Running head: INTERVENTIONS THAT APPLY SCRIPTURE
A Review of:
“Interventions that Apply Scripture in Psychotherapy”
Brian Campbell, Ph.D.
Liberty University Online
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INTERVENTIONS THAT APPLY SCRIPTURE
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A Review of:
“Interventions that Apply Scripture in Psychotherapy”
Summary
This article (Garzon, 2005) discusses critical issues regarding the use of scriptures in
Christian counseling and provides practical examples of how therapists can effectively
incorporate scriptures into the counseling process to benefit clients. The author (Garzon, 2005)
utilizes a hypothetical case study of a 30-year-old man named “George,” for two main purposes:
1. To consider ethical issues with regard to the use of scriptures in counseling, and 2. To
provide practical examples of how to incorporate scriptures into specific therapeutic
interventions.
With regard to ethical considerations, Garzon (2005) recommends that counselors should
be flexible and consider, from the onset of counseling, whether scriptural interventions are
appropriate for all Christian clients. For example, he argues that it is important to assess the
client’s unique history and religious upbringing—which he terms, “religio-cultural”
assessment—and to refrain from imposing scriptural interventions on the clients who may not be
a willing partner to this type of counseling (p. 114). In addition, Garzon (2005) recommends that
counselors consider a wide range of “best-practice” factors when assessing whether to use
scriptures in counseling, such as: avoiding dual relationships (e.g., religious and professional);
informed consent; and, clinical competency (p. 114).
On the topic of intervention strategies, Garzon (2005) utilizes the case of “George” to
illustrate how to utilize scriptures to address general emotional and behavioral problems.
According to Garzon (2005), Psychoeducational interventions might involve educating George
regarding Biblical truths on topics such as experiencing emotions, proper assertiveness, or setting
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limits (p. 116). Theoeducational intervention might involve helping George understand the
loving nature of God vs. the inaccurate view of God that George learned through his abusive
father; scriptures dealing with God’s loving and caring nature might help correct George’s
misperception of God that emphasizes man’s fallen nature, sinfulness, and judgment by God (p.
116). Along somewhat different lines, Behavioral interventions that utilize scriptures could also
be incorporated into George’s treatment (p. 216). For example, appropriately selected scriptures
combined with deep-breathing exercises could help George reduce his anxiety symptoms (p.
216).
In addition to the above intervention strategies, Garzon (2005) gives specific examples of
how to incorporate scriptures into traditional therapeutic techniques--such as Rational Emotive
Behavioral Therapy (REBT) and Cognitive-Therapy (CT)--as well as less traditional approaches
to counseling such as “inner healing prayer” (p. 117). Given the variety of ways that scriptures
can be integrated into counseling, the author concludes that God’s Word can be a “powerful
resource” for Christian counselors (p. 120).
Reflection
The article by Garzon (2005) captured my attention because I have been utilizing
scriptures in counseling for over twenty years. To some extent, I was drawn to the paper because
of my personal desire to validate the way I have been counseling people over the past two
decades. In addition, I wanted to read the article to see if it was going to be necessary to
“defend” what I feel is an essential feature that distinguishes Christian counseling from other
traditional psychotherapies—namely, the use of scriptures in counseling.
At first glance, I was looking for scientific evidence to support and validate my strong
and heartfelt position concerning the importance of scriptures in counseling. Having originally
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trained in experimental psychology, I had hoped to find solid empirical research that yielded
“hard data” to defend my “cause.” To some extent, I was disappointed to find that Garzon’s
(2005) article consisted entirely of a hypothetical case study of a man named “George.”
However, as I carefully read the article, I was pleasantly surprised by the ways that the author
used “George” to illustrate how scriptures can be utilized effectively in counseling, while at the
same time being sensitive to the client-specific factors—such as George’s unique history, and his
religious training and experiences.
