Why Christian Counselors Need Community Now More Than Ever

Camille McDaniel, LPC (00:28)
Welcome back to Christ in Private Practice. It’s wonderful to have you here. We’re going to be talking a little bit today about some things that have just been going on recently for the field of mental health, for state laws, and for Christian clinicians. And then we’re just going to talk about what’s to come.

So recently many Christian counselors may have been paying attention to the state of Oregon and a case that was involving a Christian counselor, a licensed,

Christian counselor who was over there and the decision that the state of Oregon made to drop a substantial fine that they had against this counselor. And that was actually based upon, from what I read, some legal developments that occurred with regards to a case in Colorado with a Christian clinician, another Christian clinician.

Now

Before I go any further, I’m not really going into spending a a ton of time on those two cases, but if you desire, you can look up the Christian counselor in Colorado Supreme Court that should pull up one of the cases, and Christian clinician state of Oregon. And I I believe the fine that the state of Oregon placed on this Christian clinician was close to ninety thousand dollars.

So if you look up State of Oregon Christian Clinician fine for $90,000, you can definitely go into more detail about what occurred in that in that case as well. What I do want to discuss though

is what these situations, what these cases really reveal about our profession and why I believe that Christian counselors need both training, we need training in everything from ethics to documentation to treatment modalities, just every everything as it relates to faith integration. And we also need community now more than ever, I believe. Because if I’m really on

Honest,

I think that the bigger issue it’s not so much the court cases themselves. I think that the bigger issue

happens between counselors when these topics come up for us within our counseling practices. So for those who may not be very familiar, just so that I can kind of like lay a foundation of what I’m talking about, the case with regards to the clinician, the licensed clinician in Oregon, there was a a licensed clinician who was disciplined by the state of Oregon

Again by their licensing board actually, after a long term client that they had, which I believe they may have been seeing this client for about two years or so. But

However it however it unfolded, the client asked the clinician to personally affirm their their same-sex relationship. Now, according to the reports, the counselor had, you know, you know, before kind of gently discussed or gently tried to reroute the client away from that counselor giving any kind of personal affirmations or or just bringing in the personal

into it but it seems as though during a session that this counselor had with their client the the client was just you know very straightforward about the question that they had and wanting the counselor to give them an answer about how they felt about their their relationship with the other person that was in their life and after I guess some some prompting the

the clinician eventually shared that he he could not personally affirm the relationship just because of his religious beliefs. And the licensing board for the state of Oregon concluded that his response will violated ethical standards and and then they imposed the disciplinary action on him. I believe he had to

take some sensitivity courses, I think some other culturally related courses, and then there was the fine of almost ninety thousand dollars that was placed on him. There there is an a a law office that i the name of it is not coming to my mind right away, but you will you will see if you look up the case who he’s being defended by.

Or I don’t know if it’s just ongoing defense, especially since things have been dropped. But the I know the court ruling from Colorado actually influenced the state of Oregon to withdraw the disciplinary action as well as the fine that they had laid against this this clinician, this licensed clinician who was also a a Christian. Now

No matter what you what you personally feel about that case, no matter what you professionally feel or culturally feel or even theologically feel, I I think that many counselors can agree that this case raises a lot of important questions about counselors’ speech and ethics and even questions about

client autonomy and values and faith. You know, what happens what happens when a client asks you, you know, directly for your personal perspective? What happens if the client, you know, directly asks you how you feel about about them or their their life or their worldview or any of that.

And and how do we navigate these sis situations like well? How do we navigate them ethically? How do we navigate them professionally? You know, overall. So again

Whether or not you’ve ever faced a situation exactly like this one, I would say that many counselors have encountered different moments in their career where a client’s goals or their belief system or their worldview, you know, created some kind of complexity within the counseling room. And that’s where that’s where I think the real conversation lies. I think the real conversation lies with how much support do

You feel you have when those complexities come your way? Do you feel you have a place to turn and talk freely and not be and not feel like you’re being judged? To really just kind of make sure that you are doing the best thing that is going to be good for your client, good for yourself, good for everyone involved.

