Monday, October 21, 2013

A Case for Brief Pastoral Counseling 1

I've been summarizing a few chapters from a book called Strategies for Brief Pastoral Counseling. Although clearly the author, Howard Stone, is fighting a battle I don't know, much of what he says fits my intuitions across the board about the penchant of many Christian personalities to want to determine "who you are" before they address "what you do." The result is often narcissistic navel gazing of which I did a plenty in college. This is one personality preference, but not the only one.

The prevailing model of counseling in the United States for a century has been long term counseling. Especially in the model inspired by Freud, the goal was to dig down deep into a person's head and find the underlying causes of problems. The idea was that a person may not even be aware of the real reasons for their current struggles and that if you cannot get at the root, you are just treating the symptoms rather than the real causes. Any solution would at best be short term. You may have heard the stereotypical question, "Now tell me about your mother."

Research does not bear out this approach. Howard Stone, the editor and primary voice behind this book, argues strongly for brief rather than long-term counseling.  Research shows that long-term, get at the root models are no more effective than shorter, get moving models.

"In actual practice, the extensive exploration of a person’s history and the discovery of a problem’s sources generally are not prerequisites for effective and lasting change" (7). Stone is not arguing that a counselor should ignore or gloss over history. Rather, he is claiming that remarkable progress can be made with little or no focus on underlying causes. Indeed, even if one knows the underlying causes of a problem, it is in no way a guarantee that a person will make any progress in solving it.

The task of the counselor is not to make a person perfect but to get them moving in the right direction. Most people resolve their problems by themselves without intervention. The goal is not to change the personality of the counseled or to resolve even most of people’s problems. “Brief pastoral counseling has a considerably more modest goal: to get people moving in a positive direction of their own choosing and then get out of the way” (16).
_________________
"Motion brings emotion."  Theory is an abstraction from doing, and it is only one personality that wants to complete the whole abstraction before actually doing anything. That is a legitimate personality (and one that often dominates academics and theology), but it often assumes it is the only valid approach. Treatment can begin before the diagnosis is completed--because when it comes to the human psyche, the diagnosis may never be completed.

The "theory, then practice" approach tends to dominate academics, but we can raise some theoretical questions about it. Ideas do not exist apart from the world of which they are abstractions (Plato was a moron). The purpose of ideas is to help us manipulate the real world. The larger the ideological system, the greater the skew of the real world. (By the way, the Bible is a collection of local ideas--the grander the theological system of reading the Bible, the less of the real Bible it actually is)

A more effective pedagogical (as well as theoretical) model is to present a critical mass of ideas in order to begin to engage the real world. Then return to ideas and refine. Then return to the real world. For most people this cycle of "running the car, looking at the engine, then running the car again" will be the most effective style of pedagogy... or counseling.

11 comments:

Susan Moore said...

Amen! (Except to remember that the goal isn't to run the car, it's to drive the car.)
I could talk for hours about this subject based on my 38 history of mental illness, plus all the garbage that happened to me as a child, plus being a mental health R.N. working in poverty stricken inner-city environments for close to 20 years.
And you know what is the most important thing I learned and will ever learn? Grace prevails: Jesus heals!!
But Almighty God has simplified it for us. Everything a 'counselor' needs to know about the human condition is in the first 3 books of Genesis. Those books also reveal God's loving mercy and grace. So, to a perspective counselor I would advise: be saved by grace through faith, be a repentant Spirit-filled person who prays without ceasing, study Genesis chpts 1-3 and the gospel of your choice -know them in your heart- and you are ready to reasonably counsel anyone, and better than 95% of the Christian counselors out there, I'm estimating.
There is a difference between Christian Counselors and Pastoral Counselors, at least in my mind. My understanding is that anyone who desires to call oneself a Christian, and is licensed as a counselor of some sort, can hang a sign saying they are a Christian Counselor. This is problematic. There is no bar set for how much one counsels based on Biblical principles, or even if one has ever read the Bible. A pastor/priest is typically ordained or at least licensed, and has a Biblical basis to one's background and care. Or at least a person in need can look for a pastoral counselor that way based on the faith tradition of choice.
Short term counseling is primo. The longer a person works with a counselor, the more attached the person tends to get to that helper. Eventually, if the person is paying the Christian Counselor, the Counselor has to decide whether or not to treat the person for free, when the person can't pay for some reason. Christians are to be loving and charitable; to love God above all else, and then people as themselves. The clencher is that we cannot love people for money. We can love people, or we can love money, but we cannot love people for money: We must pick which treasure we will love. If the counselor refuses to continue to help the person, the person knows they have trusted a hypocrite who is no closer to God than someone who has not been saved by grace.
Good thing I said all that online. :-)

Susan Moore said...

Wondering...
Would the Seminary allow a Catholic Christian to earn an MDiv. as long as the student's priest/church was supportive and allowed her to complete the assignments?
If yes, then can you think of any assignments that might pose a conflict due to the difference in faith traditions? Perhaps for any training in the sacraments I would need to be friendly with the Wesleyan church in my city.
FYI, there is no Wesleyan church within 15 miles of where the Orphans and Widows Ministry headquarters building is to be. Part of that is also the Center for Pastoral Care and Counseling (I'm thinking out loud again).

Ken Schenck said...

We have no rule that would keep a Roman Catholic from applying, although our MDiv would not help one become a priest (we wouldn't be on their approved list).

Susan Moore said...

Understood. No, it would be to become ordained as a Wesleyan.

Ken Schenck said...

You know, I can't make any promises about the ministerial processes. I would think a lot of local churches of most stripes would welcome some free service. Each district of the Wesleyan Church more or less decides who it ordains, although there are obviously some basic standards.

Susan Moore said...

Ok, so I would check with the church in my city, or a neighboring one, and also with the district office to determine what would work and what wouldn't work as far as assignments, etc... exactly what it would take for them to back me for ordination?

Ken Schenck said...

I would contact the Wesleyan district superintendent in your area. I don't know if this website would help: http://theohiodistrict.org/

The DBMD is the District Board of Ministerial Development. They work with candidates for ordination.

Susan Moore said...

Thanks for your help!

Susan Moore said...

Sent Ohio Superintendent email. I may be wrong, but I have a hunch we all may be gaining experiential knowledge on just how mysterious are the ways of our good God.

Ken Schenck said...

I hope you're not disappointed :-)

Susan Moore said...

Apparently there is more than one way of making Orphans and Widows Ministry multi-denominational in its focus of caring!
When I was at my former church I couldn't figure out how to include the RCs even though I have, due to mutual concerns for Human Trafficking survivors, made friends with Sisters from a convent in my city.
I can't wait to look back and see how He pulls this all off!
My priest is awesome. I'm giving my testimony this Sunday! And I'm going to work with the new Parish Nurse ministry. Perhaps God will use my 'skill set' there as well as on the streets.
I got the full time nursing job, and start in mid-November (this is the place that has a facility in Fort Wayne). Can't wait to start, and they are grateful to have me back.
I told the District Superintendent that you referred me to him, and have been very helpful in increasing my understanding of the denominational differences, and supporting me through the church change.
I am eternally grateful to you for all of this.