4-MAT review for Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling
Summary
Summary
The following article will make a review of the book Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling by the famous author Mark McMinn. McMinn had begun by focusing on a base for a Christian global view which is based on the counseling (McMinn, 2011, p.9). By analyzing this basic frontier, McMinn has been able to discuss various foundational ideas and religious interference which is directly interrelated and as well as other challenges which are faced by religious counselors around the globe. They are not only biblical and theological foundations in nature but also important to effective and efficient inter-disciplinary idea which may be interlinked, but they also plays a very important role as to how well the ideas have been integrated.
McMinn also focuses on the various theological and religious themes which are related to various intra and inter-disciplinary integrated ideas. According to McMinn, the things which are essential to psychological and spiritual health have been prayer and spiritual discipline. McMinn also highlighted that many individuals have not been sufficiently trained and lack technical knowledge in theology and they don’t even possess the requisite related to spiritual and moral discipline which is needed to efficiently integrate prayer into therapy. Also through prayer, there is also use of scripture in the mode of counseling. Scripture tends to be a tool which may well be misused during counseling. The idea which is pivotal to any counselor during this crucial strategy is the theory chosen and implemented. The theory chosen must be according to what the scripture is able to teach. It should be examined whether techniques and ideas which have been employed have been directly found in scripture. (McMinn, 2011)
Main Idea
It is interesting to note that McMinn has been able to proceed with some important issues which have been able to affect the various individuals in a spiritual and also in a psychological manner. Various human behaviors and acts such as confession, sin, forgiveness, and redemption have been highlighted by McMinn. For example, since the advent of humankind, sin has been ever-present in various human acts and it should be noted that the necessary part of human counseling has been to confront sin which is present in the life of an individual. Confession has been a crucial part of handling sinister acts and the first step to the road to redemption is confession. (McMinn, 2011) Forgiveness is a crucial mode which highlights that this is how God has offered humans to pave way for their sinful acts. The concept of forgiveness has not been to excuse the sinister actions of others but to encourage a position of moral and ethical superiority. Finally, redemption has been described as “an act which is directly related to acts of confession and forgiveness (p. 301). Humans have to overcome through their pain and harms on their way to the path of redemption. There may never be any shortcut to healing and self-realization, but through redemption, one is able to confront sinister acts and be able to find God through this painstaking but an eventually serene journey (McMinn, 2011).
Concrete Response
Reflection
This book proves to be extremely helpful and beneficial in being able to guide and help potential and future Christian counselors who are able to successfully implement intra and inter-disciplinary integration. One of the highlights of this book was the direct references of authors who have promoted the concept of contemplative and ethical spirituality. Spirituality may appear to elevate subjective and qualitative feelings and experiences through the word of God. It also derives from the practice of religion and encourages individuals to focus heavily to have a greater experience of nature. One may able to claim that this crucial argument may be able to commit the human fallacy but they are also derived from sources which are outside scripture which should never ever be encouraged. The book is of great help for knowing the Christian consolers.
The negative point about this book was the core emphasis on theological foundations and the procedure to interpret Scripture and depicting the importance to prove that spiritual discipline has to be the single most important piece of advice which one could ever experience in life. Another positive aspect of this book is how it portrayed our relationship with God and also proved it is just as important as the time we spend with our relatives and family (Mcminn, 2011). The time which we are able to spend or imagine spending with God will may not only help to draw us closer to him, but will also allow us to deal with various spiritual112 and psychological issues we have to face in life
Action
According to my viewpoint, this book has been able to have a crucial impact on my personal life guides how I would be able to deal with clients and how I would be able to deal with core issues of life. For us, it is very easy to advise and recommend what we want to do, but is not always easy to practice this. We need spend time which is devoted and solely dedicated towards God and we should be spending time by communicating with him during regular times of prayer. They are also related to these issues which are ethical and moral dilemmas. The book has been able to successfully offer several models and methods for integrating and incorporating prayers in life but along with each and every model or method there is a sustained risk of mishandling by individuals who may not be properly trained. Followers of religion need to be trained and organized according to the guidelines of religion. As an individual, a deep study was required and I need to have a deep and intensive study of my religion and have to effectively analyze and follow the core guidelines of my religion on a regular basis.
References
McMinn, M (2011) Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling Tyndale House Publishers, 1996
