Biblical Versus Mainstream Counseling Terminology Essay Example

being focused on God and his direction of how we should live our lives. God has laid out his guide for us to follow in the Bible and Christian counselors work to help their client's use His guide to work through their troubles. Both of these views have seemed to be on opposite ends of the spectrum for as long as counseling has been in existence.

Over the past several years, there has been a surge to try and integrate these two views into one view that will be more beneficial for the client as well as the counselor. The problem with this idea is that there has been so much debate between the professionals in each of these over the years that they do not want to admit to a common ground between the two.

Clinton ; Ohlschlager (2002) discuss the importance of the use of the Bible in contemporary counseling sessions and the use of contemporary counseling terminology and techniques in Christian counseling.

They suggest a more liberal approach to the counseling session one in which the Bible is used to enrich the counseling session and make it more rewarding for everyone. The research that was completed in this analysis was done to demonstrate how important the role the Bible and its terminology can be to contemporary counseling. The research was conducted on several terms that were commonly used in both the Bible and the counseling profession. It was determined that were many terms used in counseling today that are also mentioned in various verses in both the Old and New Testament.

The research showed that many of these terms have the same

meaning in both disciplines and some have totally different meanings which was the main purposes of this paper. The reader will be presented with the meaning of the terms in both the Bible and the counseling profession, they will be presented with examples of their use in both the Old and New Testament, and how their usage compares under both disciplines. It will be important that the reader realizes that the use of Biblical terms in contemporary counseling can only work to increase the positive outcome of counseling and make the experience more enlightening for all involved.

Analysis Counselor/Counsel According to Holman's Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2003), a counselor is someone who will analyze a situation and then give advice to the people involved and help direct them toward the appropriate decision or course of action. In the King James Version of the Bible, there are 14 references to the word counselor, 11 of which are ocated in the Old Testament and three of which are located in the New Testament.

The term counselor can also be understood to mean someone who acts as a consultant not only to one person but to a group of people as well.

An example of this can be found in the Old Testament in 1 Kings 12:6-7, 6 "And, King Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people? 7 And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and nswer them, and speak good words to them, then

they will be thy servants for ever. " These Scriptures show that even in the Bible a counselor was sought out to give advice and to help people make important decisions in their life.

The words that were spoken to King Rehoboam demonstrate some of the guiding principles in counseling today. He was advised to speak kindly to his people and answer their questions, and the result would be that they would serve him.

Counselors should not expect their clients to serve them, but they should tollow this same advice when talking with their clients. In the Bible, there are many persons who were considered to be counselors including Joseph of Arimatheae.

In Mark 1 5:43, "Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counselor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in bodily unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus". This shows a good example that many people in the Bible was perceived as counselors because of their ability to give advice and help others.

There are many additional instances in both the Old and New Testament that show examples of the use and influence of counselors. There are even instances where God is considered to be a counselor.

In Psalms 16:7, "l will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons". Discussion The use of counselors and the act of counseling is very prevalent in the Bible and in the examples demonstrated above. One of the key aspects of counseling is the fact that it requires the counselor to be a good listener.

As evident in both the Bible as well as

the mainstream counseling setting, in order to be an effective counselor you must be an effective listener.

Not only is it important to listener to what the client is saying but the counselor must also be able to "hear" what the client is saying. The examples that have been presented show that the role of the counselor has always, in one way or another, been a part of our existence. In the contemporary counseling setting, a counselor is someone who gives advice or counsels another person concerning educational, personal, or professional issues (McMinn, 1996).

The Biblical examples and the definition presented by McMinn show that there is a correlation between the meaning of counselor in both disciplines.