When it comes to the relationship between Psychology and Christianity, there are a variety of perspectives about how the two should relate to one another. Some Christians say that the two should never mix, while others say that the two can intermingle with one another. How you view this debate will determine how you proceed in your counseling endeavors. The three different perspectives are Integrationism, Secular, and Biblical. While I hold to the Integrationist approach, I see value in all three perspectives. In this blog, I shall discuss what exactly these approaches are. I will also discuss what some of the Pros and Cons are for each of these approaches. However, I will not tell you which kind of counselor you should see. I believe that I will leave that up to you to decide. Whichever kind of counselor you choose to see, you will benefit from any one of these perspectives. I admit that I do have my own bias concerning this topic, but I will do my best to remain as objective as possible. Also, this blog is not meant to be an exhaustive overview of these three perspectives. I will just briefly describe what these are and give my Pros and Cons for each one. For me to give a more detailed explanation would require me to write an entire book. There have already been works that have covered this topic in depth, so I do not need to do that here. For a more detailed explanation, I recommend a book titled "Psychology & Christianity: Five Views". Now that I have said all this, it is time for me to explain what these approaches are.
Integrationist Approach
The Integrationist Approach is a controversial one in this day and age. I say it is controversial because not many Christians approve of this approach. These Christians have accused Integrationists of being heretical, while others say that it is merely unbiblical. As an Integrationist myself, I have found immense value in this approach. Basically, this approach says that Psychology and Christianity can coexist with one another. We affirm that the Bible is the inerrant word of God and that it is sufficient and authoritative in all that it talks about. However, we will say that the Bible does not address everything we need to know concerning life. For example, the Bible will not tell you about molecular biology, car mechanics, or how to treat Schizophrenia. For these subjects, one must go to experts outside of the Bible. This is fine because as I always say "all truth is God's truth". What this means is that any truth that can be gleaned from outside sources is in fact truth that belongs to God, who is the embodiment of Truth. We must not be afraid to look at outside sources to find out what is true.
Pros
There are a couple Pros to this approach. For one, this approach allows the therapist to have a better understanding of mental illness because they keep up to date on the latest psychological evidence. It is for this reason that an Integrationist can show more compassion for their counselee. Another pro for this perspective is that the therapist will be more willing to develop a rapport with their client before getting into deep issues such as confronting sin. The reason this is good is because the client needs to feel comfortable with the therapist before they will be willing to acknowledge their secret sins.
Cons
While I personally like this approach, I will admit that there are a couple Cons to it. These Cons can be a serious detriment to this approach too. One Con is that some Integrationists elevate Psychology to be on the same level of authority as Scripture. This is bad because only Scripture is authoritative, not Psychology. However, some Integrationists will attempt to "Christianize" Psychology. There is a fine line between accepting that Psychology and Christianity can coexist and trying to talk about Psychology using Christian language. Another Con to this approach is that some Integrationists tend to be affirming of the LGBT community. This is bad because homosexuality is expressly condemned in Scripture. For this reason, we should never affirm what God calls an abomination.
Secular Approach
The Secular Approach is basically what it says: Secular. This approach is Psychology without any Christian or religious, influence whatsoever. For this reason, some Christians say that the Secular Approach should never have an influence over a Bible-believing Christian. They will say things like "What does light have in common with darkness" and other platitudes such as this. To their credit, they do have a point here. However, as someone who has personally benefitted from Secular Psychology, I cannot fully agree with them.
Pros
The Secular Psychology Approach does have some Pros to it. I know this may sound strange to some readers who think there is no use to this approach, but please hear me out. One Pro to this approach is that Secular Psychologists do have a proper understanding of mental illness. For this reason, they do know what helps one better manage their mental health symptoms. When it comes to behavior modification, Secular Psychology can be of great help. This is not to be confused with the idea of Sanctification, which is something that only happens by the work of the Holy Spirit. Another Pro of this approach is that Secular Psychologists will be more compassionate toward someone with mental illness because they have a fuller understanding of their illness. It is for this reason that they can lend a listening ear to someone who struggles with mental illness better than most other counselors.
Con
While there are a couple Pros to this approach, there are also a couple Cons. For one, secular Psychologists may not be knowledgeable about the Bible and as a result, you will have a difficult time talking about your faith with them. They may be open with you expressing your faith, but they will not understand your faith fully. Another Con is that they will not direct your attention to Jesus Christ, who is our only hope. The reason for this is because they are not your pastor. Their sole purpose is to give you the tools to be able to handle your symptoms appropriately. Another Con to this approach is that they may throw some paganism into your therapeutic session. Things such as Mindfulness exercises, Inner Child Therapy, and other such things should be rejected by Christians.
