Hawkins and Clinton Book Review
HAWKINS AND CLINTON BOOK REVIEW 1
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Summary
The book “The New Christian Counselor: A Fresh Biblical andTransformational Approach” is an inclusive guide that empowers andeducates Christian counselors by expounding their obligation.Seasoned professors and counselors Tim Clinton and Ron Hawkinsbelieve that counselors should assist individuals to take controlof their souls. They further claim that the power of the HolySpirit helps in ensuring accountability in the community so thatpeople could achieve their desire to be like Jesus Christ.Importantly, the duo addresses today`s new and temptingimpersonations of true peace and frustrating opportunities forindividuals in agony as they seek to anesthetize themselves (Hawkins& Clinton, 2015). They also describe the foundation of hopethrough God’s love. God has a passionate connection with hischildren, thus empowers, and never abandon them. The authors use casestudies demonstrate how to assist individuals to take possession ofthe physical self, the thinking self, the decision-making self, thefeeling self, and the relational self.
Additionally, the book describes a comprehensive plan on howstudents, lay counselors, and professionals could integrate theirspiritual beliefs and practice. The authors provide an outline forChristian counseling that is biblically based and empiricallygrounded. They show how counselors can help their clients usingan approach that is systematically professional and uniquelyChristian. In this regard, the book provides informed case studies onsome of the most pressing difficulties troubling individuals today,including attachment issues, identity concerns, and addiction(Hawkins & Clinton, 2015). The authors also give plenty ofpractical aid for instigating today`s exceptional practices in theassessment of individuals’ scuffles, counselor-client partnership,and adaptation during the counseling process. Fundamentally, the bookoffers an extensive plan for effective interventions and futurecounseling backgrounds, which bring focus, definition, and directionto the Christian counseling practice in the twenty-first century.
Analysis
Hawkins and Clinton primarily concentrate on emboldening andequipping those who have spiritual consciousness but lack theconfidence and knowledge to pronounce their position concerning therole of faith in psychological and emotional healing. Therefore, theydelve more on the integration counseling approach because theybelieve that it brings together various components of specifictherapies (Hawkins & Clinton, 2015). The two argue thatintegration model enables the infusion of an individual’s needs andpersonality. Counselors need to understand their clients so that theycan know where to start their counseling. Indeed, the book representsthe strategic integration model, which is based on the notionthat Christian values influence what people do in Public Square aswell as their behaviors. Biblical theology and psychology bothexplore the human nature, assessing what has gone wrong and how tocorrect the situation. In achieving this end, counselors need to usetwo different tools to conduct a study on human beings, includingspecial revelation and general revelation. Moreprecisely, counseling should integrate scientific observation and theGod’s will as revealed in the Bible.
The spirit of expectancy is essential for any counselingsession. Both the counselor and client need to be preparedspiritually and physically for every counseling session. Clinton andHawkins take science seriously but allow Christian beliefs toreinterpret psychology. The two believe that failure to allow theword of God to take a high ground in a person’s mind, the God’sSpirit cannot work (Hawkins & Clinton, 2015). Indeed, while everyperson can acquire therapy insights from psychology, the questionremains, “What is basically fallacious with human beings and whatcan be done?” In this regard, the psychological theory becomessignificant in reinforcing Hawkins and Clinton’s approach.Psychological model appreciates the fact that psychology istheory-laden rather than an objective, experimental science.Therefore, psychological theory helps in assessing the underlyingreligious and philosophical assumptions relating to human nature thusstrengthening Hawkins and Clinton’s arguments that counselors mustdemonstrate a strong biblical theory-narrative as their groundwork.
Application
Hawkins and Clinton’s concepts about counseling provide a broadspectrum of modalities, which may be contributing to people’s agonyin their day-to-day life. According to Pope & Vasquez (2016),individuals face various challenges rooted in multiple modalitiesthat shape and define the human soul. Therefore, different ideasadvocated by Hawkins and Clinton remain indispensable in counselingpractice in an effort to address various difficulties peopleexperience in life. Foremost, possessing the soul is asignificant aspect of counseling. When Jesus was tortured andmurdered, he warned his followers that they should expect hardshipsand persecution. Indeed, Jesus gave his disciples a clear mandate,“By your patience possess your souls” (Luke 21:19).Correspondingly, clients come to counselors heart broken, feelingshattered and helplessly. Counselors need to help these desperateclients to repossess their souls so that can be ready for counselingand healing process.
Secondly, counselors should focus on helping their clients searchfor hope. Brokenness pleads for healing, and thus clients comesearching for anything that can help them to anesthetize their agonyand bring hope back to their lives. Thirdly, counselors shouldembrace their scientific and spiritual foundations in theirpractice. Christian counseling work starts with a solid foundationboth spiritual and scientific for a successful therapy process.Therefore, as builders build a house on a strong stone foundation,soul-care and Christian counseling in the present day need to basetheir efforts on God’s word, divine power, and eternal truth.Importantly, Christian counselors should embrace the revelation ofscripture (Hawkins & Clinton, 2015). Counselors should belearners of the wide scope of biblical theology so that they could bearmed with the important biblical passages, which speak graciouslyand powerfully to the specific clients’ needs. Undeniably, theultimate obligation of a counselor is to be Jesus Christ’s partnerin the process of restoration and redemption.
Finally, multicultural advocacy and care is an importantaspect of counseling today. The world is becoming a global village,and Christian counselors need to collaborate with various communitiesand cultures globally in order to encourage the brokenhearted andproclaim liberty to the captives as per God’s words (Isaiah 61:1).Indeed, partnerships would be essential in empowering Christiancounselors and enabling them to facilitate actions directed towardaddressing various global consequences such as human rights,genocide, refugees, and persecuted Christians among others.Evidently, Hawkins and Clinton’s concepts remain crucial in solvingdivergent people’s problems in the 21st century.
References
Hawkins, R., & Clinton, T. (2015). The new Christiancounselor: A fresh biblical and transformational approach. Eugene,OR: Harvest House Publishers.
Pope, K. S., & Vasquez, M. J. (2016). Ethics in psychotherapyand counseling: A practical guide. John Wiley & Sons.
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