Curious Christian

Reflections on culture, nature, and spirituality from a Christian perspective

Is any Counseling Value Free?

Published by

Matt Stone

2007-02-22

I have been mulling over some comments made by Judy Harrow since reading them last night

Secular counseling believes itself to be value-free,
but this is not so

Judy is a Pagan Priestess, Author, President of the New Jersey Association for
Spiritual, Ethical and Religious Values in Counseling and chair of the
Pastoral Counseling Program at Cherry Hill Seminary. I came across her comments in her online article “Religious Counseling – What Makes it Different?” when compiling my list of alt religious counselors. The application to the question of what makes Christian counseling Christian is very interesting. What values would I bring to the counseling relationship even when doing so in a secular context?

Scholars have long questioned the secularization thesis and I think I am going to need to bring some of these critiques into focus (note to self – must read Rodney Stark). How much ‘secular’ counseling is genuinely atheist? And is an atheist approach neutral? I think not. How much of secular counseling is far from atheistic? I think I am going to have to revisit my list in the last post and add an atheist category, focusing on value judgments and world view assumptions. I suspect secular counseling has absorbed a plethora of assumptions from various traditions.

Note: This thread, College Reflections, is to be submitted for assessment as part of my coursework in The Foundations of Christian Counseling at Morling College
at the end of Semester 1, 2007. If you would like to speak to me about
issues I raise in this thread, but are concerned about privacy, please
email me privately instead of leaving a public comment.

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Tags Psychology

2 responses to “Is any Counseling Value Free?”

fernando

2007-02-22

The question that arises for me, is whether a secular or atheistic approach needs to be devoid of religious spiritualu influence. Wouldn’t a secular counsellor be free to draw from any approach, say buddism, for example, without a compulsion to follow things through to their full implication. Where do you put the bricolage and cut and paste counselors with no firm spiritual anchor?

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Matt Stone

2007-02-22

The question arising for me is more whether secular counseling can be devoid of religious and/or ideological influence. I wonder if the very attempt to find neutral ground is not a ‘chasing after the rainbow’ adventure, and whether people who would see themselves as neutral are just insufficiently self reflective. Atheism is itself a distinct worldview position. It should not be privilaged above others in terms of neutrality.
Some secular counselors are no doubt atheists but many would not be. I would like to tease out the difference between mere secularity and ideological atheism.
As for the cut and past types, well I am inclined to place them in New Age whateverism.

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