Biblical Counseling
This approach was once called Nouthetic Counseling and it was invented by a man named Jay Adams. The term Nouthetic comes from the Greek word which means "to admonish". This approach is all about locating the secret individual sin in the counselee and confronting it to find healing in the grace of Jesus Christ. Jay Adams was very antagonistic toward Psychology and Psychiatry and during his time he had good reasons for this too. It is important to note here that modern-day Nouthetic counseling has really changed from the time of Jay Adams. These days, the movement is called Biblical Counseling and it is split up between two groups: the ACBC and the CCEF. The ACBC tends to support Psychiatry, but they do not approve of Psychology. Whereas the CCEF approves of both Psychiatry and Psychology. I personally like the CCEF a whole lot better, but that could be my biased speaking.
Pros
There are quite a bit of Pros to this approach. For one, Biblical Counselors tend to have a very high view of the authority of Scripture. This is something that I truly admire about this approach. They desire to hold Scripture in high regard when it comes to counseling their clients. Another Pro to this approach is that in some cases it is helpful to address the client's secret individual sin. For example, if a man is getting blackout drunk at the bar and then coming home to beat his wife and children every day, then his sin needs to be confronted in the counseling session. One other Pro to this approach is that Biblical Counselors are not affirming the LGBT agenda.
Cons
While there are Pros to this approach, there are quite a few Cons too. One example is there need to ground all mental health issues in some secret individual sin that needs to be confronted. People who deal with various clinical mental illnesses do not always need to confront some individual sin. We need medication and proper therapy. Mental illness is rarely the result of individual sin, even though it is the result of The Fall. When Biblical Counselors confront a mentally ill person's "secret sin", what they are doing is blaming us for our ailment, which perpetuates a harmful stigma against mental illness. Another Con to this approach is it confuses the purpose of Psychology. I have heard it said on numerous occasions that Psychologists are trying to replace the Holy Spirit in the sanctification process. This is a blatant misrepresentation of Psychology. Psychology does not replace the Holy Spirit. The purpose of Psychology is solely to equip the client with tools to know how to better manage their mental health symptoms. Sanctification is, and will always be, a separation issue that is only a work of God.
As you can see there are good and bad for all three of these approaches and each counselor from these different perspectives could learn a lot from one another. This should not be a point of contention between the three approaches. Whatever type of counselor you decide to see, you will greatly benefit from them. However, you do need to keep in mind that there are good and bad counselors in all three approaches. So, if you are not comfortable with one counselor, do not throw out the baby with the bathwater. Finding the right counselor for you is much like the dating process. You may need to go to quite a few different counselors before you find the right one. I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog and I truly hope that you found this to be a tremendous blessing. May the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
Integrationist Approach
The Integrationist Approach is a controversial one in this day and age. I say it is controversial because not many Christians approve of this approach. These Christians have accused Integrationists of being heretical, while others say that it is merely unbiblical. As an Integrationist myself, I have found immense value in this approach. Basically, this approach says that Psychology and Christianity can coexist with one another. We affirm that the Bible is the inerrant word of God and that it is sufficient and authoritative in all that it talks about. However, we will say that the Bible does not address everything we need to know concerning life. For example, the Bible will not tell you about molecular biology, car mechanics, or how to treat Schizophrenia. For these subjects, one must go to experts outside of the Bible. This is fine because as I always say "all truth is God's truth". What this means is that any truth that can be gleaned from outside sources is in fact truth that belongs to God, who is the embodiment of Truth. We must not be afraid to look at outside sources to find out what is true.
Pros
There are a couple Pros to this approach. For one, this approach allows the therapist to have a better understanding of mental illness because they keep up to date on the latest psychological evidence. It is for this reason that an Integrationist can show more compassion for their counselee. Another pro for this perspective is that the therapist will be more willing to develop a rapport with their client before getting into deep issues such as confronting sin. The reason this is good is because the client needs to feel comfortable with the therapist before they will be willing to acknowledge their secret sins.
Cons
While I personally like this approach, I will admit that there are a couple Cons to it. These Cons can be a serious detriment to this approach too. One Con is that some Integrationists elevate Psychology to be on the same level of authority as Scripture. This is bad because only Scripture is authoritative, not Psychology. However, some Integrationists will attempt to "Christianize" Psychology. There is a fine line between accepting that Psychology and Christianity can coexist and trying to talk about Psychology using Christian language. Another Con to this approach is that some Integrationists tend to be affirming of the LGBT community. This is bad because homosexuality is expressly condemned in Scripture. For this reason, we should never affirm what God calls an abomination.
