Christian Counseling and the Life of Jesus

counseling image 2This is the fourth in a series of posts which examines the 95 Theses for an Authentically Christian Commitment to Counseling published by the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors and authored by Dr. Heath Lambert. I offer this critique from my perspective as a psychology professor and mental health counselor. For prior posts in the series on the first fourteen theses, click here. Today, I examine thesis 15.
Is Jesus the Standard for Everything?
This section focuses on Jesus as a standard for Christian mental health.

  1. Counselors require a standard to know what changes must be pursued in the lives of the troubled people they wish to help and, because the Bible portrays Jesus Christ as that perfect standard for human living, it is impossible to accomplish authentically Christian counseling without reference to him (1 John 2:5-6).

I can’t tell what this statement means in a practical sense. Knowing that Jesus is perfect in every way doesn’t tell me what kind of changes human beings should pursue in counseling. Three possibilities occurred to me which I will frame as questions:

  • Does Lambert mean Christian counselors should always pursue change in every dimension of personality (i.e., behavioral, emotional, cognitive, moral)?
  • Is he referring to the outcomes of counseling? Does he mean that Christian counseling should lead to clients being perfect as Jesus is perfect?
  • Or does he mean that counselors should only deal with issues depicted in the Bible’s accounts of the life of Jesus?

Each of these questions deserve a separate article for a full response. For the purpose of this post, I will briefly reply to each one.
Symptom v. Personality Change
Historically, counselors have debated the scope of counseling. Should counseling focus on symptom removal or on deeper personality change? Modern approaches aim for symptom relief while older approaches such as psychoanalysis focus on personality change.
I see nothing in the Bible which requires all counseling to deal with every level of human functioning. I believe counseling may properly deal with one aspect of functioning (e.g., symptom reduction versus deep personality change). In fact, Jesus at times healed diseases without any obvious attention to other areas of life. The needs of clients should guide counselors in planning their interventions.
Can We Be as Healthy as Jesus?
Although Jesus healed diseases in others, there are no recorded instances of Jesus suffering with medical or mental disorders. Does that mean he lived in such a way that he never suffered health problems? Or did His divine nature prevent those effects of a sinful world? Many theologians believe Jesus was unable to sin.* In like manner, could it be that Jesus was unable to experience mental or physical disease? Since He healed others, perhaps He healed Himself at the first sign of any disease. Or, on the other hand, is it possible that Jesus could have gotten cancer or suffered with bipolar disorder? Charles Spurgeon did not believe Jesus was ever ill. In his sermon, “Help for Your Sickness,” Spurgeon said no “disease was upon him.”
Spurgeon on sickness
Is Jesus a Perfect Standard for Every Aspect of Living?
Jesus is an example of obedience to the Father, holy living, and sacrifice. He modeled a life of virtue and was the substitute for our transgressions. He is our example for moral conduct and virtuous reflection. About this, most Christians agree. However, there is much Jesus didn’t cover during his short time on Earth.  Jesus’ teachings are the standard as far as they go.
We don’t know much about the life of Jesus outside of His mission to rescue people from sin. While the New Testament speaks in general terms about the humanity of Jesus, I don’t think it is possible to know with certainty what that means for mental health treatment.
Jesus didn’t deal with much of what we need to know to live today. He never chose a college, a spouse, or a profession. He never invested in a retirement account or purchased insurance. He didn’t play sports or watch movies. What He taught us we should emulate. However, on many aspects of human living, He offered no specific example or teaching.  We must use our minds in community with others to figure out how to pursue the rest.

For the earlier posts in this series, click here.

 
*This is certainly true of theologians who teach at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where Heath Lambert also teaches counseling. In a 2015 article, Denny Burk wrote:

Jesus’ impeccability in this regard has provoked some people to wonder whether his experience of temptation can ever be as intense as that of the sinners that he came to save. Can he really have known our weaknesses when he himself was not capable of sinning? (p. 104)

Burk believes Jesus did know the temptation but was unable to sin.

