The website, www.christianpost.com has picked up one of my recent blog posts about whether our bodies can cause us to sin. Never heard of the site before but nice to be noticed. You can see the post here if you missed it on my site: http://blogs.christianpost.com/guest-views/can-your-body-cause-you-to-sin-11696/
Tag Archives: counseling
Critical Incident Stress Debriefing: Does it work?
As someone who wants to advance faith-based global trauma recovery efforts, I am always on the prowl for effective interventions that could be sustainably used by local caregivers. However, it is always important to ask whether a popular or up-and-coming intervention has been fully vetted. Sadly, “does it work?” and “does it work here?” are often not fully answered before an intervention is promoted as the next best thing.
One of the most popular forms of immediate trauma intervention is called “Critical Incident Stress Debriefing,” a one time group intervention designed to forestall long-term trauma due to stressors. When you think of CISD, think of interventions with police or fire fighters or military after a traumatic experience.
But, does it work? This post here provides a helpful summary of the critique, even though it was published 2 years ago. As I read this I remembered an American Psychologist article on the same topic–but for the life of me I can’t find it. My recollection of this fantasy article is that these interventions seem to be helpful for about 50% of those who participate but that at this point it is not possible to tell which 50% will find it helpful. And further, a portion of the other 50% are actually harmed by it.
Share this:
Filed under counseling, counseling science, counseling skills, Psychology
Abuse in the Church Course/Conference Begins Tonight!
At 6 pm, our class/conference kicks off at BranchCreek church (Harleysville, PA) and runs through tomorrow afternoon. Boz Tchividjian of GRACE and myself will be providing plenary and breakouts on a variety of topics designed to help church leaders and counselors prevent and respond well to abuse within the church family. We are expecting a good crowd of pastors, church leaders, mental health workers, and of course, grad students!
Still want to come?
It is not too late. Information here. Bring payment (CC or cash/check) to the door. We’ll fit you in!
Share this:
Filed under Abuse, christian counseling, Christianity, counseling, counseling and the law, ethics
Guest Post at Society for Christian Psychology
www.christianpsych.org, the on-line home for the Society for Christian Psychology has posted a recent post of my own on their site and newsletter. You can find it here. Check out the rest of their site to find great full-length articles and journals. The Society is a division of AACC.
Share this:
Filed under AACC, christian counseling, christian psychology, Christianity, conflicts
Can your body make you sin? Post on www.biblical.edu
Over at the faculty blog at www.biblical.edu I have this first post of two on the topic of how our bodies influence our behavior. I raise two questions:
1. Can our bodies cause us to sin?
2. If so, are we responsible or culpable?
Share this:
Filed under biblical counseling, Biblical Seminary, counseling, Psychology
Still Face Experiment: Nonverbal communication and its absence?
I’m attending a trauma education seminar today where Dr. Sandra Bloom is teaching. Dr. Bloom has developed the Sanctuary Model of trauma recovery and care. There have been a number of very helpful ideas discussed and I hope to get them out to you in due course. However, I want to share with you all this interesting and short YouTube video (link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apzXGEbZht0).
Watch it and let me know your reaction to the still face experiment. What do you notice the baby trying to do?
Share this:
Filed under counseling science, Family, parenting
2 Reasons Why Every Church Needs an Abuse Response Plan
We all know that we shouldn’t wait until our house is on fire to purchase insurance on our home. We all know that a will is necessary before we die. But, do you know that most churches do not have any plan to deal with an allegation of child or adult abuse? While no plan is foolproof and almost every abuse allegation contains unique features requiring difficult decision-making, a basic plan usually contains directions for who will make sure plans are carried out and how the church will handle both victim and offender.
Why Don’t Churches Have a Plan?
Maybe one of the reasons many churches fail to have a plan is that they aren’t really convinced a plan is central to the work of the Gospel–as central as a doctrinal statement or the preaching of the Word. Maybe such a plan is seen as a necessary evil like unto car insurance, something you know you should have but are annoyed to pay such a large bill even though you haven’t needed to use the benefit.
2 Better Reasons!
Read my faculty post here over at www.biblical.edu for 2 Gospel reasons why every Christian organization needs an abuse response plan.
Share this:
Word choice matters!
Counselors often use what they call “additive” words to help flesh out the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of their clients. For example,
CLIENT: I feel so frustrated about how long it is taking for me to hear about the job I applied for.
COUNSELOR: You’re feeling anxious?
Certainly, my example is superficial and simple but you get the point. Frustrated doesn’t really adequately describe the true feelings of the client. We sometimes need help with defining what we really feel, think, or believe. This word addition happened to me today in a powerful way.
Today I was telling someone about a repeated discouragement I have experienced in recent months. In describing my experience I used the word “rumination” to describe the re-occurring thought pattern. She deftly said just one word.
“Grumbling?” [well, in fairness, that is what I remember]
That one word changes everything. When I choose to describe myself as having a repeating thought–a rumination–I am accurate if I am speaking only about the repeating part of the thought pattern. But notice that “rumination” doesn’t evaluate attitude or belief. What my trusted friend was trying to tell me was that I was allowing myself to have a pity party. I was accepting the disappointment feelings without any evaluation of what it was that I believed about the situation at hand. Truthfully, she was right. I was accepting the thoughts and feelings as accurate rather than interpretative of my situation.
Now, I am not arguing that those who have actual ruminations (a part of OCD) are all grumbling. But, it is a good reminder that the words we use do shape our perceptions of our life! We do not just respond to disappointments, we interpret them.
Share this:
Filed under Cognitive biases, counseling, counseling skills
Thoughts on closure by Bryan Maier
Is closure after trauma, grief, or some other sort of suffering a realistic goal? If so, how would you know when you arrived?
My colleague, Bryan Maier has a short review post of the book Closure: The Rush to End Grief and What it Costs Us. I think you will find his thoughts compelling to consider.
Sounds like a book we should all read.
Share this:
Filed under Uncategorized
Validating your client’s distrust of you
Ever had a person tell you they can’t trust you when you know they can? What was your response? if you are like most people, you notice the tendency to want to defend yourself. No, really, you can trust me. Why don’t you give me a chance? Or maybe your response isn’t one to beg but to back away and treat the person with a cool demeanor.
What should counselors do when a client doesn’t or won’t trust their intentions or motivations?Janina Fisher (see previous post) reminds us that the right responses is…acceptance validation. Especially with clients who experienced invalidation in violence and abuse. Notice that the effort to press a client to trust you or distancing from them sends the exact same message: your feelings and experiences are wrong and something to be rejected. Not surprisingly, clients feel invalidated once again.
What does validation look like?
You are right. You don’t know if you can trust me. Trusting important people meant that you got hurt in the past. So, not trusting me is understandable. So…what should we do? Validation doesn’t mean that we agree with whatever our clients say but that we find the truth and we underline it. Further, it means that we give the power back to our clients since many of them experienced being controlled.
Too often we think we know what is best for our clients and we try to indoctrinate them to our wisdom. Even when we are right, our efforts may unwittingly re-enact the stealing of power to set proper boundaries. Even when our clients want us to convince them that we are okay and worthy of trust, we ought to be careful. In everyday life we have to trust others, live with the possibility that our trust may be violated…and that we will need to respond to such violations with grace and truth. Promises to always be trustworthy perpetuate the myth that protection from all pain is possible in this life.
Musings on Faith and Psychology 