McMinns Three Areas of Competence in Counselling - Research Paper Example

? McMinn’s Three Areas of Competence in Counselling of Summary Psychological counselling has always been viewed as a scientific method in analyzing one’s problems and finding ways to resolve them with the client. Counselling methods have been developed that would maintain a psychological distance between the counsellor and the client. Usually, the counsellor merely listens to the client while the latter shares his problems and together, they process what may have caused the problem and what solutions may be possible to resolve it and to achieve healing. The counsellor is not expected to share any personal detail as that may cause him to lose his professional credibility. With the advent of Christian Theology being incorporated into psychological counselling, comes an added dimension of pulling out wisdom from Christian doctrine and the scriptures. Initially, this may be seen as conflicting with various psychological theories, however, such wisdom from God and its meaning in the client’s personal life is just too significant to ignore. This integration may be the saving grace of the counselling session especially if the client believes in God. McMinn’s book shares some examples of counsellors who used psychological knowledge in their practice as well as those who preached about Christianity. Each counsellor may be effective one way or another, but somehow there is something lacking. Research has proven that integrating Christian teachings with psychological explanations is most effective in bringing about true healing. As if that were not enough, McMinn comes out with a third area of competence that Christian counsellors should develop, that of Spirituality and knowledge of the process of spiritual formation. The counsellor should be mature enough to discern the client’s level of spirituality and address him appropriately with the spiritual advise most relevant to his circumstance. McMinn believes that this third area completes the triumvirate of interdisciplinary integration in counselling, and the three elements joined together make it a powerful counselling approach that would effectively touch the core of the client. With that, psychological breakthroughs are bound to occur being the first stage of healing. McMinn gave the scenario of counsellors not having all three areas of competence. If a counsellor has been trained in psychological counselling but lacks the knowledge of Christian teachings and the spirituality that may go with it, then she will just be mouthing scripts and advise from a mental level, missing out on touching the client’s core. If he is adept in Christian Theology and can apply it to various situations but is not knowledgeable about possible psychological issues borne out of certain traumatic experiences from the client’s life, then the client will not gain full understanding of the symptoms he is experiencing. If the counsellor lacks spiritual maturity despite being knowledgeable on both psychological and Christian counselling, then she might not be able to fully reach the broken soul inside the client and imbue it with understanding, acceptance, humility and hope that his problem will be resolved with his own efforts and the grace of God. Concrete Response When I was younger, I was awed by evangelical preachers and how charismatic they were especially when they passionately preach on television. It was more amazing when I witnessed the miracles they performed healing the sick, the deaf and mute, the lame and all the other believers who put their trust in him and the Lord to heal them. I was disillusioned when one day I found out that one of the evangelists I idolized was caught up in a scandal for extortion and making so much money from the “show” which I have always believed to be a testament to God’s powerful mercy. McMinn’s book wrapped up a logical package for me to understand that it does not take just knowledge of theories and application, a degree from a prestigious university, fame and stature for a counsellor to be effective in helping a client be healed of his personal brokenness. It takes an elevated form of wisdom drawn from one’s own spirituality and even humility to admit that she herself has experienced brokenness in her life. To be able to share this to her client and model her courage and strength to have overcome it and become whole again with the help of God is truly empowering for the client. The counsellor does not need to draw attention to herself as the one responsible for healing the pain and suffering of the client, but attribute everything to God. The awesome preacher I used to idolize has fallen to pieces because he took advantage of the people’s desperation and put himself in the limelight when he healed the sick. A Christian counsellor with knowledge in psychological counselling and has a mature relationship with God will not do that. She is quite content being instrumental to one’s healing, directing attention to God’s love for the client and the client’s own efforts to be better. Reflection McMinn’s book has made it clear that being a Christian counsellor is no easy task. In the past, all I knew was that if I am good at reading people and objective enough to see their problems separate from them, then it would be easy to dissect the problem and restructure it into something that is solvable for the person. Throw in a huge amount of knowledge of psychological theories and practice, then I am off to a great career in counselling. My simplistic thinking underestimated the enormous responsibility that it entails! Reading McMinn was like a Pandora’s box unleashing its influence and power to make readers think. I myself was overwhelmed with the potency of having a broken past in helping a counsellor relate better to the client. I thought, “Will the dark past of the counsellor be an impediment in the establishment of trust and credibility in the client?” or “Will the client emulate the counsellor’s ability to prevail over her own life’s adversities?”. How about if the client has more spirituality than the counsellor? Will the counsellor be able to gain something for herself in the counselling sessions so it benefits both parties? The positive thing I observed from the book is the use of clear examples to guide the readers. The negative is more detailed scripts to give future counsellors on specific situations, although I am aware that that might be asking too much. As a counsellor, I would need to develop them myself. Action Gaining insights from just reading the book should be complemented by practical action. As a future Christian counsellor, I can gain practical knowledge by observing the people around me and listening to their woes without cutting them off or giving excuses to slip away. I am aware that there are numerous people just hungering to be heard and comforted. I shall commit to doing that and going beyond it. I shall give them hope by sharing about God’s love and forgiveness. I shall not just mouth words of hope but listen to my own heart and speak from it. “God loves you” may be three reassuring words that I can always count on, but of course it would depend on the recipient of the message. Those with greater spirituality will latch on to these words and derive hope from it while those who are more cynical might need other ways to drive the point. I can use more practical examples that undoubtedly points to God’s hand in the lightening of burdens. It is these examples from real life that I should research on from books or true-to-life stories heard from friends. In doing so, their experiences would speak for itself that God’s love saves man from ruin and devastation. Reference McMinn, M. R. (1996), Psychology, Theology and Spirituality in Christian Counseling. Tyndale Read More