The text plainly says that God cannot be tempted by evil. In what way are we tempted by evil that God is not tempted by evil? Verse 14 gives the answer. We face temptations that arise from our “own desire” (1:14). By contrast, because Jesus never desired evil, Jesus never faced temptations arising from “his own sinful desire.” His heart never in any degree fixated on evil. Temptation had no landing pad in Jesus’ heart nor did it have a launching pad from Jesus’ heart. The same is not true of sinners, who are often carried away by their own desires, as James describes it. (p.105)

 

Petition Reignites Biblical Counseling Controversy at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

counseling image 2In September, I wrote about a controversy at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary involving the Christian psychology of Eric Johnson and the Biblical counseling of Heath Lambert. According to Johnson, his version of Christian psychology is no longer compatible with how SBTS wants counseling taught at the school. Thus, he had to step down from his position. It is not clear if he was fired or negotiated a settlement of some kind.

Reviving Eric Johnson’s Position Revisited

At the time, a petition was constructed to register discontent with Johnson’s ouster. Now, an update has been posted to the petition with a broader aim. The petition to SBTS now asks:

Given the obvious harm that these consequences would cause both to the standing and reputation of Southern Seminary, the following are recommended steps that should be taken and questions to be asked next week as the Board of Trustees visit Southern Seminary:

 

  • Offer immunity and anonymity to any and all professors who would be willing to speak with the trustees regarding this situation. Many of them know far more than we do but are terrified of speaking out for fear of ending up like Professor Johnson. Allow them to simply affirm, deny, or elaborate upon anything said in this letter without the fear of disciplinary actions.
  • Reconsider the silencing effects that the removal of tenure in 2014 has had up the seminary’s faculty, as they have been afraid to speak up for their terminated colleague, Professor Johnson. Please take steps to reinstate tenure. Tenure ensures the continuity of an institution’s identity, maintains the financial security for faculty families, and establishes boundaries that prevent the president from wrongfully firing professors. Before the removal of tenure in 2014, professors could be justifiably removed for moral or doctrinal transgression. There is no added benefit to the new faculty contract policy aside from the consolidation of power within the office of the president. The reason alumni are writing this letter is because all the faculty and staff members who contacted us were afraid that they would lose their job by speaking out.
  • Southern Seminary’s counseling program is very important in the life of Southern Baptist Churches, as it is on the front lines of pastoral and congregational soul care. Is it in the best interest of the churches that Southern Seminary serves to train up future pastors in a monologuing counseling department? Should pastors not study under both biblical counselors and Christian psychologists as they learn how to care for the complex needs of their churches?
  • Ask President Mohler directly whether any ACBC-affiliate (church, person, organization) was involved in his termination of Johnson. If Mohler refuses to provide a direct “yes” or “no” answer, ask him whether or not his reluctance to speak about the termination is the result of a non-disclosure agreement. It is imperative that the truth come out so that the Seminary can move on and begin a healing and reunifying process.
  • Based upon the findings of the above mentioned investigations, if it is found that there was any improper conduct that led to the termination of Professor Johnson, we recommend that the Board of Trustees extend a public apology to Johnson and offer to reinstate him in his original position at Southern Seminary.

This Story Is About More Than Eric Johnson and Heath Lambert

Johnson’s personnel matter is wrapped up in a broader issue. Will Southern Baptist pastors be exposed to one narrow approach to counseling or will they have access to training and teaching which takes psychological insights into account? Why this matters to a broad audience is that many people go to their pastors for counseling or for recommendations for counseling. It would be tragic and potentially dangerous for pastors to refer only to Biblical counselors.
Note to the folks at SBTS, mental illness is real and the Bible doesn’t say much about it. Recently, I featured representatives of Biblical counseling and Christian psychology in a discussion about a case. It was clear to me that the Biblical counseling approach left important components out. Furthermore, there are many problems in living which Scripture doesn’t address.
 

Series: Evaluation of 95 Theses for an Authentically Christian Commitment to Counseling

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This week Tim Allchin, biblical counselor from Chicago, will help me complete the series I started on Biblical counseling v. Christian psychology (read the prior posts here).  This series was triggered by the news that Christian psychologist Eric Johnson was fired/taking early retirement from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. With Johnson’s departure, the seminary is committed completely to a biblical counseling model. One expression of that model can be found in a document written by Heath Lambert titled 95 Theses for an Authentically Christian Commitment to Counseling.
With this post, I want to start a new series during which I will critique one or more of the theses from my vantage point as a mental health counselor and psychology professor.
I offer this series in keeping with the stated desire of Heath Lambert, the author of the theses and executive director of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors:

And so I offer these theses for the purpose of debate. But they are also offered with a prayer. My prayer is that the spirit of the Reformers to recover the emphasis on divine grace in their day would be the commitment that Christians would have today regarding counseling.

