Psychotherapy and Spiritual Formation

Summary

This article discusses about the need to integrate counseling for the soul and the mind. Many counselors feel as though only focusing on psychotherapy is causing disconnect from the true definition of a “whole” person.  It goes into the meaning of what a “soul” actually is in the Old Testament and New Testament. “The predominant emphasis and meaning of [soul] in the Old Testament is the whole person. The human does not have a [soul]; the human is a [soul], and lives as a [soul]. The Old Testament portrays for us a holistic emphasis with a dualistic implication” (Beck 2003, p 26). It is the counselor’s responsibility to understand the soul in order to better help the client.  Beck believes that as Christian counselors, if we do not know and understand the true definition of “soul” then it can be detrimental to the client and their therapeutic journey. “We define soul as the person, not the person as described by secular psychology, but the person described by Scripture” (Beck 2003, p 33).

What does this have to do with class and counseling in general?

Lately, we have been discussing how important it is to understand what the material aspect of a person is, and what the immaterial aspect is as well. Many counselors are taught in a secular setting, not to mention most of the theories of counseling are secular based.  With going beyond the material person (which is what most mental health professionals are not taught to do), we get a better sense of the human being as a whole. Christian counselors are better in practice because we are able to look at the client in a holistic way instead of limiting ourselves to what science says.  There are many times where science, psychology, theorists, etc allows the client to act a certain way or do certain things because it is considered “normal”. Whenever a client reaches that “normal” status, most counselors believe that the client is in a healthy place and stop the therapy process.  Knowing how to integrate psychotherapy and spiritual formation allows us to know that what is considered “normal” is not always normal in God’s eyes, and then allows us to go deeper and truly help the client come closer to Christ. “This soul or person possesses a rich emotional life, an amazingly complex psychological existence, a capacity for deep spirituality, and (most importantly) a need for being in right relationship with the Creator of the universe.” (Beck 2003, p 33)

Is There Recognition In Heaven?

I read an article about if there will be personal recognition in heaven. In our 507 class we had talked about if there would be personal identity after death and this article agrees with that. Since we are all created in the image of God and God is not a physical being; then in spirit we pass on from one mode of existence to another. So the spirit is just as capable for recognition as before with we were in our bodies. Also our spirits will be enhanced after death because we won't have our physical bodies holding us back.

How does this all related to counseling?

This article relates to counseling because in order to know who we are and to prepare ourselves for heaven, we need to know about our own personal identity. What that means is that we need to prepare ourselves spiritually, physically, and mentally to help those who may need our guidance and to make us stronger counselors. We as christian counselors need to prepare our spiritual wellness by having a good relationship with God; by being engaged in religious and spiritual activities such as mediation, prayer, and worship which will as help our physical and emotional health as well. We also need to be aware of our feelings and how we express them to those we counsel because they maybe grieving or going through a hard time. All of this will help us to prepare our body, mind, and soul.


How does this relate to me as you may be asking right now?

I believe that our spirits leave our bodies after death and that once our spirits leave our bodies we have enhanced abilities. What those enhanced abilities are I am not sure of yet and probably won't know until I go to heaven. But I know when I do go to heaven I will be there with those whom I loved that have passed away and I know that I will be able to recognize them there.All I can do now is prepare myself for that day by prayer, mediation, worship, keeping up my emotional health, staying healthy, and by treating others like Jesus would do. With my counseling side I will prepare by helping all of whom I can to accomplish their goals, to move on, to heal, to forgive, or to repent whatever it is that is bothering them.

The Soul: True Identity

What is true identity?

In an article, written by Dr. Jim Manganiello, titled “The Importance of Soul”, he discusses how a person’s well-being and overall health is associated to a person’s connection with his soul, which he describes as our real or essential identity that lies beyond our self-image-based surface identity.  Essentially, he encapsulates the soul as being the root of our identity.    

Manganiello states that if we merely focus on the surface of life and what he calls as our “family-based conditioned self-image”, we limit ourselves to live and act in accord with that identity verses living in accord with our souls.  That disconnection with one’s soul is demonstrated through “neurotic achievement”.  Manganiello describes this as one’s actions of seeking security and satisfaction through money, power, or any other superficial means.  Ultimately, this display of disconnection will lead to more stress and anxiety that results in one being more vulnerable to health problems and early death. 

