Engineering vs. Counseling
As a trainer of men and women who aim to be certified in biblical counseling, I require my students to read two extra books and write a review of each. One of these books is A Biblical Counseling Process: Guidance for the Beginning, Middle, and End by Lauren Whitman. Here is one student’s testimony of what he learned from Lauren’s excellent book.
In my day job as a quality engineer, one of my primary responsibilities is ensuring that our manufacturing operations adhere to documented work procedures and quality policies. When we have a large scrap incident, a customer return, or a procedural deviation, there is a set process to contain the problem, identify the root cause, implement corrective actions, and verify the implementation is successful. It is robust, and though the steps require creativity, the process never changes.
This part of my job is similar to the counseling task, and I have approached counseling like I would a manufacturing disruption. However, reading this book and gaining more counseling experience has challenged me to rethink how I counsel.
Letting Go of the Need to Fix
At first, my flesh desired an engineered process I could apply to any person or situation. I would encounter frustration during some of my session preparations as I felt pressure to figure out how to fix my counselees. It was helpful to hear Lauren Whitman say how biblical counseling must primarily aim to help counselees grow in “greater trust, obedience, and worship of God” (p. 4). This has helped to free me from the responsibility of fixing or repairing someone.
Whitman also explained how counseling must remain personal and adaptable. God was first personal with us by revealing Himself to us through His Word and the incarnation of Christ. He desires the same thing in return—that we would love Him with all our hearts. Yet every person has a different heart. Although Whitman’s counseling process sets broad categories, it remains adaptable to purposefully and uniquely care for each counselee’s heart in the best way.
Using the Process to Serve the Person
Whitman’s categories of beginning, middle, and end helped me to identify where my current counselees are in the counseling process and to develop an adaptable approach as I move forward with them.
During the beginning phase, I am focused on introducing the counselee to the counseling process, gathering data on his story and testimony, setting goals, and eliciting his commitment. Once I have sufficient understanding of the issue that first brought him to counseling and we have agreed on his goals, we move to the middle phase of the process.
I liked Whitman’s “middle” concept of taking each counseling issue, interpreting it biblically, and imagining a way forward. I would add that each issue’s interpretation should be clearly and continually tied back to the gospel, the heart, and how we change. This helps avoid fueling selfish motives or commending improvement efforts driven by the flesh. After understanding the issue biblically, a way forward can be imagined that targets the counseling goals by pairing relevant Scripture with steps that practically reinforce the biblical truths discussed together.
The Scripture shared should inform, encourage, correct, and comfort the counselee. Then, he should be given homework that helps him solidify and exercise what was taught during the session. Every session should be an iteration of pairing truth and hope with a practical way forward.
Knowing When It’s Time to End
Once the counselee consistently returns to sessions with “motivation and ability” to continue in that way forward, we are moving to the end of the process (p. 73). Near the end, I focus on celebrating the fruit observed during the counseling process, solidifying the counselee’s dependence on the Lord, and helping establish a plan to address any future backsliding.
We may discern the counselee’s readiness for counseling to end by reducing the frequency of sessions and monitoring whether growth continues. It is vital to ensure that the expectation is not perfection, but lifelong, faithful growth.
Remembering My Role
Before wrestling with this book, I tried to sanctify my counselees primarily by developing my counseling skills. Whitman taught me to remember that my role is to help the counselee understand God, understand himself, and see where Scripture intersects with his life.
*Get A Biblical Counseling Process from Westminster Books.
