An Invitation to a Webinar on The Case for Integrative Christian Counseling (a webinar to be offered on Saturday, March 21 from 9 a.m. to noon)
Dr. Virkler has taught Christian counseling for 40+ years at three universities (Richmont Graduate University in Atlanta for 15 years, Liberty University for 5 years, and then Palm Beach Atlantic University for 20+ years). In this webinar I’d like to cover several of the topics I’ve taught during those years.
Topics include:
I. Five kinds of evidence that we were created by a Supernatural Creator who cares for human beings and who gives them ample evidence that He exists but also gives them the freedom to either accept or reject him during their lives here on earth.
II. Theonomous law: the belief that God’s laws (God’s principles) are set up with our (human’s) best interest in mind. I’ll describe both Old and New Testament scriptures that demonstrate that God gave us his principles so we could live most harmoniously with our fellow human beings. And on that basis, I will argue that even when we’re counseling with non-believers, we help encourage them to move towards biblical principles (even though we probably won’t explicitly give biblical principles as the reason in our counseling).
III. The importance of learning the principles of hermeneutics (How to Properly Interpret Scripture) and how to apply that in the Christian counseling process. I will give 10 reasons why I believe it is important for Christians in general and for Christian counselors to understand the principles of hermeneutics (and how they relate to counseling) and then discuss briefly the basic steps for correctly interpreting and applying a biblical text.
IV.The Role of Values in Counseling: There are three ways values have been used in counseling: Value-free counseling, value-imposed counseling, and value-informed counseling. I will argue that all counseling is informed by some set of values, and that it is fair to our clients to let them know what our values are but also let them know that we will respect their values if they differ from our own.
V. The Relationship Between External Factors (Including Supernatural Factors), Psychological Factors, and Human Choice: There are theological as well as psychological theories that are deterministic, and then there are humanistic counselors who argue that while each of these factors influence us, humans still have the ability to make choices. This section will look at this controversy.
VI. Persuading reluctant clients: A counseling method to use to motivate clients to move in a certain direction even though that might not be their initial inclination: Socratic questions.
VII. Why is Integrative Christian Counseling Better than Nouthetic (or Biblical) counseling? While Integrative Christian Counseling agrees with biblical counseling that our counseling should always be founded on Scripture and consistent with Scripture, this section will describe 10 kinds of situations where I believe biblical counseling may not address some of the needs clients have.
VIII. Counseling the Broken World Christian: While we don’t agree with Jay Adams that people always come to counseling because of disobedience, occasionally people do come to counseling because their lives have fallen apart because of some decisions they have made (or in the case of Christians, some sin they have committed). How do we help them heal when that has occurred?
IX. Understanding and Treating Depression: Depression can come from unresolved spiritual issues, psychological issues, or biological ones, or sometimes some combination of them. Effective treatment begins with understanding the source of a specific client’s depression. It may also include discussing any misconceptions they have about antidepressants before proceeding to treatment.
X. Counseling with the Client Who Asks You to Help Them Find a More Meaningful Life. This section will help the client define what would give their lives meaning and then help them develop a plan to move in that direction. For Christians it may also involve helping them look at what the world teaches is a “good life” and what the Bible teaches.
If you are interested in attending you may go to the South Florida Association of Christian Counselors website, (sfacc.net) and look for the first event under the tab “Live Events.”
You may become a Student, Affiliate or Pastoral Member of the South Florida Association of Christian Counselors for free and then register as an SFACC Member.
$15 for Counseling Students
$15 for affiliate members/pastors
$25 for SFACC Clinical
$40 for non‑SFACC members
We report to CE-Broker for you!
CE Broker Tracking No. 20-1350806
(CE Broker Provider No.820).
Please email Valentino@sfacc.net for your registration code.
Affiliate membership is free for Pastors, Church Ministry Leaders, Lay Counselors, Marriage Mentors, non‑licensed counselors, and retired counselors.
Partnered with the National Board of Forensic Evaluators (NBFE).
This workshop has been approved for 3.0 (General) hour of continuing education with the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy, & Mental Health Counseling and the Florida Board of Psychology.
Click here to join/learn more about our association today!
