When placing myself on a continuum of “using Bible only” versus “using psychological
studies only”, I would currently place myself at a 3, emphasizing equal importance in the use of
both in order to fully and effectively counsel others. The Bible is our only source of truth, and I
believe in the power of scripture to heal our minds and help us to hold fast to what is true when
the world screams falsities. I also believe that if you do not study the science of psychology, you
lose an essential understanding of how the human mind functions in this world. I have found in
my own growth and small experiences in counseling young women, that there is benefit to
pairing Biblical truth with psychological studies which provide insight into the human
experience. Basing your counseling practices solely on psychological studies takes out the basis
of human nature, and puts the human experience into a purely scientific bubble. You lose the
reason behind why we are broken and in need of healing, and step into a purely cause and effect
worldview.
As counselors of faith, we believe that humans are broken by nature, and are in need of a
savior. Yet even when we step into salvation, we still are functioning in a fallen world. Our
minds can easily become entangled with the brokenness around us. We must look at our life
experiences to determine why we choose certain unhealthy behaviors over others. Does our
nature or our nurturing affect how we show up in the world? Using both the Bible and scientific
studies gives a fuller picture of human nature and human experience. Marrying the two helps
counselors of faith to guide their clients with knowledge of God’s creation and his design for it in
this world. We can honor and glorify God’s creation by studying ourselves through a lens of
science with a foundation of scripture. From scripture we know that God created every human
being, but from science we can know how and why they choose to function in certain behaviors
and patterns.
When I interact with persons from different cultures I learn about the privilege that I have
experienced and how my worldview is impacted on my surroundings. I love challenging myself
by interacting with other persons who have different worldviews, experiences, and challenges
that come with being in different cultures. I know that it stretches me to grow as an individual, a
participant in this world, and a believer. Jesus loved people of all walks of life, and we are also
called to do the same. My numerous cross-cultural experiences have taught me the unknown
biases that I had purely from my nurturing and education. I have had the privilege of spending
time in the United Arab Emirates, and I learned quickly about my hidden biases I had towards
people of Arab culture, much of which came from what I had been taught from my own cultural
upbringing. Through intentional conversations with persons from middle eastern descent I
discovered that not everyone from these countries have negative views towards Americans, and I
had wrongly misjudged a people group. I learned how to be more open-minded and
compassionate towards persons of different cultures, and challenged myself to take time to learn
about our differences and the ways that we can learn from each other's cultures.
I recently spent some time in Bogotá, Colombia, and my interactions while there revealed
to me that my cultural background has high value in success and earning money, whereas their
culture values family and community. Bogtános see the world as an opportunity to better it
through their relationships, and are driven by their familial experiences rather than their own
desires. For example, a young lady I interacted with desires to enter into the education field to
help close the educational gap for indigenous children in Colombia. She chose this trajectory
because of a generational gap in her family's education due to their indigenous history. Her
worldview challenged me to see past the idea that our career paths do not have to be based on
our own individual desires and experiences, and instead opened my mind to consider how my
relationships impact the world around me. My experiences can be a driving force for my career
path, and has played a part in my desire to pursue a counseling degree.