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Say you're a non-Christian and you live in an area where most of the therapists you encounter are fundamentalist Christians.
These people believe you are going to Hell.
Can they really help you if ultimately they believe you're sick and lost so long as you haven't accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
Should I make sure a therapist is not a fundamentalist Christian before sticking with them?
Yes. I am not a religious person and when I was looking for a therapist, on our first meeting, I expressed that I was not interested in discussing religion. Soon after that, she told me she was a Christian and believed everyone had a spiritual side that needed exploring. I knew right then she was not the therapist for me. A client doesn't have to believe exactly what the therapist believes spiritually, but this therapist sounded very religious, and since I did not want any part of that, I thought it would soon become an issue with my progress in therapy. I soon found another therapist whom I clicked with very well.
However, to answer OP's question, the personal religious beliefs of the therapist should not have that much influence into the progress of therapy in the first place. Religion should not interfere with the therapist's objectivity. A therapist's job is to help the client find insight into whatever his/her problem is, and to find solutions to those problems. Although the therapist's personal views may direct ther direction of therapy somewhat, therapy is ultimately about the client, not the therapist. The minute it becomes about the therapist in the minute the client needs to start looking for someone else.
Doubtful a Christian will deal with a problem by thinking your excuse is your not Christian. That would be like me asking if the person is a Christian by assuming if not its a hell bound advice being given.
Religious counseling is good for religious problems; secular counseling is good for worldly problems. Don't confuse the two.
Religious counseling is great for dealing with life issues from a religious perspective. Pastoral / rabinnical guidance is appropriate for religious issues.
Just because a counselor is a Christian doesn't mean they're going to provide "Christian counseling," although they likely will if Christian counseling is requested.
... if ultimately they believe you're sick and lost so long as you haven't accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
Good heavens! Run!
Quote:
Personally if I were seeing any kind of a counselor and they made their faith part of the conversation, I'd have a hard time continuing to see them.
Quite so. But having said that, I took my trouble kid to a pastor for counselling (and he helped him). This group might have been passionate but they were not fundamentalist. I would never have agreed to taking him to a fundamentalist group. Hell no! (Pun intended).
Say you're a non-Christian and you live in an area where most of the therapists you encounter are fundamentalist Christians.
These people believe you are going to Hell.
Can they really help you if ultimately they believe you're sick and lost so long as you haven't accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
Should I make sure a therapist is not a fundamentalist Christian before sticking with them?
I am not sure I understand your question. Regardless of the therapists beliefs, do you think you are going to hell?
I ask because non-Christians believe in hell as well.
As to the therapists, I think they are dealing with the here and now, not what will happen to your eternal soul once you pass on.
For starters, once you are dead, they cannot treat you(nor collect a fee)
In all seriousness, unless you as a patient bring up concerns that you are going to hell, I doubt they would bring it up. So regardless of what they may believe spiritually/religiously, it is irrelevant to treating you for ills of the body you are currently experiencing.
Quite so. But having said that, I took my trouble kid to a pastor for counselling (and he helped him). This group might have been passionate but they were not fundamentalist. I would never have agreed to taking him to a fundamentalist group. Hell no! (Pun intended).
*nod*
It's why I said "personally"...much emphasis on me and my own opinion...because I do recognized that for SOME people, spiritual or religious counseling would be good and helpful. I simply don't feel that it's for me. But professionals in these fields should be clear about what they are offering in their service, before someone pays them money, or wastes time, with it.
A pastor or a rabbi won't hang a board outside of his office in a church building advertising that he is a psychologist and leading you to believe that conversations in that office will have nothing to do with faith. You kind of know what to expect. If a counselor is in any manner "spiritual" then they should put that in their title or a description of their services. Otherwise, if they think that spiritual counseling is what a client needs, they should perhaps suggest he or she attend church. I certainly would be annoyed if I were paying a mental health professional and they tried to recruit me into a faith. I shut doors in faces for that kind of behavior. No thank you!
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