Book Review For McMinn

Book Review for Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling:
By Mark McMinn
Ashley Lanier
Liberty University

Summary The main goal of this book is to act as a guide for the Christian counselor. The book is to help the counselor confronting the client and integrating Christianity to the session. The book helps counselor better assess their own spiritual needs as well as their clients. The book stresses the importance of implementing the bible into the lives of the Christian counselor. The book discusses the different ways to confront sin. Also, McMinn discuss interpersonal personal healing and the importance of receiving forgiveness and redemption from God. According to McMinn (1996), there are five ways to confront the client: pondering, questioning, silence, direct censure, and not confronting. “Sometimes the best way to confront sin is to remain silent and let the client work out their feelings of guilt and questions of blame on their own” (McMinn, 20011, p. 167). The client may become defensive or shut down if the counselor confronts them for their sins. Sins are between the client and God and it is best to let the client work through them on their own. “Pondering can help confront the client indirectly and cause them to think more intently about their choices”(McMinn, 2011, p.167). Pondering is a good way for the counselor to find out more from the client and get them to think about the consequences of their sins. “By asking specific questions, counselors are sometimes able to access clients’ values of right and wrong” (McMinn, 2011, p.167). By asking questions the counselor has the freedom to interrogate the client for choices around sin. “Direct censure should be considered only when there is a high level of trust established in the therapeutic relationship” (McMinn, 2011, p.167). In direct censure the counselor’s values are presented over the clients. This method should be used rarely being that it is so direct and could cause the client to become defensive. The counselor may also choose not confronting as a direction. “Sometimes confronting sin is not the best therapeutic strategy” (McMinn, 2011, p. 170). In this case the counselor would confront the client. This action allows the client to work through their emotions of guilt by themselves. According to McMinn (2011), confession connects humility and compassion. Counselors often act as Roman Catholic priest accepting confessions. Clients admit that they need to change by confessing to the counselor. Confessing helps the client get back in touch with the human community and work towards healing. Once the problem has been confessed the client can work towards forgiveness (2011). According to McMinn (2011), forgiveness plays a big part in the clients healing process and their relationship with God. “Forgiveness is God’s gift, modeled perfectly in the work of Jesus Christ and reflected dimly but frequently in human interactions” (McMinn, 2011, p. 249). The counselor must understand the process of forgiveness in order to help the client give and receive forgiveness. They must understand the client must forgive others, forgive themselves, and be forgiven by God in order to forgive. “The act of redemption means the act of buying back, or recovering by paying a price… the text compares redemption to collecting green stamps that can be latter redeemed for merchandise” (McMinn, 2011, p. 291). Compared to human lives the stamps resemble our struggles we go through still leave us as humans being salvageable allowing us to restore our lives (2011).The counselor helps facilitate the healing process with clients who seek redemption. Being human the counselor has personal problems that cause us to have blind spots allowing sin to keep them from achieving redemption perfectly. Counselors have to look past their own imperfections to understand redemption (2011).
Concrete Response The text mentioned that our own perfections can cloud our judgment when trying to understand redemption (McMinn, 2011). I feel like my past imperfections will hinder me helping my client seek forgiveness and redemption. After reading the text I feel like I have an idea about things that I could work on to help me be a better counselor and a better Christian. Growing up I was not raised to go to church and I have insecurities about that part of my life. This imperfection may cause me to have blind spots when working with my client. According to McMinn (2011), the counselors must look past themselves to better understand redemption. I feel like by looking past my own imperfections I can begin to understand redemption and help my client.
Reflection
The book went over ways in which to confront sin, help the client forgive, and seek redemption. The book stressed the importance of Christian views in counseling. In order to be good Christian clients we must also be living by the Christian way in our own lives. As Christian counselors we work as a conductor for our clients and the word of God. I had a few concerns on how to counsel adolescents and client who may not be Christians. I feel like the methods implemented by the text would be least affective for these individuals. As a child I did not go to church and had poor judgment because of this. Teens can be very headstrong and temperamental when it comes to wanting to fit in. Many teens are doing drugs, having sex, and steeling. How do we address these individuals without pushing them away? I feel like these individuals would work best with using the silence or not confronting. Letting these types of clients work through their guilt would be the most effective, however this could take a long period of time. As far individuals who are not Christians confronting them about sins can be fruitless. Clients who are not guilty about their wrongdoings can be difficult to counsel. The best method for these clients would be questioning. I feel like by questioning the client you can evaluate what the client’s values are. If we know their definition of right and wrong we can establish their standpoint on sin. I feel like these clients would be the most difficult clients to counsel.
Action
After reading the text I feel like the tips McMinn talked about would be vey useful in the counseling environment. I want to work with addictions patients. I feel like by using Christian counseling I could help encourage my clients to change. Clients struggling with addiction have had difficulty coping with life and have turned to something to comfort them. As a Christian counselor I feel like I could get them to have faith and God and put their addictions behind them (McMinn, 2011). McMinn gave really good ideas on how to confront sin. I believe with addiction clients questioning, silence, and pondering would work the best. Pondering would be my first choice because it gives the counselor the freedom to confront the client without doing so directly. I feel silence would work, but not as a primary method. I feel like questioning would work after the client has been in counseling for a while. Questioning would be a good intervention tool. After reading the text I feel like I have a good start to beings an effective Christian Counselor.

Reference
McMinn, M. R. (1996). Psychology, theology, and spirituality in Christian counseling. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House.