Thus, I welcome the reaction of Dr. Lambert at any time during the series.

Counseling in Contemporary Culture

I will list one or more of the theses and then comment. There isn’t much to disagree with in the first three theses:

1. Christians in the twenty-first century live at a time when the counseling practice of many evangelical churches is marked by chaos and confusion regarding the nature of counseling.
2. Secular therapy has defined the nature and terms of counseling for more than a hundred years, and Christians responding to its influence have been confounded by it—not knowing whether to consume this secular therapy in an undiluted form, to combine it in some way with resources from the Christian tradition, or to reject it entirely in favor of an approach that relies exclusively on scriptural resources.
3. The confusion that exists on the part of Christians has been a distressing source of conflict among brothers and sisters in Christ who debate these issues, and has caused pain in the lives of troubled Christians who seek counseling care.

In don’t know how many are in “chaos” but I would agree that some Christians are confused about counseling. Generally, there is much we don’t know about mental health and brain based diseases and so it seems reasonable that Christians would also experience the confusion which goes along with that. Number two captures the broad historic responses to psychology by those in the church.

4. It is a matter of urgency that Christians coalesce around an understanding of counseling that is authentically Christian (Col 3:14).

Let me go out on a limb here and say that I doubt Christians will ever “coalesce” around any one understanding of anything. I disagree that it is a matter of urgency to come to one understanding. However, I do think it would be good if those who hold different views could discuss them rationally and on the merits. We can and should disagree agreeably without casting doubts on the spiritual commitment of ideological opponents.
Furthermore, the diversity of settings within which counseling is conducted make it unlikely that one view will ever win the day. Some Christians work in the public sector, others work in private settings such as the church. I don’t think we have a one-size-fits-all audience, so we won’t have just one approach to counseling.

5. A commitment to counseling that is authentically Christian requires believers in Christ to understand the nature of counseling, which resources must be used in counseling, and to possess growing skill in caring for people in need of counseling.

I don’t disagree, although I know that my definition of the nature of counseling and resources allowed is much broader than Lambert’s.
Again, I welcome Dr. Lambert’s reaction at any time. I don’t have a specific time table for the series and will post as time permits.
 
For more on Biblical counseling v. Christian psychology, see this series.
For all posts in the 95 Theses series, click here.

Why We Need Science in Counseling: Another Look at a Case of School Refusal

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Last week, I started a series comparing and contrasting biblical counseling and Christian psychology. I presented a case of school refusal and asked a biblical counselor and a Christian psychologist to comment. Today, I discuss how the case turned out and offer a few observations.
From the initial post, here is the case:

A mother and her second grade son attended the first session together. The father was at work. A meeting with them revealed that the youngster was afraid to remain in his school classroom. The boy attended a local public school and had never been afraid to go to school before. However, within the first month of school, his pattern was to enter school and remain in his classroom. After just a few minutes, he bolted from the room to the school office seemingly in terror and asked for his parents. This had been going on for about a month nearly every day. He remained in school on days his class attended field trips or out of class activities (e.g., library days). The parents had tried alternating morning rides to school and his father had carried him back into the classroom on multiple occasions only to have the same result. He bolted from the class looking for his parents.
On examination, the boy had male typical interests, played rough and tumble sports, was tall for his age, and was socially popular. He had never displayed separation anxiety beyond the norm prior to this year. In all respects except the fear of remaining in his classroom, the boy and his family (one older female sibling) seemed entirely normal and unremarkable from a mental health standpoint. The parents were leaders in their Christian church and the boy happily attended Sunday School and had professed a belief in Jesus as his Savior.

Monday, biblical counselor Tim Allchin addressed the case. Tuesday, Christian psychologist A.J. McConnell did the same. To get the most out of this post, you should read those posts before you read this one. Today, I will briefly react to Allchin, then to McConnell, and then I will describe what happened. Finally, I want to discuss why science must be a part of counseling work.

Tim Allchin and Biblical Counseling

Allchin advocated a multi-faceted assessment of emotions, thoughts, behavior, physical health and compliance with biblical morality. He said his interventions would also be multi-faceted depending on what he learned in the assessment process. With the exception of assessment of biblical compliance, this is similar to how many Christian counselors proceed.
To highlight my differences with the biblical counseling approach, I will list one of Allchin’s statements and then reply to it.

