Psychology as the Enemy of Christian Faith - Case Study Example

RUNNING HEAD: Secular Psychology Secular Psychology and Christian Counseling: Prospects for Integration At times psychology has been seen as the enemy of Christian faith. This attitude is fallacious, however. All truth is God’s truth, and great insights for ministering to the mentally ill can be gleaned from scientific research into such issues as personality, the nature of mental health, the meaning of abnormality, and guidelines for effective psychotherapy. This paper explores those subjects, seeking insight from both the Bible and secular research. The end result is a beginning conceptualization of what a truly integrated approach to Christian counseling should look like. The human quest for knowledge has at times placed reason and science at odds with theology and faith. Of course, this conflict is ultimately illusory, as all truth is God’s truth. But that hasn’t prevented champions from both side from sparring with each other. The most cited instance of this phenomenon was the dispute between Galileo and the medieval Catholic church. The Italian scientist was right, as even the Roman pontiff has admitted in recent years. That was hardly the last round in the centuries-long controversy, however. The nineteenth century was a time of both great discovery and tremendous turmoil. Charles Darwin turned the world upside down with the publication of his volumes The Origin of Species and Descent of Man. The higher critics in Germany questioned the veracity of Scripture. Across Christendom, the fundamentals of the faith seemed to be crumbling under the ferocity of an all-out intellectual assault. The new discipline known as psychology wasn’t exempt from this battle. Sigmund Freud pioneered the study of human personality and the causes of mental illness. While much of his writings reveal keen insights into human nature, their overall theme was stridently materialistic. As the century developed other theorists such as Jung constructed their own theories. In his case his views were far from atheistic. However, they display an openness to eastern thoughts forms similar to those common in Buddhist and Hindu thought. In these ways it foreshadowed so-called New Age counseling methods. For every action there is an opposite reaction. The emphasis on reason and objectivity that emerged from the Enlightenment found a formidable challenge in the writings of Soren Kierkegaard in the 1800s. Widely regarded as the father of existentialism, the Dutch thinker emphasized the roles of subjective answers and of human freedom in discovering one’s meaning in life. His views were later given a nihilistic slant by Nietzsche, who declared God dead and urged his readers to find their own meaning for life through asserting their will. The ideas of these men and others are the pool from which modern existentialist therapy draws. Further compounding the mix is humanistic, or client-centered, psychology, represented by Carol Rogers. Toss in views that have developed in the last several decades and one can explore the claims of divergent therapies such as transactional analysis, cognitive-behavioral therapy and various models for addressing marriage and family conflicts. The challenge for the 21st century believer is to sift through these myriad options with a discerning mind, taking what is good and right from them and welding those ideas together with scriptural truths. The goal is a coherent model for Christian counselors that brings together secular insights with timeless spiritual truths, for the purpose of bringing healing to wounded souls. To that end this paper will examine four areas of psychological research: the nature of personality, the meaning of psychological health, the nature and causes of abnormality, and the purpose of and guidelines for psychotherapy. From this will emerge a conceptual basis which will offer guidance to Christians involved in counseling ministries. What is Personality? While the exact answer to this question remains a matter of debate, a consensus exists among psychologists as to a general definition for the term. As Ewen states: Personality refers to important and relatively stable aspects of a persons behavior. For example, consider a young woman whose personality includes the trait of "painfully shy." She will behave shyly in many different situations, and over a significant period of time. There are likely to be exceptions: She may be more outgoing with her family or a close friend, or at her own birthday party. But, most often, her behavior will be consistent. She will have difficulty dealing with other people, which will continue for months or even years and will have a significant effect on her general well-being. (Ewen, 1998, p. 8) Personality, then, is both related to and causative of human behavior. The term refers to the significant, long term traits a person possesses, the ones that govern their actions and reactions to life events. What does the Bible tell us about these qualities? The answer is: many things, but two that are central to the discussion at hand. The first is that humans were created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). This means that men and women bear the mark of the Divine in their thoughts, feelings and actions. At the same time, Scripture informs us that we are also tainted by our sinful natures. Thus our personalities are battlegrounds between the remnants of the imagio deo within us and the influence of evil. Paul describes this inner conflict in especially vivid and heartfelt terms: We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. (Romans 7:14-20 NIV) A Christian view of personality must see a human being as a divided, conflicted creature, with the impulses to do good and evil in perpetual war with each other. To assist the counselee in responding to the urge to do right and to resist evil must be a major goal of Christian counseling. What is mental health? As with the definition of personality, the exact meaning of mental health is keenly debated. Nonetheless, there is general agreement on its broad meaning: “a state of psychological wellness characterized by the satisfactory fulfillment of basic human needs.” (Pritchard and Ryan 17) Important in understanding the term is the use of the word “satisfactory.” Mental health does not equate to a state of perpetual happiness. Indeed, mentally healthy people experience periods of grief, depression, anger and other negative emotions. Unlike the psychologically diseased, however, these episodes do not reduce their overall quality of living, contribute to maladaptive behavior or cause persistent and long lasting psychic distress. Mental health, then, can be characterized by a capacity to deal adequately with the seasons of life. The book of Ecclesiastes discusses these seasons in chapter three. All of us deal with happiness as well as sadness, irritation as well as serenity, despair as well as hope, anger as well as calmness. The goal of a Christian counselor must be to help persons to deal adequately with all the seasons that life brings, without resorting to sinful, self defeating actions or thoughts. What is abnormality? The most basic definition of “abnormal” is that which deviates from the normal. When used this way the term isn’t necessarily negative. For example, Einstein was abnormally intelligent and Mother Theresa was abnormally compassionate. In psychological parlance, however, the word carries with it a connotation