What is Christian Integration in Counseling?
The idea of integration, or contextualization, is the concept of taking parts and making them whole. Christian integration specific to the field of counseling is taking the lens of our Christian worldview, our theology, and the way that we understand the world around us, through both the Bible, as special revelation, but also through church history and the field of theology and applying that to life. This often applies specifically to the field of psychology and how we understand people and the development of people in addressing the person as a whole, body, soul, and spirit.
Christian integration within counseling is important because it introduces the philosophies of the Bible into our everyday lives.
The Importance of Christian Integration in Counseling
Christian integration within counseling is important because it introduces the philosophies of the Bible into our everyday lives. It is also important because many of the components of understanding people and the skills necessary to work with people within the field of psychology have various benefits. People have spent much time recognizing areas of development and seeing how people change and grow and what works, how we think in neuroscience, and how we develop. While the Bible does not necessarily address those specific areas, the philosophy of our worldview is the lens through which we can understand how God made us and why it matters for change and growth as people. Integration, also called contextualization, acknowledges the presence of our cultural lens, biblical and otherwise, as provided a context for viewing all of life.
I think that, as special revelation, the authority of Scripture and our lens are what informs our capacity to be able to interpret and understand general revelation.
Does the Christian Integration View of Counseling Undermine the Authority of Scripture?
I think that, as special revelation, the authority of Scripture and our lens are what informs our capacity to be able to interpret and understand general revelation, providing a context of truth for viewing and interpreting life. This is where psychology comes in. Some people in the field call it the two books of God. We have general revelation, which is psychology, education, and some aspects of neuroscience, and special revelation, which tells us who we are as people made in God’s image and why it matters. I don’t know that they can separated. God provided the lens of His Word to interpret and define the purpose and process behind how we see the world work. I think that they need to be understood together to be able to effectively work with people. In general revelation, we observe the symptoms and behaviors and can study the patterns and corollaries, but special revelation reveals the heart and base motivations as people made in God’s image but disrupted and distorted by sin. Christian integration or contextualization acknowledges the presence of an interpretive lens with which we see and understand the world, highlighting its presence as informed by special revelation and demonstrated the presence of such a lens influencing everyone’s perception of life and reality.
