Cognitive Therapy Basics

             In a report published in the January 1994 issue of Psychological Science a review of 42 different studies comparing professionally licensed and paraprofessional therapists determined that professional psychotherapy is no more helpful than paraprofessional counseling. In fact, 12 studies found that paraprofessionals such as pastors are more successful than psychologists and psychiatrists in meeting the counseling needs of distressed individuals. Studies since that time have not dispelled these findings and a June 2005 article in Psychology Today confirms that individuals are abandoning psychotherapy and flocking to Christian counseling.  

But, what is the difference between Christian counseling and psychotherapy? More importantly, is the Bible and Christian counseling sufficient for the counseling needs of individuals in today’s complex, modern society? 

At their core, the difference between Christian counseling and psychotherapy is simple. Psychotherapy is based on scientific studies and therapies formed to address the findings of such studies. Christian counseling is based on the teachings of the Bible and, specifically, faith in Jesus Christ as described in the Bible. This raises the question: Is the Bible, a 2000 year old text, sufficient for counseling in today’s complex, modern society? 

Is the Bible Sufficient for Counseling?

One good place to examine this question is the Bible. [You may question whether the Bible is the proper authority to reference to determine if it is sufficient for counseling, but referencing the Bible to determine if it is sufficient for counseling is no different than referencing a particular book on psychology to determine if it states it is sufficient for psychotherapy.] Does the Bible teach that it is sufficient for counseling?            

Second Timothy 3:16-17 provides guidance as follows: 

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. (New Living Translation)

This Bible passage provides us with the following insights:

·   All Scripture is inspired (or breathed) by God;

·   All Scripture (not just parts of it) is useful to teach us what is true;

·   All Scripture is useful to make us realize what is wrong in our lives (which is the reason most individuals seek counseling);

·   All Scripture is useful to correct us when we are wrong;

·   All Scripture is useful to teach us to do what is right; and

·   All Scripture prepares and equips us to do every good work. 

Similarly, Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, provides a parable that illustrates how individuals can survive the storms and turbulence of life:

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.                                                      Matthew 7:24-27 

Jesus makes it clear in this parable that those who apply God’s Word to life will be able to withstand its storms. Those individuals who do not follow the teaching contained in God’s Word do not have a solid foundation and will find life collapsing around them when they suffer the storms of life. 

The Bible teaches that man is a moral being with the ability to know and choose between right and wrong (Joshua 24:15; Deuteronomy 30:19). God is the One who determines right and wrong (Genesis 2:16-17; John 12:48; Romans 2:16). As a moral being with the ability to choose between right and wrong, man is responsible for his choices and behavior (Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 14:12). 

Additionally, the Bible explains how being without sin is man’s “normal” state of intended existence (Genesis 1:27, 31). Man lost his normality when he sinned (Genesis 3:6-19) and the image of God in all people has been marred by the curse of sin (Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-19). In fact, all humanity is sin cursed and, as a result, all people are abnormal (Romans 3:23). 

The only normal person who lived his entire life free of sin is Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:15). Normality is learned through studying Jesus Christ, not through the research of sin cursed people studying other sin cursed people. 

The way to become more normal is to become more like Jesus Christ, which is the goal for every Christian (2 Corinthians 3:18; 5:9; Romans 8:28-29). The manner of change from abnormal to normal is also described by the Bible (Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9-10). 

Thus, from God’s Word pastoral counselors have specific time tested facts instead of a theory of psychotherapy. The Bible is filled with actual instances of abnormal behavior and God’s specific response to such abnormal behavior. The Bible is also filled with instruction on how to change from abnormal to normal and live a normal life.

In other words, the Bible provides solutions to the issues and problems man faces every day (Romans 10:9-10; Romans 6:17; Luke 10:27). In addition to providing solutions and a process for change (Ephesians 4:22-24), Scriptures describe life resulting from applying the solutions it provides.  

So, What is the Difference between Christian Counseling and Psychotherapy?

The answer is simple: Psychotherapy is based on scientific theory and Christian counseling is based on Biblical fact. Biblical counseling is the oldest and most reliable form of counseling in the world dating back thousands of years. Christian counseling has been consistently proven to work – psychotherapy has not. Moreover, Biblical counseling is less expensive than psychotherapy, usually requires only two to six months of weekly sessions, and seldom involves prescribing expensive pharmaceutical drugs.

For more about Christian counseling go to www.lifepointecounseling.com.

 



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Biblical Counseling Takes on Psychotherapy

 Counseling recently has taken a dramatic step backwards as traditional psycho-therapy models are being abandoned for biblically based counseling. What is going on? Why are individuals, corporations, and health plans going back to pre-Freudian counseling?

 A Brief History

In the late 1800’s Sigmund Freud who was studying to be a physician began working with a Viennese physician named Josef Breuer. Up until this time the primary mode of counseling in the world was through the clergy: priests and pastors who addressed the relationship and emotional complaints individuals suffered through a Biblical, pastoral model.

