The Contemplative Counselor

The contemplative approach to life, care, and counseling demands a daily call to surrender the underlying attitude of meritocracy that heavily emphasizes good works to produce successful results in counseling. At a fundamental level, the contemplative counselor exhibits an unwavering reliance on the grace of God, which transforms all that is descriptive of the counseling encounter.--From publisher description.

Interest in mindfulness and contemplative thought is growing among Christians, and it's time to consider the place of contemplative prayer within the field of counseling. Can contemplative prayer be integrated into therapeutic work? Can it in fact serve as a foundation on which to build a new approach to counseling? In Contemplation and Counseling Gregg Blanton presents a new paradigm for integrating contemplative prayer with counseling practice. He contends that contemplative prayer can illuminate the purposes of counseling and suggest interventions that help us accomplish these goals. This paradigm builds an alliance between science, theology, and Christian contemplative thought to create a dynamic approach to counseling and balance various dimensions of the human person: emotion, cognition, and action. And by recognizing the power of both words and silence, it harmonizes their functions. Based on this integrative foundation, Blanton offers eleven fundamental interventions to fit the needs of clients (including silence, empathy, and teaching contemplative prayer) and a practical four-stage process for helping clients change, using examples from his own counseling experience and from the Bible. Ultimately, contemplative prayer leads us to the healing power of love. How we view our clients, the ways that we relate with them, and the strategies that we use to help them change are all informed by our loving search for God in contemplative prayer. Particular topics include how Christian contemplation compares with therapeutic uses of mindfulness insights from interpersonal neurobiology understood in light of Scripture psychological and spiritual benefits of lectio divina and centering prayer how practicing contemplative prayer can help counselors develop traits that correlate with positive client outcomes when and how to teach contemplative practices to clients the role of the body, emotions, conscious and unconscious mind, and behavior in contemplative practice and counseling Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) Books explore how Christianity relates to mental health and behavioral sciences including psychology, counseling, social work, and marriage and family therapy in order to equip Christian clinicians to support the well-being of their clients.

"The perfect handbook for the clinical supervisor." —Nancy Waite-O’Brien, director, Education and Training, Betty Ford Center "An outstanding contribution to the professional well-being of the addiction field." —Thomas McGovern, editor, Addiction Treatment Quarterly "Forever useful." —S. Beckett, education and training coordinator, National Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors

Group psychotherapy in college counseling centers continues to thrive as a popular approach to working with college students, and yet there continues to be a lack of up-to-date, comprehensive resources for group psychotherapists working with this unique population. The College Counselor’s Guide to Group Psychotherapy highlights the role of the group therapist within college counseling centers; provides practical, step-by-step instructions for creating a thriving group program and culture; and unveils some of the opportunities to expand this under-recognized practice setting. This exciting new volume draws on the most current knowledge on group psychotherapy while paying particular attention to issues and ethical dilemmas that are unique to working with college students.

Equips Christian counselors and therapists to confidently use mindfulness techniques with their clients in a way that is both practical and biblical. Accessing mindfulness is a therapeutic touchstone for a range of emotional issues, from mild distress to the treatment of trauma, but the term mindfulness has often left Christians wary. Stripped of Christlike spirituality, it sounds self-focused at best, and at worst like a fusion with modern pop-religions of the day. But the quality of mindfulness—of being fully present, aware of ourselves and our situation so that we can better respond to the chaos around us—is a profoundly biblical concept. And it can be used effectively by Christian counselors and healing practitioners. In A Counselor's Guide to Christian Mindfulness, Regina Chow Trammel (a clinical social worker) and John Trent (a marriage and family therapist) team up to offer training in mindfulness skills used in evidence-based practices, such as dialectical behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. These therapies have been shown to be highly effective in the treatment of many mental health issues, blending elements of neuroscience, social science, and religious training. This book is the ideal resource to equip those in the helping professions to faithfully use mindfulness interventions both professionally and personally and includes: A historical and theoretical overview of Christian mindfulness and how it contrasts with other mindfulness-based practices. A practical guide for how to use mindfulness skills in counseling and therapeutic practice. A section addressing specific challenges or situations that your clients face. Dialogue scripts and contemplation exercises to adapt for your own work. The practice of Christian mindfulness can be effective in helping clients manage their intrusive and stressful thoughts, emotions, relationships, and challenges. This book fills a gap for Christian counselors and therapists who are eager for a resource that teaches mindfulness skills from a Christian and biblical perspective.

THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING and THE BOOK OF PRIVY COUNSELING are the first explorations in the English language of the soul’s quest for God. Written in Middle English by an unknown fourteenth-century mystic, THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING expresses with beauty a message that has inspired such great religious thinkers as St. John of the Cross and Teilhard de Chardin, as well as countless others in search of God. Offering a practical guide to the life of contemplation, the author explains that ordinary thoughts and earthly concepts must be buried beneath a “cloud of forgetting,” while our love must rise toward a God hidden in the “cloud of unknowing.” THE BOOK OF PRIVY COUNSELING, also included in this volume, is a short and moving text on the way to enlightenment through a total loss of self and a consciousness only of the divine. William Johnston, an authority on fourteenth-century mysticism and spirituality, provides an accessible discussion of the works, detailing what is known about the history of the texts and their author. In a new foreword, Huston Smith draws on his extensive knowledge of the varieties of religious experience to illuminate the relevance of these works for contemporary readers.

Suitable for use by students preparing to take the Certified Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC) exams, this text provides and introduction to alcoholism and drug addiction.