You can find the article here

I believe that this is a valuable perspective and can be applied to Christian counseling. 

True Identity

Understanding that the “soul” or “true identity” of a person is defined in Christ, will help Christian counselors see past a person’s surface identity.  We will not be affective Christian counselors if we merely focus on changing a person’s “surface identity”.  Rather, in order to be affective Christian counselors, we must help people live in accord with their “true identity” that can only be found in Christ.  Anything else from that will only lead to false security and satisfaction. As Christian counselors, we are to guide our counselees to seek that security in Christ not in things of this world.          

Although we all have our identity in Christ, we were all given the freedom to choose to embrace it or to reject it.  If we so choose to reject it, instead of living freely, we will be bound to the limitations that we ourselves establish based on our surface identity. 

Living in accord with your identity in Christ will empower one to live with purpose, in certainty that his life has meaning because he was given a soul “your essential identity” that will persist beyond this world to be in union with God. 

The Soul of a Drop Dead Diva

I have not been feeling well for several months now and I have needed something to pass my time. Most people would probably watch television but I don't happen to have cable. I decided to look through Netflix for something on instant streaming when I came across a very interesting TV show called Drop Dead Diva. This is an interesting show where a model named Deb gets in a car crash, is sent to heaven, and then accidentally sent back into the body of an overweight lawyer named Jane. I was not sure how enjoyable this television show would be but it did get me thinking about counseling and people.

In the very first episode when Deb wakes up in Jane's body, she is very confused. She tells her guardian angel that even though she is in Jane's body, she only has Deb's memories. The guardian angel (named Fred) then tells her that memories stay with the soul. In Dr. Corsini's class we have talked about the soul and what the Bible has to say about it. Biblically speaking, the soul is the immaterial part of a human that can be saved. Biblically speaking the spirit of a person is where the thinking occurs and is the life breath of the individual.

The longer I watched this show and thought about life, the more I realized that media portrays a lot of untruthful things about heaven and the afterlife. Although we may be given new bodies in heaven, we will never be reassigned to already existing bodies on earth. This brought me to realize then when I work and counsel teen girls that I should ask what type of shows they watch. This could lead to some of the false beliefs that they deal with.

Biblically speaking, the soul in Drop Dead Diva would have never been able to placed in another persons body except the heavenly body that he or she is given. If we do have memories in heaven then they would come from our spirit, not our souls. It is all a little confusing but our memories seem to be immaterial aspects of us. What would happen if some would had brain injury and damaged the part in their head that allowed to them to store memories? If they can no longer remember their memories then have they lost an immaterial aspect of themselves through a material accident? This is just some of the questions that keep me up at night. I would be interested as to what you think.

Does it have a soul?

I was watching and episode of Make it or brake it the other day. It is a show about these four girls who are trying to make it on the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics team. Though out this season, you see each girl making horrible decisions that ruin there chances of ever making it. This last several discussed the is one girl, Emily, who in the heat of the moment decides to have sex with her boyfriend and ends up pregnant.

This the recent episode they discuss the option that this young girl has whether she will continue on with gymnastics, or have an abortion. The one thing I was somewhat surprised at is that they present every option With in this one episode. They present it from a point of whether or not this Child had a soul, and the different views people had one it (a child has a soul at birth, a child had a soul, at conception, at the first heart beat, doesn't have one at all, etc).

This made me thing about what we have talked about in class all year, that man is both material and immaterial. Those writers, and the director who ever is in charge of that show and it's writing, knows that there is this spiritual side to all of us. There is something about the spiritual side that man cannot deny. Perhaps because they know the spiritual side, and see it in them, or perhaps its the fact that they know there is someone bigger then them that is holding the world together.

But it made me feel like maybe there is hope for the world to be redeemed just a little bit, because they recognized the importance of a soul, in something that isn't even born. In the end, I believe she decided to keep the baby, but it has been 100% determined yet.

So that's why mom can't remember my name

In class we are really taking a hard look at what makes up a person so we can make a better attempt at knowing how to help them in our future careers. Currently we are going from the outside in. We went from the body, to the soul, and now we are on the spirit, with more to come. One of the things that has stood out to me, on our magic school bus ride into the unseen parts of the person, is that all three parts we talked about “remembers”.




