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. (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. (
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. (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. (
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.