of pathology. As with physical disease, mental disorders are harmful to the patient and possibly to those he or she encounters. At the heart of mental abnormality, then, is the presence of personality traits destructive to human well-being. (Hollingworth, 1930, p. 11) Jesus said that he came so that humans may have abundant lives (John 10:10). Psychological abnormalities can be said to significantly interfere with Jesus’ mission. For example, a common mental illness is generalized anxiety disorder, which is characterized by excessive worry, a state of constant tension, and feelings of dread regarding the future. (Root, 2000, p. 2) A person in such a state can hardly be said to be experiencing abundant life. Clinical depression is also a regularly diagnosed malady in our society. One who is consumed with feelings of despair and hopelessness is likewise prevented from living as Jesus intends us to. In another sense narcissistic and antisocial personality disorders prevent a person from living in accordance with God’s will as revealed in the Bible. Jesus repeatedly condemned arrogance and uplifted humility as an ideal. He also taught that people should treat others in the same way they want to be treated. An egocentric husband, worker or business owner will not share these values. Neither will a psychopath who betrays other’s trust, tries to con consumers out of their hard earned money or seeks to cause physical harm to the weak. A subject which causes no end of debate in these politically correct times is homosexuality. Once officially listed as a mental disorder in psychiatric manuals, it is now considered to be a valid lifestyle option. (Bayer, 1981, p. 102) In addition there is a growing movement within the church at large to dismiss moral qualms about gay and lesbian sexual behavior, at least when such activities occur within a committed, monogamous relationship. (Childs, 2003, p. 61) A possible rule of thumb when counseling homosexuals is to maintain scriptural convictions while also communicating an attitude of Christian love and charity towards them. One can indeed hate the sin while loving the sinner. The issue of whether Christian counselors can or should seek to “cure” gay people of their sexual orientation is a specialized one that is beyond the scope of this paper. It is perfectly permissible, of course, to pray with the homosexual, including praying that God will change their attraction to same gender persons, if the client believes that such feelings and/or acts are morally wrong. Homosexuals frequently experience negative emotions as a result of feelings of guilt. They also must deal with anguish caused by unloving attitudes and actions exhibited by homophobic persons. These issues must be dealt with in a compassionate and Christ-like way by the Christian counselor, always remembering that both gay and straight persons are made in God’s image, and thus deserve to be treated with respect and empathy. To do any less is to fail in one’s mission to emulate Christ, who shows forth the love of the Father for all persons. What is psychotherapy? In general terms, psychotherapy is any attempt to promote mental health within a person. A more specific question that must be dealt with is what constitutes effective psychotherapy. The history of medicine is filled with spurious “cures” for mental illness, ranging from freezing water baths to shock therapy and lobotomies. No matter how well intentioned those who began these practices were, the results were invariably disastrous. To construct a useful model for Christian psychotherapy, it is useful to return to the initial fact dealt with at this paper’s beginning: that all truth is God’s truth. Thus there is no reason to reject out of hand efforts by secular scientists, researchers and therapists to get at how mental illness may effectively be treated. The heart of science is the scientific method, that first observes a phenomenon and then seeks to determine its cause. This principle is also a useful one for Christian counselors. Let us say that someone comes in our office seeking help to overcome fits of rage. Like scientists, we can begin by gathering data about the subject we are investigating. Some helpful questions to ask the counselee may be: when did you begin to experience these enraged feelings? What significant events were going on in your life then? How would you describe the overall quality of your life at that time? When you have these fits now, is there something that occurs directly before them? Are you around a particular person, engaging in a certain activity, or thinking certain thoughts? If the counselee cannot answer these questions, they can be invited to participate in the quest for knowledge with the counselor. A journal can be an effective way of discovering what triggers episodes of rage or other abnormal behaviors. After a time, the use of questions and journal keeping may reveal a pattern to the fits of rage. For example, it may be that the patient becomes angry when he feels his wife is criticizing him, and the anger morphs into full blown rage. This will yield important clues as to causes for the behavior. With further observations and note taking, the patient might realize that when they are being criticized it reminds them of how their abusive father used to treat them as a child. The trigger then is revealed: the rage ultimately stems from the counselee’s experiences as an abused child. At that point, scriptural principles can be applied to the underlying problem. The client can be encouraged to forgive the parent and to understand the pathologies that drove the father to abuse them. If the parent is still alive then perhaps reconciliation can be attempted. Prayer focused on freeing the person from the feelings of rage can be very potent, once the source for them is known. Conclusion The 21st century is an amazing time to be alive. Advancements in science and medicine offer treatments for both physical and mental illnesses that once seemed incurable. The thoughtful Christian counselor will survey these developments with a discerning eyes, ever alert for ways to integrate them with scriptural principles to promote mental health. In so doing they will be following in the steps of Christ, whose love for humanity led him to heal mind, body and spirit. He continues to do so to this very day through the actions of his followers. Partnering with him in this mission is an awesome responsibility, but it is also a tremendous and joyful privilege. References Bayer, R. (1981). Homosexuality and American Psychiatry: The Politics of Diagnosis. New York: Basic Books. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=100287956 Childs, J. M. (Ed.). (2003). Faithful Conversation: Christian Perspectives on Homosexuality. Minneapolis: Fortress. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=115642683 Ewen, R. B. (1998). An Introduction to Theories of Personality (5th ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=29209789 Hollingworth, H. L. (1930). Abnormal Psychology: Its Concepts and Theories. New York: Ronald Press. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=4813415 Root, B. A. (2000). Understanding Panic and Other Anxiety Disorders. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=106374579 Ryan, T. & Pritchard, J. (Eds.). (2004). Good Practice in Adult Mental Health. London: Jessica Kingsley. Retrieved October 6, 2011, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=113773489 Read More