Allchin: “My working assumption would be that some sort of traumatic experience is likely the genesis of this behavior.

While a traumatic experience could be involved in such a case, I try not to conduct assessments with strong assumptions about cause. I worry about the effects of confirmation bias in such instances. Fear is indeed involved in school refusal but a traumatic experience is not of necessity at the root of the fear.

Allchin: “I would want the child and parent to know that even a child’s beliefs determine actions, resulting in feelings that either escalate or calm.

Sometimes people have fears for which there is no discernible cognitive or environmental trigger. They just arise. Sometimes beliefs and thoughts follow feelings. Biblical counselors and cognitive therapists may disagree with me, but if I have learned anything from social psychology, it is that the link between attitudes and behavior goes both ways. I have worked with clients who experience negative mood states and then try to make sense of them by catastrophic thinking. Their thoughts then push them into a downward spiral but sudden anxiety was the first step in that process.

Allchin: “…biblical counselors seek to determine Action Steps that help a child function in a way that pleases God:”

Because I don’t assume a link between biblical compliance and mental health, I didn’t do this. If a child is misbehaving in other ways, then I might focus more on situational compliance (e.g., following guidelines at home and school), but since the complaint of the parent and school is refusal to stay in class, I focused on that.

Allchin: “Additionally, I am going to have conversations about the following with a christian family is being counseled: What does the Bible say he needs to “put off” regarding fearful behaviors that lead to disobedience? (Repentance)” etc…

I did not do any of this. Again, since I do not believe mental health is of necessity tied to biblical compliance, I don’t have these conversations unless the client raises the matter. Most clients who organize their lives around their faith will bring these things up without prompting.
Overall, in my view, the biblical counseling approach is wrong to put emphasis on lack of biblical compliance, especially with childhood mental health concerns. It is too easy to feel false guilt tied to the belief that mental and emotional problems stem from lack of biblical compliance. This focus can also distract a counselor from more pressing problems in a client’s life.

A.J. McConnell and Christian Psychology

Dr. McConnell’s approach is quite comprehensive and reflects a broad training in assessment and psychotherapy. The only qualm I have about Greek_uc_psi.svgMcConnell’s religious techniques is one that I also have with biblical counseling and that is the use of spiritual disciplines as counseling techniques. While there is research which links stress reduction with meditation, I believe Christian prayer should be a voluntary and spontaneous response to God rather than a prescribed technique of counseling. Techniques are judged by their utility in solving a problem. If clients are anxious and they view prayer as a kind of incantation or method to achieve a change in mood, how will they judge prayer if their anxiety persists? If prayer is a means to express something to God, it can never fail. If it is a technique, then it can and does fail. I have concerns about advocating techniques a client doesn’t ordinarily believe in or engage in as a technique. I will have more to say about this aspect of biblical and Christian counseling in my series wrap up post.

How the School Refusal Case Turned Out

As both Allchin and McConnell recommended, I did a comprehensive assessment of the youth and family. I asked the teacher and parents to complete a Connors Rating Scale and also interviewed the father. My working hypothesis after the first couple of interviews was that the boy experienced separation anxiety and was particularly focused on his mother. The boy couldn’t articulate why he was worried about her, he just was. He even expressed his confidence that she was fine at home, but he still worried about her when he was at school. I found no evidence of bullying, trauma, or social stigma. In a way, the simplicity of the symptom made the assessment process more complicated.
Since my working hypothesis was that the boy was experiencing separation anxiety, I decided to try what probably seemed odd and counterproductive to the parents. Drawing from the family systems tradition, I told the mother that she should stay with the boy during the entire school day, including lunch. I secured cooperation from the school for mother and son to do his classwork in a private room at the school. The mother and son initially seemed relieved at the suggestion. School officials were glad that the boy would be at school.
That seemingly paradoxical move brought mother and son together for extended periods of time. My belief was that the technique might actually cause them to want distance. I also felt that the risk was low since I would probably learn in short order more about the problem if the technique didn’t work to promote going back to class.
It didn’t take long for both mother and son to want distance. By the second week, the boy asked to go to recess and lunch without mother. After about three weeks, the boy was back in the classroom with very few residual problems. Through the winter, the parents described occasional new and random fears (e.g., the dark, going to a new place) but these were overcome with some gentle coaxing or the promise of a small reward.
From my vantage point, the child’s religious life had little, if anything, to do with his sudden and unprecedented separation anxiety. Likewise, I couldn’t find much evidence that his thought processes or beliefs preceded his fears. Rather, it became clear that his fears came first and the emergence of them evoked efforts from his parents, his relatives, himself and eventually me to explain his fears. When I couldn’t find an antecedent event or thought pattern, I decided that a more behavioral intervention might help clarify the picture. As it turned out, the intervention achieved the result desired by everyone in the situation.

