Christian Spirituality differs from religion or theology. It is specific to Christian and
their personal relationship with Jesus Christ. A person one on one intimate
relationship with Jesus that influences their everyday morals, values, and actions
is what defines their Christian Spirituality. Garzon points out the quantitative
percentages for People in America claiming to believe or not believe in God and
how they identify their spirituality. He then gives statistics of mental-health
professionals who noticeably differ in their views from those previously polled.
According to the Gallup polls he uses, Garzon expounds on the need for further
research of the differences in the spirituality of secular and Christian counseling. a
While spiritual health in a Christian is understood to be focused on a person’s
relationship with Christ; the contrast to secular spirituality consists of not having a
personal relationship with Jesus but being at peace and meditation of the mind to
find the same comforts a Chrisitan does in their personal relationship with Christ. a
Secular therapists can help Christian clients with their spirituality. Finding
interdisciplinary common ground(s) (Repko and Szostak 2021, 270) through
techniques of transformation, redefinition, extension, and organization, a secular
counselor brings the commonality of both lifestyle convictions and
encouragement from the Bible into psychotherapy. The same can be said vice
versa. The plausibility is there, but it would require the secular counselor to be
completely unbiased to their own way of thinking and open to their client’s way of
living. This will be extremely hard for any counselor, but it is possible. a Could this
be effective? Yes. But I challenge the question of who it could be effective for?
While a secular counselor is guiding a Chrisitan in opening into their spirituality,
this client will report back and enlighten the counselor on how they are achieving
this goal. Regardless of the counselors’ personal beliefs, they will want the
counselee to share their own struggles and achievements. In doing so, a Christian
counselee will share their personal relationship with Jesus and unknowingly
perhaps, fulfill the great commission of spreading God’s Word. Is this effective for
the counselee? Absolutely. Is this effective for the secular counselor? According
to the Biblical account, it is already a part of the Divine design. Regardless of if
the secular counselor accepts this effectiveness, the mustard seed has been
planted within them. Even if they continue down a secular path in life, the
knowledge they have learned from them (a secular counselor) counseling a
Christian counselee has given insight into their practice on methods and theories
they will use in future sessions. In any outcome, the answer will be yes to
effectiveness. a
The limitations of a secular counselor and a Chrisitan counselees relationship
should always maintain professionalism. In Christian counseling, the Pastoral
Counselor is usually more than just a counselor, they are a friend and mentor of
their church. In secular counseling, there is a distinct line drawn in professional
and social relationships. That line is rarely crossed and often looked down upon if
it is. In the more commonly uncharted territories of a secular counselor and
Christian counselee, the relationship between the two and where the line is drawn
must be decided mutually but always remain professional.
References
Garzon, Fernando L. "Spirituality in Counseling." Faculty Publications and
Presentations, 2011: 62.
Repko, Allen F., and Rick Szostak. Interdisciplinary Research: Process and Theory.
4th. Canada: SAGE Publications, 2021.
Watts, Richard E. "Biblically-based Chrisitan Spirituality and Adlerian Therapy."
Journal of Individual Psychology, 2000.