 In 1895, Freud and Breur co-authored a book on hysteria which offered that every hysteria is a direct result of some traumatic experience. Freud later added that secret sexual desires were the root of all hysterical neuroses. Over the years Freud continued to refine his theories and in 1923 with the publication of The Ego and the Id established the method of psychoanalysis most frequently used by counselors until recently.[1]  Freud saw the human being as driven by primitive wants, impulses, and drives he called the Id, but which competed with an individual’s Superego (roughly the conscience) that developed as a by product of one’s relationships with parents, church, teachers, and other external stimuli (including, for example, other individuals, earthquakes, and tornadoes). According to Freud, problems exist when the stimuli is inappropriately socialized throwing your Superego and its relationship with the Id out of balance.[2]

 From the 1920’s through the 1960’s Freudian psychotherapy was the most common form of counseling. Unfortunately, as early as the 1950’s it was becoming obvious that Freudian psychotherapy was not working. At the American Psychiatric Association symposium in 1955 on “Progress in Psychiatry” it was stated that “Psychotherapy is today in a state of disarray almost exactly as it was 200 years ago.”[3]

 In 1960, Look magazine, in its 21 page long feature article, called psychiatry “the troubled science.”[4]

 In 1964, Time Magazine noted:

 Psychotherapy has not yet been proved more effective than general medical counseling in treating neurosis or psychosis.[5]

 Peter D. Kramer, a psychiatrist and faculty member of Brown Medical School who specializes in the treatment of depression, said “I’m afraid [Freud] doesn’t hold up very well at all. It almost feels like a personal betrayal to say that. But every particular is wrong…” And Newsweek magazine in 2006 labeled Freud “history’s most debunked doctor.”[6]

 In other words, psychotherapy has made little, if any, real medical progress. Patients of psychoanalysts still spend one hour four to five times per week for two or more years with little if any results.[7] Sometimes prescription medications such as antidepressants help and sometimes such medications seem to be of no assistance.[8]

 What is the Solution?

So if typical psychotherapy and prescription medications are not the answer, what is? Now, more than anytime in history since the advent of Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis, Biblical Behavioral Therapy is being applied in counseling sessions and working.

 Behavior Therapy is most famously known for television Behavioral Therapist, Dr. Phil whose television show is must viewing for millions of Americans across the United States. Biblical Behavioral Therapy is similar to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, but it applies Scriptural principles to patient problems and issues looking at behavior as the “external fruit of an internal root” (Proverbs 23:7 and James 1:14-15).

 Behavioral Therapy Works

In dozens of patient trials over the past thirty years Behavioral Therapy has been tested and documented to effectively address “depression, anxiety, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress syndrome, bulimia, hypochondria, and insomnia.” Additional studies are underway in approximately 150 other behavioral therapy trials.[9]

 Behavior Therapy is different from psychotherapy in that you do not so much talk about your problem as you address steps to fix your problem. Behavior Therapy does not spend nearly as much time searching for the reason for past hurts as it teaches patients how to cope and fix the current problems they face.[10]

 Biblical Behavior Therapy is similar. Using the Bible the counselor addresses the external (fruit) and internal (root) problems the patient is experiencing and recommends a course of action that is consistent with Scriptural teachings. Biblical Counseling has experienced extremely successful results in addressing depression, addiction, anger, anxiety, stress, schizophrenia, and a host of other issues.[11]

 As Psychology Today has observed,

 Americans are flocking to counseling that incorporates a spiritual or religious element. Over the past 10 years, faith-based therapies—from pastoral counseling to ecumenical Christian counseling to fundamentalist Bible-based treatment—have surged in popularity.[12]

 Americans Prefer Biblical Counselors

Americans feel more comfortable seeking help outside the traditional psychological profession for a number of reasons including the fact that psychotherapists tend to be less religious than the general population.[13] With over 95% of Americans believing in God, over 75% of Americans owning a Bible and believing that religious faith is very important, and over 70% saying they are Christian,[14] psychotherapists are simply out of touch with their clientele as only 32 percent of psychiatrists and 33 percent of clinical psychologists believe that religion is important.[15]

People, especially those who are seeking counsel because of emotional pain, prefer counselors who share their religious beliefs, and who support, rather than challenge, their faith. Individuals often complain that secular counselors view faith as part of the problem or a symptom, rather than as an agent for healing. For these reasons over 75% of Americans believe a faith based counselor is important. Indeed, more people would prefer to see a religious counselor than a psychiatrist or a psychologist.[16]

So, Why Biblical Counseling?

The answer is simple. Biblical Counseling works and psychotherapy does not. Biblical Counseling is the oldest and most reliable form of counseling in the world dating back thousands of years. Moreover, it is less expensive than psychotherapy, usually lasts only two to six months, and seldom involves prescribing expensive pharmaceutical drugs. Logically, the question would seem to be, why not Biblical Counseling?

For more information on the topic of Biblical Counseling go to www.lifepointecounseling.com or nanc.org.

 

[1] From www.about.com on Sigmund Freud.

[2] Jay E. Adams, Competent to Counsel (Zondervan 1970), p. 4 and Forbes, “Patient, Fix Thyself” by Robert Langreth, April 9, 2007, p. 84-85.

[3] Zilboorg, G., in Mowrer, The Crisis in Psychology and Religion(Princeton: Van Nostrand, 1961), p.3.

[4] In Look magazine, February 2, 1960.

[5] In Time Magazine, February 14, 1964, p. 43.

[6] From www.about.com on Sigmund Freud.

[7] In Forbes, April 9, 2007, p. 82.

[8] In Forbes, April 9, 2007, p. 86.

[9] In Forbes, April 9, 2007, p. 82.

[10] In Forbes, April 9, 2007, p. 82.

[11] Jay E. Adams, Competent to Counsel (Zondervan 1970), p. 201 and Jay E. Adams, The Christian Counselor’s Manual (Zondervan 1986) pp. 25-29.

[12] In Psychology Today, “With God as My Shrink” by Pamela Paul, available online at psychologytoday.com, p.1.

[13] In Psychology Today, “With God as My Shrink” by Pamela Paul, available online at psychologytoday.com, p. 2.

[14] George Barna, Grow Your Church from the Outside, (Regal Books, 2002) pp. 71-75.

[15] In Psychology Today, “With God as My Shrink” by Pamela Paul, available online at psychologytoday.com, p. 2.

[16] In Psychology Today, “With God as My Shrink” by Pamela Paul, available online at psychologytoday.com, p.2.



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