Science Daily had an article in it that talked about memory and how the way we use it changes as we age. The article talks about the difference between implicit memory and explicit memory and how young people tend to use their explicit memory more and older people tend to use the implicit.


So, the body remembers by way of the brain. The soul remembers and we know this based on Revelation 6:9-10. Then also the spirit remembers as told by Psalm 77:6. But this leaves me with many questions. Are these all different memories? Are all these memories stored separately? Are they implicit or explicit memories? More importantly are all of these memories affected by age? I am really hoping not. I would like to think that whatever it is that my soul and spirit is remembering it is getting sharper with age whether explicit or implicit or something totally different.

A Dragon Transformed

In, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" we encounter a rather unfriendly character named Eustace. When his cousins Edmund and Lucy return to the magical land of Narnia, he is inadvertantly brought along and is far from happy about the expedition. He spends much of his time complaining, declairing himself sick, writing nasty things in his journal, and causing mischief around the boat. One day they go to an island where Eustace wanders off and finds an enchanted treasure. He tries to gather as much of the treasure as he can, but this is hard work and he falls asleep. When Eustace wakes up, he finds that he has been transformed into a dragon. At first his counsins and their friends do not recognize him, but when they discover what happened they welcome Eustace back and try to make him comfortable. During his time as a dragon, Eustace reflects on his bad behavior and decides to change his ways. Instead of causing trouble, he looks for ways to help his friends, such as hauling trees that they use to repair their ship, and making a fire to keep the crew warm. Although Eustace is improving his behavior, he is still a dragon and that is beyond his ability to change. Eustace desperately tears at his dragon scales, but it is no use. At last, it is the lion Aslan that tears the scales off and frees Eustace from the dragon body he was trapped in.

During our class, we discussed the difference between the soul and the spirit. When the person makes Jesus lord of their life, their soul is saved entirely, once and for all. However, their spirit is in need of sactification, that is, the process of becoming more like Jesus Christ. Although people can try to improve their behavior both before and after their soul is redeemed, we will all be pitiful dragons unless we submit ourselves to Jesus and allow him to set us free.

So What’s the Difference Between Soul and Spirit and Why Does it Matter?

In their Q&A section, Come Reason Ministries (CRM) seeks to answer the question, What’s the difference between the soul and the spirit? It’s a good question and one that most probably have not given much thought to. CRM argues that we are souls who have spirits, just has we have bodies. The soul embodies ones entire makeup; the spirit allows one to connect with God, like the body allows one to connect with others. CRM argues that Hebrews 4:12 - "For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit..." – warrants such a division. This seems to me to be an accurate understanding of the text (though I would prefer to see a stronger connection of the differences with Scripture).

So is this discussion even important?

Watchman Nee, a leader in the underground Christian church movement in China thought so. He wrote,

Is it a matter of any consequence to divide the spirit and soul? It is an issue of supreme importance for it affects tremendously the spiritual life of a believer. How can a believer understand spiritual life if he does not know what is the extent of the realm of the spirit? Without such understanding how can he grow spiritually? To fail to distinguish between spirit and soul is fatal to spiritual maturity. Christians often account what is [soulish] as spiritual, and thus they remain in a soulish state and seek not what is really spiritual. How can we escape loss if we confuse what God has divided? (The Spiritual Man, vol. 1, p. 22).

Thus, to understand the differences between soul and spirit is to help one mature as a Christian in relationship with God and others.

The mind, more than the brain...

In this short video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj4HisssD_Y&feature=related) Peter Gaiam Russell described the brain to be a material part located in our skull and the mind to be our subjective experiences. Peter Russell is considered an author, speaker, Philosopher and Futurist interested in the manner individuals develop holistically. Although he is not a Christian he seems to adhere to the belief that there is something more than just the material aspect of our brain.

In our class, we wrestled with the concept of mind and brain, and to the best of our abilities we established that the mind must be something a little more than just the brain. The brain and the mind seem to be interdependent That is the functioning of the brain influence the operation of the mind and the mind could affect the chemistry and the make up of the brain.

As Christians we accept that the mind, sometimes referred to as the soul amongst some Christians, is more than the brain, but how do we define it Biblically? Did God even intent for us to have a comprehensive definition in the Bible about what the mind might be? If the answer is yes than these matters could be easily settled, but if the answer is "No", what source can we trust in attempting to define what the mind is?