What Happened?

Reflecting on this case, I have come up with two very different theories about why this case turned out well. The first is very much tied to the intervention. In this theory, I think natural apprehension about the first day of school may have accidentally become associated with the classroom. When he went to class, he experienced an undefined worry which was reinforced by the relief of leaving the classroom. To reverse the accidental pairing of classroom and worry, I put the mother in the school situation which initially brought relief. As the days went by, the inevitable frustration and friction produced by near constant contact with his mom replaced his anxiety over separation from her. His worried thoughts became replaced with other thoughts that did not evoke anxiety. When he was able to leave her for a time, he felt relief which reinforced the separation. I also believe that the mother had her fill of him and whatever worries she had about his safety and well being at school were replaced with other preoccupations. I was surprised by how quickly things changed.
I did not get this strategy from my study of the Bible. I am not sure where I would go to look for it in the Bible.

Could School Refusal Have Resulted from Strep Throat?

Long after this case was resolved, I learned about another possible cause of sudden separation anxiety and impulsive behaviors – Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS). The disorder results from the action of the antibodies created by the immune system to fight Streptococcus bacteria. The NIMH website provides a good description of the action involved:

The strep bacteria are very ancient organisms that survive in the human host by hiding from the immune system as long as possible. It hides itself by putting molecules on its cell wall so that it looks nearly identical to molecules found on the child’s heart, joints, skin, and brain tissues. This hiding is called “molecular mimicry” and allows the strep bacteria to evade detection for a long time.
However, the molecules on the strep bacteria are eventually recognized as foreign to the body and the child’s immune system reacts to them by producing antibodies. Because of the molecular mimicry by the bacteria, the immune system reacts not only to the strep molecules, but also to the human host molecules that were mimicked; antibodies system “attack” the mimicked molecules in the child’s own tissues.
Studies at the NIMH and elsewhere have shown that some cross-reactive “anti-brain” antibodies target the brain—causing OCD, tics, and the other neuropsychiatric symptoms of PANDAS.

As explained to me in 2009 by Susan Swedo, the scientist who identified PANDAS, the antibodies attack healthy brain cells and interfere with moods and emotions.

The science is clear now. We not only have a direct relationship between the anti-strep antibodies and the anti-neuronal antibodies, but also have demonstrated that the antibodies interact with receptors in the brain that could produce the symptoms observed.

Since learning about PANDAS, I have wondered if the school refusal case described in this series could have had the post-strep disorder. I didn’t ask about recent infections or strep throat as I would now. The sudden onset and then rather quick disappearance of separation anxiety and impulsive behavior fit the profile for other PANDAS kids I have known.
It should be obvious that I didn’t learn about PANDAS from the Bible. In future cases, knowing about PANDAS could alter my treatment strategies and solidify my conviction that a Bible based conversation about “perfect love casting out fear” might induce unwarranted guilt in a client with PANDAS.

Why We Need Science in Counseling

I understand why biblical and Christian counselors want to look to the Bible when they give advice to Christian clients. Although I don’t believe all good advice is in the Bible, I think the Bible as the rule of faith and practice, plays a vital role in developing sound advice.
Having said that, I must add that counseling is about much more than advice or guidance in moral decision making. Mental health professionals are called on to help treat mental and emotional disorders. According to Heath Lambert’s 95 Theses, these disorders are not the best descriptions of the problems people bring to counseling. Theses 45 and 46 state:

45. The Bible’s lack of technical and secular labels for counseling problems, such as those found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, does not disprove Scripture’s sufficiency and authority for counseling because God uses his own, superior language to describe people’s problems (Rom 1:24-32).
46. The lack of biblical language in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders demonstrates that the thinking of secular individuals is insufficient to grasp the true nature of people, the problems they bring to counseling, and the solutions necessary to bring about real and lasting change.

