Counseling

1. The Legal, Ethical, and
Moral Issues in Christian
Counseling
Be strong and very courageous.
Dr. Danny B. Medina

2. Counselor Worldviews
A worldview is a set of
assumptions and beliefs
that we hold (consciously
or subconsciously) that
guide our behavior.

3. Counselor Worldviews
1. What we believe about
God is our theology.
2. What we believe about
the universe.

4. Counselor Worldviews
3. How we get knowledge and
accurate information is
known as epistemology.
4. What do we believe about
human beings?

5. Counselor Worldviews
5. How do we
determine what is
right and wrong?

6. Choosing and Testing a Worldview
1. Use reason.
The best worldviews hold
together logically and make
sense without contradictions
and inconsistencies.

7. Choosing and Testing a Worldview
2. Look at the evidence.
Is there factual evidence to support
your worldview? Empirical evidence
does not tell us everything but a
worldview is suspect if it goes
against strong evidence.

8. Choosing and Testing a Worldview
3. Check it out with others.
It is not true that “if most people believe it, it
must be true,” but since our worldviews are
subject to bias and distortion, it can be helpful to
ask others to challenge or evaluate your
worldviews. Recognize, of course, that the
evaluations will depend, in part, on the
worldviews of the people you ask. For this reason
it can be helpful to ask different kinds of people.

9. Choosing and Testing a Worldview
4. Test it against experience.
Experience is volatile and often
influenced by emotions, but be
suspicious of worldviews that claim
to give explanations that are
opposite to our experiences.

10. Choosing and Testing a Worldview
5. Consider whether it feels right.
This is subjective and cannot be the
sole determinant of a worldview, but
some worldview conclusions do not
feel right and are not worth being
the foundation for our lives

11. Choosing and Testing a Worldview
6. Test it out.
Does the worldview work
consistently? Can you live,
counsel, or build relationships,
careers, or lifestyles on the
worldview you hold?

12. Choosing and Testing a Worldview
7. Change cautiously.
Since worldviews are deeply ingrained
beliefs about life and the world, they often
define who we are and resist change. But
worldviews are not rigid or inerrant.
Sometimes, we must or want to make
changes in our basic assumptions. Usually,
this occurs slowly and without our
conscious awareness of the changes.

13. Legal Issues in Counseling
1. Who Is Competent to
Counsel?
2. Should You Keep Records?
3. Should You Record
Counseling Sessions?

14. Counseling Ethics
1. The counselor seeks the
welfare of the counselee.
2. The counselor does not use
the counselee or the
counseling relationship to
meet the counselor’s own
needs.

15. Counseling Ethics
3. The counselor keeps information
confidential except when
sharing information could
prevent harm to some person or
when sharing information may
be required by law (as, for
example, when the counselor
discovers child abuse).

16. Counseling Ethics
4. Many ethical decisions are
difficult and best decided
in consultation with
another counselor (but
without revealing
unnecessary information).

17. Counseling Ethics
5. The Christian counselor
seeks to honor God, be in
conformity with biblical
teaching, and respect the
welfare of the counselee.

18. Making Referrals
1. At times, every counselor makes
referrals to another counselor
who is better able to help the
counselee. This should be
viewed as evidence of getting
what is best for the counselee,
not as an admission of failure or
incompetence.

19. Making Referrals
2. No one counselor can
work effectively with
every kind of person or
problem.

20. When to Make Referrals
Have severe financial problems
and need financial guidance.
Need legal advice.
Would appear to require a
medical evaluation or treatment
from a physician.

21. When to Make Referrals
Show bizarre or extremely
aggressive behavior.
Are extremely anxious, paranoid,
or appear to be severely disturbed
emotionally.
Stir up strong feelings of dislike or
sexual arousal in the counselor.

22. When to Make Referrals
Want to move to another
counselor.
Have a problem that appears to be
getting worse in spite of your help.
Have other problems that are
beyond the counselor’s area of
expertise

23. The Counselor’s Sexuality
1. Spiritual Protection.
Meditation on the Word of God, prayer
(including the intercession of others),
and reliance on the Holy Spirit to
protect us are all crucially important. In
addition, counselors should watch
what they do with their minds.

24. The Counselor’s Sexuality
2. Knowing One’s
Vulnerabilities.
 Emotional and sexual needs are not
being met elsewhere.
 Marital intimacy is poor.
 Sexual fantasies are common
(perhaps stimulated by
pornographic images).

