September 18, 2013 · 6:56 pm

Can you pray your mental illness away? Seems many Christians think so


Lifeway Research has published a news item about a recent survey of conservative, evangelical Christians and their beliefs about mental illness. About half feel that with only prayer and bible study, a person could be healed

Lifeway Survey Questionfrom serious mental illness.

I suppose there may be some who answer this question in such a way as to mean that it is possible to be miraculously healed. I would agree. But is that the thinking behind those surveyed? My sense is that is not what most are thinking when they answer this way.

This most likely reveals that many Christians believe that symptoms described by the medical world as “mental illness” are only or mainly character or behavior problems.

We need a more robust theology of the body if we are going to better understand how the body influences our expression of mental illness.

 

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September 18, 2013 · 5:10 am

Study Global Trauma Recovery Online!


Dr. Langberg and I are forming our next cohort interested in studying global trauma recovery principles and practice. If you have thought about getting such training, now might be a good time! Check out this link to our website where you can find descriptions/objectives of courses in the series as well as application materials (see links on the right of the hyper-linked page). 

 

If you aren’t sure about doing the whole series, just try our introductory month-long course. You can get graduate credit gtc-logoor 40 hours of CEs for just $500. Here’s a few more details:

 

 

  • CEs are NBCC approved
  • Class runs November 9th to December 14th (time off for Thanksgiving)
  • Workload is about 10-12 hours per week (readings, discussion boards, brief response papers)
  • 4 required live 1 hour web conference to discuss material with the professors
  • Focus of the class is to explore psychosocial trauma in international settings

 

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September 17, 2013 · 12:49 pm

The Wonderful False World of Conferences


I’ve just returned from four plus days of conferencing with the American Association of Christian Counselors. I am told about 7500 of us were there. I had the good pleasure of presenting, listening, discussing, learning, and debating. I renewed old acquaintances and made new ones that I hope to keep up with long after the conference. As one who loves learning and debating, conferences are nearly required activities. Sure, I get my continuing education credits (CEs) met but even more so, I get to try on new ideas and debate old ones. It is 4 days of stimulation of thoughts, ideas, and feelings.

But it is also false.

At conference hotels, someone makes all your meals, cleans up after you, makes your bed, refreshes your towel and makes you feel important when the concierge asks, “anything else I can do for you.” During and after sessions where I am the presenter, I have all sorts of folks who want to solicit my opinions and wisdom. They seem to like me and some even want to emulate me. They ask me for coffee and my business card so they can connect more later. Conferences also include plenty of socializing. Everyone is happy to be there, wears their good clothes, has interesting things to say, and seems to be the most reasonable people on the planet. No one seems to have much emotional or relational baggage at these conferences. There are no kids to reprimand, fights with spouses, and conflicts to navigate.

Oh, and when the main speakers appeal to our work as “kingdom critical”, I am reminded that I am indeed important to God and the world. Without me, the world as we know it would not exist.

You see the falseness when conferences scratch that itch for intellectual and relational stimulation and tempt us to believe that this is how life should be. My wife and children don’t hang on my every word, aren’t interested in being my concierge, and no one freshens up my room for me when I leave for the day.

Don’t get me wrong. I love conferences. Ideas flow afresh. Collaborative arrangements solidify. My mind and heart are filled. But, I also need to remember that I and the rest of the attendees aren’t really as special as we imagine. This is a Sabbath from the real work and not where life is really lived.

It was probably good that one of my presentations was on the topic of narcissism. I might need to re-read my notes again.

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September 14, 2013 · 8:53 am

Solving the problem of isolation among counselors around the world


Last night, Diane Langberg, myself, and AACC hosted a small meeting of friends interested in starting counseling associations in their home countries. We had visitors from Romania, Ukraine, Lebanon, Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria, and Rwanda. Each representative gave a bit of a status

A few of the attendees

A few of the attendees

update for their country.  Each of these countries has Christian counseling activities (counseling, training, etc.) underway in their country and each wants to  be better able to hold these counselors to a higher standard of skill and ethics. Some of the countries have formed associations and are applying for government recognition. Others are in the process and are looking for more help in developing association standards.

But the problem of isolation may not be solved by an association. Each person who spoke raised 2 serious concerns:

  1. Our secular colleagues think we are not professionals but merely faith healing quacks
  2. Our pastor friends think we are not really Christian because we have studied psychology and counseling

It is apparent that we need to do a better job to communicate and illustrate how Christian counseling can be biblically AND psychologically sound. If we do not, any association built will merely become a ghetto. This is not to say that we shouldn’t build associations. The opposite is true. But, unless we learn to speak theologically about the nature and purpose of counseling, we likely won’t get very far.

Reducing Isolation with Technology?

I’m curious if anyone might have ideas about the best way to have these friends stay in contact and to share documents that might help each other develop their own associations. We have a number of ethics codes here in the US but I imagine that some significant portion of those codes may not be appropriate in other contexts. If our friends in Ghana develop an ethics code, wouldn’t it be great if they could easily share it with associations in other African countries. So, is there an existing, SIMPLE, low-bandwidth, platform out there that works best for staying in touch and sharing items and yet is protected by login?

I long for the day when those who are resource rich (content) will be willing to freely distribute to brothers and sisters around the world, and that day when we all eschew holding tightly to those resources in order to build our own kingdom. I am indeed grateful for the leadership AACC is taking in bringing these individuals together and to resource them in some very generous ways! May we all follow suit!