Secular Approach
The Secular Approach is basically what it says: Secular. This approach is Psychology without any Christian or religious, influence whatsoever. For this reason, some Christians say that the Secular Approach should never have an influence over a Bible-believing Christian. They will say things like "What does light have in common with darkness" and other platitudes such as this. To their credit, they do have a point here. However, as someone who has personally benefitted from Secular Psychology, I cannot fully agree with them.
Pros
The Secular Psychology Approach does have some Pros to it. I know this may sound strange to some readers who think there is no use to this approach, but please hear me out. One Pro to this approach is that Secular Psychologists do have a proper understanding of mental illness. For this reason, they do know what helps one better manage their mental health symptoms. When it comes to behavior modification, Secular Psychology can be of great help. This is not to be confused with the idea of Sanctification, which is something that only happens by the work of the Holy Spirit. Another Pro of this approach is that Secular Psychologists will be more compassionate toward someone with mental illness because they have a fuller understanding of their illness. It is for this reason that they can lend a listening ear to someone who struggles with mental illness better than most other counselors.
Con
While there are a couple Pros to this approach, there are also a couple Cons. For one, secular Psychologists may not be knowledgeable about the Bible and as a result, you will have a difficult time talking about your faith with them. They may be open with you expressing your faith, but they will not understand your faith fully. Another Con is that they will not direct your attention to Jesus Christ, who is our only hope. The reason for this is because they are not your pastor. Their sole purpose is to give you the tools to be able to handle your symptoms appropriately. Another Con to this approach is that they may throw some paganism into your therapeutic session. Things such as Mindfulness exercises, Inner Child Therapy, and other such things should be rejected by Christians.
Biblical Counseling
This approach was once called Nouthetic Counseling and it was invented by a man named Jay Adams. The term Nouthetic comes from the Greek word which means "to admonish". This approach is all about locating the secret individual sin in the counselee and confronting it to find healing in the grace of Jesus Christ. Jay Adams was very antagonistic toward Psychology and Psychiatry and during his time he had good reasons for this too. It is important to note here that modern-day Nouthetic counseling has really changed from the time of Jay Adams. These days, the movement is called Biblical Counseling and it is split up between two groups: the ACBC and the CCEF. The ACBC tends to support Psychiatry, but they do not approve of Psychology. Whereas the CCEF approves of both Psychiatry and Psychology. I personally like the CCEF a whole lot better, but that could be my biased speaking.
Pros
There are quite a bit of Pros to this approach. For one, Biblical Counselors tend to have a very high view of the authority of Scripture. This is something that I truly admire about this approach. They desire to hold Scripture in high regard when it comes to counseling their clients. Another Pro to this approach is that in some cases it is helpful to address the client's secret individual sin. For example, if a man is getting blackout drunk at the bar and then coming home to beat his wife and children every day, then his sin needs to be confronted in the counseling session. One other Pro to this approach is that Biblical Counselors are not affirming the LGBT agenda.
Cons
While there are Pros to this approach, there are quite a few Cons too. One example is there need to ground all mental health issues in some secret individual sin that needs to be confronted. People who deal with various clinical mental illnesses do not always need to confront some individual sin. We need medication and proper therapy. Mental illness is rarely the result of individual sin, even though it is the result of The Fall. When Biblical Counselors confront a mentally ill person's "secret sin", what they are doing is blaming us for our ailment, which perpetuates a harmful stigma against mental illness. Another Con to this approach is it confuses the purpose of Psychology. I have heard it said on numerous occasions that Psychologists are trying to replace the Holy Spirit in the sanctification process. This is a blatant misrepresentation of Psychology. Psychology does not replace the Holy Spirit. The purpose of Psychology is solely to equip the client with tools to know how to better manage their mental health symptoms. Sanctification is, and will always be, a separation issue that is only a work of God.
As you can see there are good and bad for all three of these approaches and each counselor from these different perspectives could learn a lot from one another. This should not be a point of contention between the three approaches. Whatever type of counselor you decide to see, you will greatly benefit from them. However, you do need to keep in mind that there are good and bad counselors in all three approaches. So, if you are not comfortable with one counselor, do not throw out the baby with the bathwater. Finding the right counselor for you is much like the dating process. You may need to go to quite a few different counselors before you find the right one. I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog and I truly hope that you found this to be a tremendous blessing. May the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
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