I will grant that DSM series has undergone numerous changes over the years. However, I don’t think mental disorders are simply linguistic inventions. Depression, panic disorders, eating disorders, etc., represent mind-body dysfunctions which require the help of science to understand and treat. I appreciate that Tim Allchin recommends good medical care, but in doing so it appears to me that he goes beyond the scope of the 95 Theses.  For instance, this statement seem to negate the importance of science:

10. The subject matter of counseling conversations is the wisdom needed to deal with life’s problems, and so counseling is not a discipline that is fundamentally informed by science, but by the teaching found in God’s Word.

Other statements in the 95 Theses document direct counselors to only use the Bible.

9. Because counseling problems concern the very same issues that God writes about in his Word, it is essential to have a conversation about the contents of the Bible to solve counseling problems.
11. When the Bible claims to address all the issues concerning life and godliness, it declares itself to be a sufficient and an authoritative resource to address everything essential for counseling conversations (2 Pet 1:3-4).
12. Christians must not separate the authority of Scripture for counseling from the sufficiency of Scripture for counseling because, if Scripture is to be a relevant authority, then it must be sufficient for the struggles people face as they live life in a fallen world (2 Pet 1:3-21).
13. The authority and sufficiency of Scripture for counseling means that counselors must counsel out of the conviction that the theological content of Scripture defines and directs the conversational content of counseling.
14. The Bible teaches that the person and work of Jesus Christ provide God’s sufficient power to solve every problem of humanity so, according to Scripture, he is the ultimate subject of every counseling conversation (Col 2:2-3).

In fact, it isn’t essential to have a conversation about the contents of the Bible to solve every counseling problem. Furthermore, I can think of situations where those kind of conversations have been counterproductive. I agree with A.J. McConnell when he wrote:

When Christians are told that Jesus and the Bible are all that is needed in counseling, this assumes that the person is in a mindset where they can accept Biblical advice and adequately apply it to their situation. In contrast, the nature of a disorder is that a person is suffering and they require counseling, medication, or a combination of both to become well.

Some Bible based conversations are so far off the mark that they evoke a false guilt which can be crippling. Some Bible based conversations lead bipolar people to go off their medication often leading to disastrous consequences. I feel sure that Tim Allchin and responsible biblical counselors don’t want to create those results but I am not convinced that biblical counselors who follow the 95 Theses closely would be able to avoid it. On that point, McConnell wrote:

Children and/or adults might feel unnecessary guilt from the church if they need to pursue professional assistance with a psychologist, psychiatrist, or other medical professional to treat a disorder. Most Christians and churches do not shame an individual for pursuing medical interventions for diabetes, cancer, hypertension, etc. The same approach should be taken for mental illness in order to reduce this unnecessary guilt. Overall, I recommend finding a specialist that aligns with your beliefs (2 Corinthians 6:14).

I hope this series has helped to clarify the range of opinions among Christians who work in counseling. Tomorrow, I hope to wrap up the series with reactions from McConnell and Allchin. And you can have the last word in the comments section.
To see all posts in this series, click here.

Christian Psychology v. Biblical Counseling: A Christian Psychologist Responds to a Case of School Refusal

Greek_uc_psi.svgLast week I posted the case of a young child with school refusal. I treated the child without relapse and wondered how a biblical counselor would conceptualize the case. I was especially interested in how Health Lambert would respond, because Lambert recently wrote a document titled Ninety-Five Theses for an Authentically Christian Commitment to Counseling. Lambert is the executive director of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors and promotes biblical counseling which is to say counseling that relies on solely on the Bible for the answers to the problems addressed in counseling. I became interested in Lambert’s approach because of an accusation that he was involved in the firing of popular Christian psychologist Eric Johnson. Lambert later denied any role but it is clear that his biblical counseling model is the dominate approach at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the flagship theological school of the Southern Baptist Convention. Unfortunately, I have not had a reply from Dr. Lambert.

