Comments on: Faith and the Helping Professions

By: FactsBeHung

FactsBeHung — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:47:56 +0000

It appears that the factual predicate for the court’s decision is vigorously contested by Miss Keeton herself. She not only asserted orally and in writing her acknowledgment of the ethical standard to withhold her values, she only pulled out of the remediation program because her professors REQUIRED that she affirm the morality of gay sex to clients. If she didn’t agree to do so, she would get tossed out of school. (Telling, that the court failed to mention this apparently undisputed fact.) The briefs from her appeal are on her lawyers’ website. Here’s one:

http://oldsite.alliancedefensefund.org/userdocs/KeetonAppellateReplyBrief.pdf

By: Blake

Blake — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:03:04 +0000

“…if one’s personal views prevent one from becoming an accredited counselor by the standards of the American Counseling Association, the reasonable approach is to seek to do a different kind of counseling,…”

It’s not as if the ACA were the gold standard of counseling, anyway. Well, they think they are, but their track record tells a another story.

The problem is that the ACA is taken as if it were “scientific” (in the sense that engineering or medicine is scientific) instead of being recognized, more properly, as only being “scientific” in the religious sense – where the assumptions of science are among the articles of faith (or are the articles of faith).

The suggestion that a counselor recognized by the ACA is “better” than a Christian counselor is tantamount to the official endorsement of one faith (secular humanism). It would be a problem if it were Christian counselors being recognized as having the “true” credentials, but it’s not recognized as a problem in the other direction because secular humanism uses deceit to perpetuate the notion that there is a difference between “religious” secular humanism (which they call Unitarian Universalism) vs. secular humanism as a whole (which they claim is somehow exempt from the usual restrictions which apply – the same restrictions they themselves are all about when it’s Christian behaviors in question).

By: 49erDweet

49erDweet — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 08:20:01 +0000

Tend to agree with David Nickol on this issue.

“…if one’s personal views prevent one from becoming an accredited counselor by the standards of the American Counseling Association, the reasonable approach is to seek to do a different kind of counseling,…”

It’s not as if the ACA were the gold standard of counseling, anyway. Well, they think they are, but their track record tells a another story.

By: Art Deco

Art Deco — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 20:58:25 +0000

The problem is less than it is masquerading as a science than it fancies it has within it the tools to determine how people ought to live (all expressed in quasi-medical terminology). The confusions derived from maintaining unexamined norms can be seen in Nancy Reyes remarks. Except for a scatter of institutional chaplains, the state does not employ clergy and insurance companies do not re-imburse them. Secular ministers should be put on the same footing.

By: David Nickol

David Nickol — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 20:56:04 +0000

Back in June Joe Carter had a post titled The Rising Popularity of Faith-Based Counseling that contained this information:

According to a nationwide survey by the American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC), 83 percent of Americans believe their spiritual faith and religious beliefs are closely tied to their state of mental and emotional health. Three-fourths say it’s important for them to see a professional counselor who integrates their values and beliefs into the counseling process. More people said they would prefer to see a religious counselor (29 percent) than a psychiatrist (27), psychologist (17) or family doctor (13).

People seeking faith-based counseling can consult their priests, ministers, rabbis, imams, or any other leaders in their spiritual community, who may do counseling themselves, and who certainly would be equipped to make referrals. I see no more need for the American Counseling Association to be required to take the same stand on issues as the American Association of Pastoral Counselors than vice versa. There are a great many types of counseling available to those who seek it, and if one's personal views prevent one from becoming an accredited counselor by the standards of the American Counseling Association, the reasonable approach is to seek to do a different kind of counseling, not sue the people who don't find you a suitable candidate for the kind of counseling they give training for.

By: Fred

Fred — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 17:31:15 +0000

Blake is absolutely right. Psychology is a lot like Marxism in that it is a secular religion masquerading as a science. It’s not a matter of whether faith will be allowed, but which one(s).

By: ianthis

ianthis — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:14:33 +0000

This is an awkward and complex issue, but there is a real need for Christian counselors who are not afraid to speak up for the truth, if only to help Christian institutions.
My mother was going through a rough patch in her marriage and went to two different counselors in a row for advice and help. Both told her that she should consider a divorce because that was the easiest way to reach peace. But she didn’t just want peace–she wanted to salvage her marriage! Seeking advice from people who have a vastly different worldview is worthless, regardless of how scientific and knowledgeable they are.

By: Ray Ingles

Ray Ingles — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 14:58:58 +0000

Is it possible that the school's concerns might conceivably be warranted?

By: Blake

Blake — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 06:58:58 +0000

Telling someone they are evil for being fat

No, you should affirm them in their lifestyle.

However unhealthy, however disgusting, you owe it to them to lie to them and tell them the way they’re living is perfectly OK.

That’s what secular humanism is all about: justifying grotesquely abnormal behavior.

By: Art Deco

Art Deco — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 04:51:52 +0000

Why not just excise ‘counseling’ and ‘psychotherapy’ from the list of things financed by ‘medical insurance’ and remove ‘counselors’ and ‘psychotherapists’ from the civil service? You might even remove the licesure requirement. They push an ideology. They can sell it to paying customers on the free market.