister and herself, Star keeps getting knocked down. Although Star
does not seek out professional help in the television series, I believe that her character is getting
to the point where professional help could be beneficial to her professional and personal health.
Star grew up in a poverty stricken, single-parent household with her mother and little
sister, Simone. Star’s mom knew that Star was destined for greatness. She actually named her
daughter Star as a reminder to Star to continue to strive for greatness and reach higher heights
than he mother ever could. Star’s mother was a member of a girl group that was starting to gain
clout when she overdosed on heroine. Star was just eleven years old when she found her
mother’s body.
After their mother’s untimely and unfortunate death, Star and Simone ended up in the
foster care system. Star bounced around from house to house. She suffered physical, mental and
sexual abuse while in these homes. When Star was sixteen, she spent about a year in a juvenile
detention center for defending herself against one of her foster parents who was trying to molest
her. Because of Star’s sketchy past of running away, shoplifting and frequent fighting, the judge
took her foster parent’s words over hers.
After being released from the Juvenile Detention Facility, Star found out that her mother
has made the other member of her girl group, Carlotta, her and Simone’s God mother through her
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social worker. Star decided to go get her sister, find Carlotta and stay with her so that she could
stay with and protect her sister. Star’s sister Simone suffered even more abuse than Star while in
the foster care system.
Once Star and her sister were finally together, Star caught the attention of a famous
singer’s daughter while singing a cover on Instagram. Alexandra Crane, the famous singer’s
daughter was also very talented and was looking for a way to get out of her father’s shadow.
Alexander flew to Chicago, where Star was staying with Carlotta, and the three girls started their
own girl group. After going viral on the internet, and getting their first single on the radio, the
girls knew that this girl group was bigger than them and that they were headed for stardom. But,
with girl groups comes drama. Star and her sister fell apart after a series of events and the stress
of fame got to them. This really hurt Star because all of her life she lived to protect her sister. It
was always her and her sister against the world.
As Star’s career continued to flourish, and unexpected family member decides they want
in on her success, her father. Star knew her father when she was younger, but he was never really
around. She would see him doing drugs with her mother, but he never really spent time with Star.
Of course, it was hard for Star to let her father back in her life. She could not tell if he was there
because he finally wanted to get to know her or if he was there because he wanted something
from her. After just a few short months of being back in Star’s life, her father was found dead in
a bathtub.
Star is a very promiscuous young woman. She prides herself on being in control of her
own body and her own destiny. On the way to stardom, Star found herself in an unfortunate
situation. She was pregnant. With Star’s new-found fame, her estranged relationship with her
sister, the loss of her father, and this new life growing inside of her, Star finds herself confused
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on what her next steps should be. In reevaluating her life and choices, Star decided it was time to
seek out help from a professional.
Although Star is hesitant about the counseling process, she will do whatever it takes to
rebuild the relationship with her sister and make sure that her unborn child has the “family” she
never had. It may be difficult, but in building rapport with Star, I would focus on building the
therapeutic alliance. I would make sure that the environment always feels safe and inviting. I
would show her that I am not looking down on her for any of her decisions and that I am in her
corner as an advocate for her and her wellbeing.
Presenting Problems
This section addresses the following questions:
Reflection
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the McMinn (2011) text. It made me evaluate my values as
a Christian counselor and consider how those values should shape the counseling process and
therapeutic alliances I establish with my clients. I appreciated how McMinn revisited the text and
made changes based on his new experience and the interactions of others with the text. This was
certainly a strength for me as the reader could see that McMinn is human and working through
what it means to be a Christian counselor just as we are. This made the concepts more relatable
to me. There were however two concepts that I found difficult to grasp while reading this text
and therefore became weaknesses for me.
The first concept that was difficult for me to grasp was how McMinn (2011) approached
ethical dilemmas. Ethical dilemmas will definitely arise throughout my time as a Christian
counselor, but I am still not certain on how I should handle them. The approach taken in the book
seems to be that it is beneficial to break the rules sometimes. McMinn (2011) stated “some risk,
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for the sake of redemption is wise. Excessive risk without carefully considering our personal
vulnerabilities and the ethical implications of our actions can harm those we are claiming to
help” (p. 4944). How does a counselor determine when a risk is worth it? If a counselor does
determine that a risk is worth it but still crosses ethical boundaries, are they then subject to the
consequences of the unethical actions? I wish McMinn would have touched a little more on these
consequences and how they can affect the counseling process, therapeutic alliances work related
relationships, and the counselor’s professional future.
The second concept that I had a hard time with was when McMinn (2011) discussed
finding proof in Scripture. “It is tempting to go to Scripture to find ‘proof’ for an idea that we
already have rather than form our ideas based on a solid and wise understanding of Scripture”
(McMinn, 2011, p. 2350). In this class and previous classes I have taken in this degree program,
we have discussed the interpretation of Scripture. Many of us are raised on skewed
interpretations of Scripture. If that is all we know, how do we transform our views of Scripture?
If we were raised to believe one thing and then find a Scripture that proves that thing to be true,
is that not still based on interpretation? I believe that this is an area that I need to work on more
for myself. I want to understand Scripture from an unbiased point of view so that I am able to use
it in a way that is not bending it to fit my beliefs but instead basing my beliefs off the Scriptures.
I believe it would have been helpful for McMinn to expand on this a little more.
Action
The McMinn (2011) text will serve as a guide for me in implementing spiritual
interventions with my clients. By outlining the potential challenges that I will face as a Christian
counselor, explaining the need for spiritual interventions, and connecting spiritual themes to the
counseling process, I now have a better understanding of how I should go about integrating
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psychology, theology and spiritual formation. In conjunction with this, I have identified four
steps that I will take and apply to the counseling process.
The first is to work on my own spiritual growth. There is no way I can be a light to others
and allow Christ to work through me if I do not have a solid relationship with Him. I understand
that this is something I will have to prioritize and work on in my own time. As McMinn (2011)
stated “spiritual training is experiential and often private. It is rarely found in the classroom or
represented by graduate degrees, but it is found in private hours of prayer and devotional
reflection…” (p. 336). The second step would be to come up with an informed consent form that
explains my religious views and how spiritual interventions may play a role in the counseling
process throughout our time together. McMinn (2011) explained that since our religious values
shape the way we counsel our clients it is imperative to inform our clients of these values. The
third step would be to start praying for my clients on a daily basis. Even though not all of my
clients may be comfortable with the explicit use of prayer during our time together, I can still
cover them in prayer daily. As McMinn (2011) mentioned, the question should not be if we
should pray for our clients but how best to pray for our clients. The fourth step would be finding
ways to integrate the use of Scripture when explicit use may not be helpful for the client. “God
cannot be known apart from Scripture, and Scripture cannot be properly understood without
knowing God” (McMinn, 2011, p. 1985) therefore, Scripture is an essential part of the Christian
counseling process. Again, as with prayer, it is not about if we should be using Scripture but how
to use Scripture in a way the benefits the client.
I believe that in following these four steps, I will be able to successfully integrate
psychology, theology and spiritual formation in the counseling process. My hope is that, through
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Christ, I am able to touch and transform the lives of my clients. I pray that God continue to
transform me so that I may do His works and glorify His kingdom.
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