Biblical Counseling v. Christian Psychology: The Series

Instead, yesterday I posted the case conceptualization of Tim Allchin, a biblical counselor in Chicago who runs a ACBC approved training site. In today’s post, I provide a case conceptualization from A.J. McConnell, a Christian psychologist who attempts to integrate the Bible and psychology. Although those outside of Christianity might not see much difference between the two approaches, historically adherents of the two approaches have accentuated the differences.
Tomorrow, I will describe my approach and provide the results of treatment. In addition, I plan to discuss both Allchin’s and McConnell’s approach. Also, I will critique my own plan and talk about how I would approach a similar case now.

A Case of School Refusal

Here is the case:

A mother and her second grade son attended the first session together. The father was at work. A meeting with them revealed that the youngster was afraid to remain in his school classroom. The boy attended a local public school and had never been afraid to go to school before. However, within the first month of school, his pattern was to enter school and remain in his classroom. After just a few minutes, he bolted from the room to the school office seemingly in terror and asked for his parents. This had been going on for about a month nearly every day. He remained in school on days his class attended field trips or out of class activities (e.g., library days). The parents had tried alternating morning rides to school and his father had carried him back into the classroom on multiple occasions only to have the same result. He bolted from the class looking for his parents.
On examination, the boy had male typical interests, played rough and tumble sports, was tall for his age, and was socially popular. He had never displayed separation anxiety beyond the norm prior to this year. In all respects except the fear of remaining in his classroom, the boy and his family (one older female sibling) seemed entirely normal and unremarkable from a mental health standpoint. The parents were leaders in their Christian church and the boy happily attended Sunday School and had professed a belief in Jesus as his Savior.

Below, Dr. McConnell responds:

My name is Dr. AJ McConnell and I am a clinical psychologist. My clinical expertise is in the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities. I also have significant experience working with individuals with anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, marriage and family concerns, and other mental health conditions.
As a Christian, I will integrate the Bible and my expertise in the science of psychology when working with an individual that has requested and provided consent for faith-based counseling. There are seven main reasons why I wanted to provide a response to the Dr. Throckmorton’s case example.

  1. My experience as an individual that has attended church throughout my life is that most churches often minimize mental health and there are a lack of churches with adequate resources to help and serve the mentally ill. It is simply not a significant focus of Christianity in America.
  2. There is still a stigma regarding mental health, particularly among Christians. The brain is an organ in the human body. Similar to other organs (i.e., heart, lung, pancreas, etc), the brain may need treatment when medically necessary. Science indicates that many psychological disorders have a biological cause. For example, low levels of the neurotransmitter, Serotonin, contributes to symptoms of depression. Furthermore, low levels of GABA is associated with anxiety.
  3. When Christians are told that Jesus and the Bible are all that is needed in counseling, this assumes that the person is in a mindset where they can accept Biblical advice and adequately apply it to their situation. In contrast, the nature of a disorder is that a person is suffering and they require counseling, medication, or a combination of both to become well.
  4. Children and/or adults might feel unnecessary guilt from the church if they need to pursue professional assistance with a psychologist, psychiatrist, or other medical professional to treat a disorder. Most Christians and churches do not shame an individual for pursuing medical interventions for diabetes, cancer, hypertension, etc. The same approach should be taken for mental illness in order to reduce this unnecessary guilt. Overall, I recommend finding a specialist that aligns with your beliefs (2 Corinthians 6:14).
  5. One of the impressions from reading the 95 Theses written by Heath Lambert was that mental illness is the consequence of sin. I agree that we live in a fallen, sinful world, but Jesus rebuked the notion that a disorder / illness is always a consequence of an individual’s sin (see John 9:1-7).
  6. There is confusion among the Christian church regarding the field of psychology. Psychologists do provide counseling. However, we also specialize in other areas, such as psychological testing / assessments. For example, one of my specialties is in psychological assessments that determine if an individual meets criteria for an autism spectrum disorder, learning disability, or intellectual disability. My assessments are used by schools to assist students that need special education services. I strongly believe that there are psychological interventions that do not contradict the Bible.
  7. I admit that my views are not perfect. I have never meet Dr. Heath Lambert but I would assume that we would agree on most things with only a few minor differences. I believe a healthy and constructive debate regarding Biblical Counseling and Christian Psychology can be beneficial in both a professional and spiritual sense (Proverbs 27:17).