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September 13, 2013 · 12:31 am

Addressing Trauma in International Settings: 3 Models in Dialogue


The 2013 AACC World Conference continues. Thursday, Drs Harriet Hill, Matthew Stanford, and Diane Langberg and myself will make the above titled presentation. Harriet will present an overview of the American Bible Society’s Trauma Healing Institute work of developing helpers who can help others re-engage Scripture around their traumas. That model is centered around the small but helpful book, “Healing Wounds of Trauma” (you can find this on bibles.com). Matthew’s work is the Mental Health Grace Alliance project of hope groups–structured support groups that have been tested in Bengazi IDP camps and other locations. Diane and I will describe the beginning work of the Global Trauma Recovery Institute which is designed to support the existing work by local caregivers.

Follow This slide show link for our slides.

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September 12, 2013 · 8:39 am

Rape Perpetration Statistics: How common is it in SE Asia?


Just saw this UN funded study in the Lancet (you can download full-text as well) after reading this news item about the study. Stunningly, 1:4 men in the large cross-sectional study indicated they had forced sex on a woman, whether girlfriend, spouse, or stranger. They did not use the word “rape” in the study in order to get at the issue of consent. For some, rape conjures a violent act at gunpoint. However, when it is used to describe (as it should!) sex with those who are unable to consent (inebriated, too young, etc.) or those who consent unwillingly (forced spousal sex), you can see the numbers show a common belief that men need to find sexual release and that females must comply.

I also found the re-offending rates stunning. Those who commit one rape are much more likely to commit a second rape. This is of course not surprising if the society does not punish the first one nor give women the possibility of seeking justice after rape.

Does anyone know of a recent similar study done here in the US? I would like to see that too. One might hope that attitudes are different here but I suspect there is a similar if less frequent pattern here.

 

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September 11, 2013 · 8:42 am

AACC 2013: Narcissistic Leaders and Systems


Today, AACC’s World Conference begins at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. This morning, Dr. Diane Langberg and myself will be running a pre-conference workshop entitled: Narcissistic Leaders and Organizations: Assessment and Intervention. I will start us off with a meditation from 1 Kings 1 (ideas I first heard from a sermon by Phil Ryken last year). We will review current explanations of narcissism as well as an emerging model that may be helpful for those who are trying to move beyond seeing narcissists as only arrogant and exploitive.

Can a system be narcissistic?

Yes. Here are some of the features.

  1. Leader exudes god-like status and does not share power; surrounded by yea-sayers, unwilling to tolerate disagreement, accept mentoring and willing to scapegoat others when failures arise
  2. Constituents gain self-esteem/identity from the organization and love of the system is the highest priority; insider status provides immeasurable value
  3. There is an approved way of thinking, one must take sides for/against; constituents justify dictatorial behaviors of leaders
  4. No toleration for admiration of competitors
  5. Inability to assess own weaknesses

But, here is a most interesting fact: most collective narcissistic systems are NOT filled with individual narcissists! There is something  “in the water” that brings non-narcissists together to develop these 4 features (as written about by Golec de Zavala and colleagues in 104:6 of the the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology):

  1. Inflated belief and emotional investment in group superiority
  2. Required continuous external validation and vigilance against all threats of loss of status
  3. Perception that intergroup criticism is a threat and exaggerated sensitivity to any form of criticism
  4. Intergroup violence can restore positive group image (violence may be verbal as well as physical

Why teach counselors about narcissistic systems?

Counselors often interact with church and parachurch systems by consulting with the system, counseling leaders, or advocating for an individual client. It is good to be able to (a) recognize some of the unhealthy egocentric patterns (blind spots) leaders and systems develop, and (b) offer help to individuals and systems that do not get the counselor sucked into the system or unnecessarily alienate the system. I have had the opportunity to work with a significant number of churches and have learned that there are ways to help and ways that I can get in the way, especially if I begin to attack a long held belief system. For example, if parachurch organization A has had a string of CEO/Board conflicts, then I as a counselor may have to navigate some long cherished beliefs about the system when asked to consult on their next hire.

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September 9, 2013 · 7:08 pm

Classroom advice to grad students: Guest post over at biblical.edu


Our faculty blog at http://www.biblical.edu carries my post today. Check it out to see what 3 recommendations I make to our incoming students as they kick off their MA in Counseling program tonight!

 

 

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September 6, 2013 · 9:15 pm

Advice to an abused wife? Guest post over at biblical.edu


For those interested in a new resource on dealing with abusive relationships, check out this post about Leslie Vernick’s new book on emotionally destructive marriages. I highly recommend it. Leslie gets the insanity of emotional abuse and is able to point out a good and godly response.

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August 27, 2013 · 4:50 pm

Want to be a Global Trauma Recovery facilitator?


Our Global Trauma Recovery Institute is gearing up to start our 2nd continuing education cohort in November for those who want training to become culturally savvy trauma recovery specialists. If you have been wanting to understand and address the issues of trauma that exist here and around the world, have graduate education in a counseling related field (or are involved in similar kind of work) and are able to complete both online and on campus training, then please check out our other site: www.globaltraumarecovery.org. This flyer will give you the nuts and bolts of our 3 course series (times, locations, and costs). This link will bring you to the course abstract downloads so you can see what you will be learning.

The first course begins November 9 and is fully on-line. We are NBCC approved provider of continuing education in mental health and counseling.

Who are the teachers? Diane Langberg, PhD and myself.

 

Check us out!

GTRI - First Graduating Class

Cohort One

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