Lay Christian Counseling and Client Expectations for Integration in Therapy

Author(s)

Fernando L. Garzon, Liberty UniversityFollow
Everett L. Worthington, Jr., Virginia Commonwealth University
Siang-Yang Tan
R. Kirby Worthington

Publication Date

2009

Document Type

Article

Disciplines

Counseling Psychology

Comments

Published in Journal of Psychology and Christianity 2009, Vol. 28, No. 2, 113-120.

Abstract

As lay approaches to Christian counseling have multiplied and become increasingly sophisticated, we hypothesize that these might affect expectations of conservative Christian clients for professional integrative psychotherapy. Accordingly, we review several models of lay counseling, broadly categorizing them into active listening, cognitive & solution-focused approaches, inner healing, and mixed models. We consider how client expectations for psychotherapy may be altered through their experiences with these approaches. Subsequently, we make recommendations for clinicians who deal with lay-counseling-experienced clients. These include doing a more detailed assessment of client lay counseling experiences and considering ethical aspects of treatment (informed consent and competency to treat).

Recommended Citation

Garzon, Fernando L.; Worthington, Jr., Everett L.; Tan, Siang-Yang; and Worthington, R. Kirby, "Lay Christian Counseling and Client Expectations for Integration in Therapy" (2009). Faculty Publications and Presentations. 53.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/ccfs_fac_pubs/53