After I finished the article and “sat back” to think about it, I wondered whether it would
be possible to actually conduct experimental research on the use of scriptures in counseling. I
tried to imagine what such research would “look like,” in terms of experimental design and other
research-based considerations. After a bit of reflection, I decided that I would do a literature
review and see if there is any extant, solid, scientific research that confirms what I have
discovered to be self-evident throughout my Christian counseling career—namely, that the truth,
as contained in the scriptures, is a sine qua non for genuine Christian counseling.
Application
A 27-year-old male soldier was involuntarily committed to a Veterans Administration
Hospital with symptoms of PTSD and suicidal ideation. He had insomnia and flashbacks to a
time in Afghanistan when he was forced to shoot and kill a young boy who approached him
wearing a suicide vest. He had been raised in the Roman Catholic Church and was experiencing
extreme guilt over killing the boy. He specifically asked for a Christian counselor to provide
psychological treatment for him. The case was assigned to a Master’s level intern who obtained
his degree in counseling from Liberty University. The intern was a self-professed evangelical
Christian who had rejected his Pentecostal upbringing and was attending a non-denominational
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church. A licensed Mental Health Counselor, a non-believer, who was employed by the VA.,
was supervising the intern.
One of the first issues that would need to be considered in this case would be informed
consent. According to Garzon (2005), any utilization of scripture should include “clear informed
consent procedures” (p. 114). Obviously, since the VA is a secular setting, no standard forms
giving permission to utilize scriptures would be available. These forms would need to be
constructed in order to proceed ethically. However, even if creating new informed consent forms
was attempted, it is likely that such forms would violate what Garzon (2005) referred to as
“work-setting (church-state) boundaries” (p. 114). Assuming that appropriate informed consent
and approval by the VA legal department could be obtained, additional problems might arise if
treatment was attempted.
Given the differences in the religious upbringing (Roman Catholic vs Pentecostal) that
could be assumed between the client and the therapist, it would be important for the therapist to
have respect for the client’s religious and spiritual beliefs (Garzon, 2005, p. 114). When
considering the utilization of scriptures in counseling, Garzon (2005) warns that “clients will
have a mixture of experiences with the Bible based on their particular religio-cultural
background” (p. 115). Given the assumed contrast between Roman Catholic and Pentecostal
upbringings, it may be extremely difficult for the therapist to treat the client in a fashion that
would not adversely affect the client’s quality of care and his treatment outcome (Garzon, 2005,
p. 115).
Given the issues mentioned above with regard to informed consent, setting factors, and
differences in religious upbringing, it would probably be more appropriate in this situation for
the therapist to utilize scriptures “implicitly” rather than “explicitly” (Garzon, 2005, p. 115). So-
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called “implicit” integration of scriptures might involve silent prayer on the part of the therapist
or sharing aspects of the therapist’s personal spiritual life (Tan, 1966a; as cited in Garzon, 2005).
However, for purposes of discussion, if we assume, hypothetically, that it was ethically possible
to treat the client by explicitly using scriptures, a number of interesting therapeutic interventions
might be possible.
For example, the client’s PTSD might be addressed behaviorally and cognitively through
the utilization of a technique called “cue-controlled” relaxation. This technique involves using
an interval vibration (from a device resembling a pager) to prompt the user to take a slow deep
breath (at regular intervals throughout the day). As the client inhales, he can be taught to say, “I
am…” Then, during the exhale, the client can say, “Forgiven…” Through the repetition of this
scriptural derivative, the war veteran could be helped to counter any irrational thoughts that
might be condemning him for killing the young boy during wartime. Such a technique could be
augmented by assigning the client additional scriptures to read regarding God’s forgiving nature;
such augmentation would represent what Garzon (2005, p. 116) refers to as Theoeducational
intervention.
INTERVENTIONS THAT APPLY SCRIPTURE
References
Garzon, F. L. (2005). Interventions that apply scripture in psychotherapy. Journal of
Psychology and Theology, 33(2), 113-121.
Tan, S. Y. (1966a). Religion in clinical practice: Implicit and explicit integration. In E.
Shafranske’s (Ed.), Religion and the clinical practice of psychology (pp. 365-387).
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
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