The path to from childhood to adulthood is a clear example that we all are surrounded by different environments. We all have different experiences and challenges to overcome while we are growing up, and this can define who we are personality wise in society. Our families are miniature societies which impact our very own social construction until adulthood is reached. With this in mind, nature and nurture both work together as a result of life and culture, but we have the God-given power of free will to help nature evolve. Additionally, if we choose to walk with the Lord, we can allow Him to nurture us. In fact, the Bible makes a plethora of references of how the Lord will walk with us with the intent to nurture our lives. Psalm 23 (the King James Version) states, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake”(Holy Bible ). To clarify, the Lord is our Shepherd who takes care of us because we are His sheep. In the New Testament, Jesus references the importance of allowing the children to come to Him. We are all children of God. We need to allow Him to nurture our lives because we live within His creation. This is His system. By the same token, in the arena of Christian counseling, the systematic approach in working with individuals is beneficial because we are extensions of Christ within His system. Amen!
To open, let’s examine the systematic school of thought entitled, “Psychodynamic approach to family therapy.”(Stoop 530) According to David Stoop in Competent Christian Counseling, “By looking at a history of earlier experiences through a psychodynamic lens, unresolved family conflicts from the past are brought into the open so that these insights can lead to new understandings”(Stoop 530). Since we are children of God, and we are to be in continuous communication with Him. A submission can be made here that this school of systematic thinking holds Biblical relevance because God created all things, and he wants no unresolved issues between us. He already knows our hearts. Psalm 139:1-6 (the King James Version) says, “O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it”(Holy Bible ). As human beings, we often walk around and hide things from one another. The clichéd expression that, “you can never fully know someone” has substance, but the Lord is omniscient. He knows us inside and out. The Holy Bible is our number one reference tool, and the most accurate history book on earth. He has given us all we need to know right in the Bible! We just need to look and be open with Him!
Shifting slightly, when we begin to stray in our relationships with the Lord, He convicts us, and pulls us back under His wing of protection. The same needs to happen within our family lives as well. When secrets and entire truths are withheld from our loved ones, the integrity of the entire foundation of the family begins to crumble. When we build our house up the rock of Christ and remain open with Him and our loved ones issues can get resolved. The cracks in the foundation of the family begin to heal. For counselors, it is incumbent upon us to examine family history through the systematic approach so that we can begin to heal these cracks. We cannot allow our clients to continue to build their houses on the sand. “Genesis provides information about four generations of Abraham’s family, which allows us to clearly see some of the patterns repeat themselves”(Stoop 533). The repetitive behavior which occurred was because the family house was being built upon the sand, and only got washed away again and again.
Ultimately, possible challenges in approaching individuals systemically when reopening older secrets can include resistance, being outnumbered, pain of revisiting the past, and cooperation when challenging the clients to see themselves from another’s perspective through immersive role playing. Immersive role playing can be very beneficial in helping others resolve these unresolved issues when time traveling, but it is always darkest before dawn. We need to remember this. Before any real progress is made there is going to be pain. “When counselors work with couples, they benefit from being able to see a couple within the context of their own system as well within the family systems in which they grew up”(Stoop 535). Simply stated, systematic approaches in family counseling are essentially cinema-verite like via immersion within immersion to get to the root of the issues. When multiple parties are confronted the counselor is outnumbered, and the blame game can begin to slow the progress which needs to be accomplished within the therapy session. We need to remember that the Trinity of the Lord sets the model for the family. As counselors, we are branches from the vine of Christ which helps reunite the husband and wife back within God’s pasture.
Works Cited
Holy Bible . Thomas Nelson Publishers , 1997.
Stoop, David. “Families and Family Therapy-Understanding and Growing a Christian Social System .” Clinton, Dr. Timothy and Dr. George Ohlschlager. Competent Christian Counseling. Colorado Springs,Co: WaterBrook Press, 2002. 516-535.