Regarding the case example, here would be my proposed approach using an integration of the Bible and psychological interventions:
Stage One: Initial Assessment
Based on the description provided, I would assume the child met DSM-5 criteria for a Separation Anxiety Disorder.
The first step is conducting a comprehensive initial assessment with the child and his mother. This would involve asking questions regarding the nature of the child’s anxiety at home, school, and church. Given the sudden onset of symptoms, I would also assess for any recent family stressors, abuse, bullying, and/or academic difficulties. Next, I would ask both the child and his parents what they have attempted to resolve the issue prior to starting counseling. I believe it is also important to gain an understanding of how they view the Bible and what verses and other spiritual practices, if any, they have been implementing to better understand and resolve their situation.
As a psychologist, I would collect data to assist in determining the appropriate diagnosis and to help guide treatment. Examples include having the child, parent(s), and teacher complete the BASC-3. I would also have the child complete the Beck Youth Inventory – Second Edition, specifically, the anxiety and self-concept inventories. If resources were available, a “Functional Behavior Assessment” would be completed. This would provide information on what happens in the classroom immediately before the child attempts to leave the classroom and what the consequence of the behavior is. This helps identify the function or purpose of the child’s behavior.
Stage Two: Treatment
My treatment approach would integrate Biblical principles and science. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based approach for this type of case example (see http://effectivechildtherapy.org/concerns-symptoms-disorders/disorders/fear-worry-and-anxiety/ for a list of evidence-based approaches for anxiety). The premise of CBT is that an individual’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are interrelated and influence each other. A part of the psychologist’s role in CBT is to assist individuals in identifying and modifying any “thinking errors” and/or maladaptive behaviors that are contributing to a problem.
Cognitive Interventions:

  • Discuss patterns of thinking errors that are common for children with anxiety.
  • Help child identify his “self-talk.” In other words, what does the child tell himself or think about when he is feeling anxious. Similarly, what thoughts does he have to help him feel less anxious. A worksheet I use has children fill out thought bubbles in cartoon examples to help them understand the concept of “self-talk.”
  • Help child identify how to rate the intensity of his anxiety on a scale from 1-10. I will have some children and/or parents use the Daylio app to track their level of anxiety.
  • Identify and study Bible verses on anxiety in order to understand how God thinks about anxiety. This provides a healthy and Biblical model of how to think about anxiety.

Behavioral Interventions:

  • Replace worrying and anxious thoughts with prayer.
  • Biblical meditation. Meditate on verses regarding anxiety as well as verses regarding the protective nature of God.
  • Teach and practice deep breathing exercises.
  • Teach and practice progressive muscle relaxation exercises
  • Teach assertive communication if teasing / bullying is occurring within the school setting.
  • In-vivo exposure to anxiety-producing situations. This should be presented in a hierarchical order ranging from least anxiety provoking to most-anxiety provoking.
  • Real life exposure to anxiety-producing situation at school.

Other interventions:

  • Discuss and educate child and parents on how God created the human body. A simple description is explaining that the Limbic system in or brain processes our emotions (e.g., fear) and that our autonomic nervous system is either in a state of relaxation or activation against stress. Therefore, we cannot both be calm and anxious at the same time. Exercises such as deep breathing, muscle relaxation, and other relaxing activities forces our body to calm down in response to stress and anxiety.
  • I also have children create or draw a list of coping skills they can use when feeling anxious. I encourage them to focus on activities in four areas: creative tasks, social outlets (who they can talk to), physical activities, and relaxation. This will help the child identify things that he/she can do when he begins to feel the first signs of anxiety at school.
  • Develop plan with parents and school staff on how to approach situations in which the child feels anxious. Designate a space where the child can take a break and/or meet with an available staff person to discuss anxiety.
  • Have child carry picture of parents and/or a personal belonging of his parents that he can hold onto in the classroom.
  • Use a visual schedule with the child so that he can see the daily routine of the school and also help him identify what time of day he will get to go home and see his parents.
  • Provide child with a notebook that he can use to write a letter or draw a picture for his parents when he first arrives into the classroom.
  • Have parents provide child with a short note that he can only read once he enters the classroom.

Last, as a psychologist, I would continue to collect data to determine if treatment is effective. This would include obtaining feedback from the child and parents, reviewing parent and teacher behavioral logs, and/or additional administration of psychological tests (e.g., BASC-3).
I can be reached via email if anyone would like to provide feedback to my case conceptualization.

Tomorrow, I will react to the Allchin and McConnell and present my approach.
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