What makes a Wonderful Counselor - Advent 14
If a proper climate is created by the Counselor, a process of therapeutic movement will happen in the client.
For unto us a child is born. And His name shall be called:
WONDERFUL COUNSELOR
In 1965, a counseling session between therapist Carl Rogers and Gloria was recorded as a means of educating students on what good counseling could look like. In his intro, Dr. Rogers lays out his philosophy for good counseling.
“If a proper climate is created by the Counselor, a process of therapeutic movement will happen in the client. 3 q’s the Counselor must ask themself are:
1. Can I be real in the relationship? “Genuineness” is the quality that I would like to have. I would like to have a transparency where nothing I have is hidden.
2. Will I find myself prizing this person? If I feel a real spontaneous prizing for this person as a separate individual, real therapy will occur.
3. Will I be able to understand the inner world of this individual? Can I see it through her eyes? Can I move around the world of her feelings so I know what it’s like to be her?
These questions remind me of the musings in the book of Hebrews where the author uses the metaphor of a high priest in his interpretation of Jesus’ life. The author states that the high priest “can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness.”
The author adds that “we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses” - and thank God we don’t, because how could we ever experience deep therapy with One who could not understand what it’s like to move around in our world and see it through our own eyes? It sounds like the goal of a good therapist and the goal of a successful high priest are the same -
to prize the ones who are being healed.
Rogers states if these attitudes are present quite a number of things will happen:
She’ll discover hidden aspects of herself that she wasn’t aware of.
Feeling herself prized by me, she’ll come to prize herself more.
If she senses a realness in me, she’ll be able to be a little more real within herself.
From being disapproving of herself, she’ll move to a greater acceptance of herself.
Wow. That sounds like a wonderful counselor!
May grace for human weakness allow you to become who you were born to be.
These meditations are a freely given visual offering for this Advent season.
Thank you for following along.
Most of them originated from my book Honest Advent….
Which is available where all books are sold.
