Discipleship Counseling This Discussion Provides an In-Depth Essay

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Discipleship Counseling

This discussion provides an in-depth analysis of the whole situation about Christian counseling. Through the book, Anderson has been able to come up with themes that could come in handy in counseling. Throughout the text, there is general agreement that Christianity is particularly noteworthy in seeking the way forward in the counseling of individuals. Spiritual warfare is one such theme that no single Christian counselor should ignore. An individual is disturbed spiritually, and this is the reason that prompts for prayers. In accordance to the scriptures, prayers are the role of an individual. The obligation of praying is left to the counselor and the individual. Anderson also argues of the seeking of a holistic approach in the treatment of a person. There are different reasons that lead an individual to the edge and force them to seek for counseling. Therefore, the counselor should try to use a method that will encompass all the reasons that they may have. The example on anger is perhaps the most suitable to describe this points. There are many reasons that lead to individuals having anger as an issue requiring help (Anderson 2003).

This is the reason why Anderson sought a balanced method that would cater for all the possible causes. There are instances of anger that are as a result of body strains while others are due to mental stress. All these require that different methods be used to approach the different situations. Therefore, counselors should have apt knowledge on how to handle different situations. Finally, this discussion points out compassion as the last theme that Anderson sought to offer. Without compassion, it is futile to offer words of encouragement to the aggrieved parties. This is because the individual requires a listening ear in order to have certainty that their situation is not as hopeless as they earlier thought. Therefore, the whole discussion is about the themes that Anderson seeks to address in his book on discipleship counseling.

Introduction

In the scriptures, one of the points that manifests clearly in most cases are the role of leaders is which entails serving the community. All this is possible not only physically, but also in the spiritual manner. Not only do the servants of the Lord perform physical manifestations to support the people, but they also counsel people effectively. However, this one aspect has disappeared over the years. In the current conditions, laypeople are either unsure on the methods of getting to individuals, or they are totally in the dark on these issues. This is the reason why there is a need for discipleship counseling. One advantage that counseling in the Christian way has over psychology is that it takes a holistic approach (Anderson 2003). However, according to Anderson, warfare keeps this from happening. Throughout the text of the book, Anderson explains how spiritual warfare is one of the issues that have to be dealt in this counseling. Another point that he brings out vividly is the essence of compassion in all types of counseling. Moreover, he addresses the key factor that this type of counseling has over the others; that Christian counseling takes a holistic approach and is just not an approach to an individual aspect (Anderson 2003).

Spiritual warfare

The individuals who seek counseling all have one thing in common, and that is the spiritual disturbance. As much as individuals will come to seek help in the disguise of other physical problems, the key point is that the issue disturbs their spirits. However, most counselors seek to identify and sole the single issue that brought the person seek help, instead of healing their spirits. The main issue in the offering of support should be the oppression that an individual has gone through. If there is an issue that the Christian counselor should seek to establish first, is the spiritual oppression (Bailey 2008). After freeing the spirit off the oppression, the counselor can then seek to help the individual in the single problem that is disturbing them. However, most of the conventional psychology and the Christian approach overlook the spiritual oppression and go on to administer the medication for the issue.

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Presently, the church is overlooking the spiritual aspect of counseling when offering advice to the aggrieved parties who come for treatment. It is imperative to note that the counseling differs from one denomination to another. Therefore, there are different manners of handling the people who go to seek counseling. Some will underestimate the spiritual connection and instead overestimate the level of grief. Some denominations have action like prayers and other rituals. The problem with this approach is that it assumes that it is the role of the individual to battle with evil. This is in contrast to the belief in Christianity that the role of battling the evil spirits is the work of God and not the individual (Bailey 2008). In fact, the role of the individual should only be to pray to God and leave the rest to Him. However, as much as it is necessary to incorporate spirituality in this approach, it is imperative to strike a balance that will give the right treatment in overall.

Holistic approach

In most cases, individuals seek counseling in an effort to seek treatment for their mental conditions. However, there are different conditions that are suffering because of the approach. This is because apart from the mind, spirit and the body are also part of the treatment. Therefore, the right approach is to investigate different manners that can lead to the treatment of the individual. There are variations in the conditions of each patient, which is why there is a need for incorporations of different factors. One certain thing is that the counselor should deviate from working using the Christian standpoint (McMinn 2008). There should be incorporations of different standpoints in the counseling. However, this does not mean that there are deviations to the secular manner of thinking. This just means that the counselors should not be rigid to their own thinking but should instead use other ways of thinking in their treatment process (McMinn 2008). The result is that the focus will be on the body, spirit and soul. Therefore, a Christian counselor should take into account all the three aspects and seek to determine how they all relate to each other.

One of the most common conditions that make people seek treatment is anger. It is imperative to note that anger has different levels and varies according to how different individuals portray it. Therefore, there are different manners in which it can be dealt with accordingly. However, a counselor cannot administer drugs to an individual as the only part of the treatment. This is because the whole anger management touches on the spirit, body and soul. This is because there are different reasons that are likely to bring about anger to an individual. Lack of spiritual purpose is one of them and should be dealt with accordingly (Malony & Augsburger 2007). An individual could also be suffering from bodily harm, which the counselor needs to address congruently. An issue that disturbs the mind like family issues could also offset anger in an individual. Therefore, counseling should offer a holistic approach to avoid overlooking some issues and failing in general.

Compassion

It is illogical and downright of no use if the counselor does not put themselves in the shoes of the patient. This is the reason why it is particularly crucial to have compassion when dealing with individuals with problems. One of the ways in which a counselor can manifest the compassion is through just listening to the problems of the individual. Therefore, as much as the counselor may be extremely encouraging to the individuals, there is not as much effectiveness as there would be if they were just to listen. In this….....

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