25. The Counselor’s Sexuality
2. Knowing One’s
Vulnerabilities.
 The counselor has rigid moral
attitudes and a denial that he or
she could fall.
 There are no outside activities or
interests apart from helping others.
 Workaholic tendencies are present.

26. The Counselor’s Sexuality
2. Knowing One’s Vulnerabilities.
 The counselor tends to be a loner, isolated
from friends and colleagues.
 Peer accountability is disregarded or
assumed to be unimportant.
 The counselor has secret struggles and
conflicts about his or her own sexuality

27. The Counselor’s Sexuality
3. Awareness of Danger Signals.
 A growing dependence—the counselee
increasingly requests more time and
attention.
 Affirmation and praise—the counselee
frequently expresses appreciation, praise,
and admiration for the counselor, often
indicating how much the counselor is
needed.

28. The Counselor’s Sexuality
3. Awareness of Danger Signals.
 Complaints about loneliness—
sometimes the counselee accompanies
these with statements about the
counselor’s compassion and ability to
be helpful.

29. The Counselor’s Sexuality
3. Awareness of Danger Signals.
 The giving of gifts—which can indicate
the counselee’s increasing emotional
involvement and sometimes create a
subtle sense of obligation or
manipulation.

30. The Counselor’s Sexuality
3. Awareness of Danger Signals.
 Increasing physical contact—which
may start with harmless touch but
move to more physical involvement.

31. The Counselor’s Sexuality
3. Awareness of Danger Signals.
 A frequent desire to discuss sexual
issues—which can be arousing to the
counselor.

32. The Counselor’s Sexuality
3. Awareness of Danger Signals.
 Evidence of seductive behavior—
including how the counselee dresses,
sexually explicit comments, or
comments about the counselor’s
attractiveness.

33. The Counselor’s Sexuality
3. Awareness of Danger Signals.
 Power struggles—these may be
passively aggressive techniques used
by counselees to entrap counselors,
bring them down, discredit them, or
demonstrate the counselee’s
superiority.

34. The Counselor’s Sexuality
3. Awareness of Danger Signals.
 You think about the counselee
between sessions and let your mind
dwell on his or her personality traits.

35. The Counselor’s Sexuality
3. Awareness of Danger Signals.
 You compare the counselee with your
spouse, forgetting that the counselee
is new, always attractive when you
meet, different, and possibly very
impressed with you.

36. The Counselor’s Sexuality
3. Awareness of Danger Signals.
 You begin to believe that the counselee
is special and different from the others,
so that ordinary rules and boundaries
do not apply.

37. The Counselor’s Sexuality
3. Awareness of Danger Signals.
 You find excuses to prolong contact
with the counselee, perhaps by
frequent telephone calls, attendance
at the same church meetings or social
gatherings, or by prolonged counseling
or more frequent counseling sessions.

38. The Counselor’s Sexuality
3. Awareness of Danger Signals.
 You allow your mind to dwell on
fantasies about the counselee,
including sexual fantasies or fantasies
of you being the person’s rescuer or
hero.

39. The Counselor’s Sexuality
3. Awareness of Danger Signals.
 You want to share your own problems
with this person who appears to be so
sensitive and caring.

40. The Counselor’s Sexuality
3. Setting Limits
 Even before counseling begins, clearly
decide on the frequency and length of
counseling sessions, communicate these
in writing, then stay within these limits.
 Refuse to engage in long telephone
conversation.

41. The Counselor’s Sexuality
3. Setting Limits
Meet in a place and seat yourself in a
way that discourages wandering eyes
or an opportunity for personal
intimacies.
Discourage lengthy detailed discussions
of sexual topics.

42. The Counselor’s Sexuality
3. Setting Limits
Avoid every appearance of evil.
Never let down your guard so
that you risk falling into
temptation

43. The Counselor’s Sexuality
4. Telling Yourself the Truth.
Social Consequences
Professional Implications
Theological Effects

44. The Counselor’s Sexuality
5. Support-Group Protection.
Your Spouse – a good marriage
Trusted counselor or close friend

45. Avoiding Extremes
1. A failure to recognize the biological
basis of behavior including problems,
2. Both an overemphasis and an
underemphasis on the role of sin and
forgiveness in counseling,
3. Both an overemphasis and an
underemphasis on the role of demons
in the causes and treatment of
emotional problem