Biblical Counseling in a Therapeutic Age: A Review of Greg E. Gifford’s ‘Lies My Therapist Told Me’
“While I agree with some of Gifford’s concerns, I’m grateful that counseling and medical interventions are more readily available. If humans are both body and soul, and both are broken, then we need holistic help, which sometimes isn’t available within the local church.” - TGC
Gifford is an example of the problem with Christian counseling and the craziness that comes out of the Christian counseling arena all too often.
I’m not very familiar with his take on it, though it doesn’t sound like anything new. But maybe you know more about his take? Anything new, or is he echoing the usual oversimplifications?
My past experience in reading in this genre is that these critics of mental health care don’t usually seem to be working with very good information—and usually have never sought help from a professional counselor. I think I read one where the author did see one pro, but for some reason it was a psychiatrist. Which is an odd place to start. Most of it is talk therapy now and there is not a lot of eagerness to get people on medications.
I appreciate that the TGC writer noted that we are embodied creatures and there is a strong mind-body link. This is biblical anthropology. And it has huge implications if we give it a little thought.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
I feel that Gifford highlights the edges of secular therapy. At the end of the day Scripture is paramount. If you are stricken with cancer, you need to see a doctor for the physical aspects of the disease, but that doesn't relegate Scripture to a corner. We are also on a Spiritual journey and need Scripture to help us make sense of it, persevere through this trial, keep our eyes on Christ. Someone who is dealing with trauma should see a therapist (and there are a ton of Christian therapists out there), as well as Scripture. It isn't either or. If I am dealing with PTSD, I need the grounding techniques found in secular therapy, but I also need Scripture to teach me perseverance during this period, I need Scripture to outline my thoughts.... It is not an either or. You can't control PTSD just by putting your thoughts into submission. Not quite how that works. Anymore than I can stop bleeding from a cut by just having faith that God can do all things.
It isn’t either or. If I am dealing with PTSD, I need the grounding techniques found in secular therapy, but I also need Scripture to teach me perseverance during this period, I need Scripture to outline my thoughts…. It is not an either or. You can’t control PTSD just by putting your thoughts into submission. Not quite how that works.
I think this is a good way to look at it, and it’s consistent with biblical anthropology. I don’t know why this continues to be so difficult to recognize. Scripture is clear that…
- humans are body-spirit unions, embodied creatures.
- body affects mind and vise versa
- you can improve the mind by improving the body
- you can improve the body by improving the mind
Given what Scripture reveals and does not reveal about the interplay between body and spirit/mind, it makes a ton of sense to try to work problems from all the angles, not just one or the other.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
Discussion