I I actually had not too long ago an opportunity. I mean, really this was just like recently, an opportunity to kind of kind of broach a little bit of this type of conversation online with another professional. I believe mental health professional. So this was on a social media page where I only have a business for this particular page. All of my pages actually all

my social media pages are regarding mental health and business. I think less than one percent of the the people that I’m connected to on most social media platforms are family and friends. I mean less than one percent really. So so I I typically this is a way for me to be able to keep people aware of what’s going on in the counseling practice, what’s going on

for Christ in private practice. So when this person’s you know, post started coming through my my feed, I was just kind of noticing some of the things that were being shared, but my mind is thinking about it clinically. You know, so I’m I’m like, this is interesting. And then I got like a couple more posts and and I actually don’t even recall who the individual is, but you know, sometimes you link to people and you you friend people

people and you you know kind of connect on whatever social media platform it is.

And you may not remember exactly who they are, and you may not actually even know them very closely, but you all may be in the same field. And at one point in time you thought it was a good idea, so you connected. And that that was the case with this I didn’t remember the individual very well, but at some point in time we must have connected on this platform.

And they had a post that came through my feed that kind of brought up a lot of qu good questions that I thought, you know, the field of mental health just really doesn’t talk about a lot and their posted something along the lines of, you know, hey straight people, how much therapy would it take for you to become gay? And then it said, Exactly, so why

you supporting conversion therapy and and that you know that was kind of the point of it to you know just really kind of bring awareness and to voice their view through this post that they were reposting how they felt about that and I’m very aware that that form of therapy generally when you actually look into more information about it

you’ll see that there’s a lot of a lot of deep wounds attached to it that people will talk about as far as their their lived experiences. a lot of that though was actually not done within the field of mental health by licensed professionals. A lot of that can be linked to experiences people had within faith-based settings, you know. So

But either way, it draws a lot of serious emotion and serious feeling. But for myself, one of the things that I had noted in addition to just knowing the background of some of the practices that were unethical, some of the practices that were very traumatizing and harmful to people.

I’m also aware of other things that were coming through my timeline around the same time that actually brought up some some good thoughts in my mind surrounding that whole topic. And so I mentioned to the person who actually posted it, or I at least typed a comment back, that I I didn’t know if the field of mental health was ready for these types of

conversations because you know there are some realities that don’t really fit very neatly into into this topic of discussion and what was actually popping up in my mind as I was writing that were some posts that had also come through my feed

regarding individuals who have platforms. there were like, gosh, there were maybe like ten or eleven individuals who all have platforms sharing their journey. And their journey was about their own conversion in a sense. So it wasn’t a conversion related to them getting counseling, not that type of conversion therapy that is generally associated with minors, but this

These were adults talking about their own conversion out of out of same-sex attraction. And their whole their platform is just speaking about their experiences and their turn to faith and and they just share their stories. all of them have different stories, different platforms. maybe some of them have overlapping audiences, but

I I think what I took away from those two different posts that were coming through my timeline was, you know, there are also a subset of individuals who have experiences with same-sex attraction and they’re telling their their journey and their stories, and they are choosing to move away from acting on same-sex attraction and they’re talking about it.

But I don’t hear anything about those individuals in mental health spaces. I know that those individuals do have platforms and like I said, you know, communities and they have it on a lot of online spaces. You could just kind of Google it honestly and and you can find information and and threads where people are asking each other questions or looking for support.

And so they kind of have developed their own support teams and networks and all of that. But I wondered what does that mean for the field of mental health and and and how would other individuals take that? So I started to, you know, converse about that. And I just was sharing with them that I didn’t know if the field of mental health was ready for that because there are some individuals who have opposite experiences who are adults.

and who are desiring something different for their for their life that may not go along the the narrative that we’re used to hearing about. And they may be doing this for faith based reasons or for other reasons. And they’re no one’s forcing them, no one’s coercing them. You know, they are making their own personal decision that they want to align their life with their

their value systems, you know, their convictions. And so what about the the support for those individuals? And the reason why I said that was because there was, there’s a lot that goes on online. How many people are online? How many people are like, I don’t want to go online. Okay. There’s a lot going on online. But in a group that I belong to for mental health professionals, there was a post that came up where someone was looking for a referral.

And the referral had to do with somebody who was looking for a counselor who could provide same their their same faith, and it was Christian faith. And so they were looking for somebody who was of their faith, Christian faith, that could provide some counseling that integrated their Christian faith into their counseling experience, and they were wanting to explore the fact that they wanted to better align their life with their faith, and and that involved looking at how they

might process and start to proceed with moving forward and moving away from acting on same-sex attractions. And it was very interesting because that actually is the only time I’ve ever seen that type of referral or or request for referral come up ever. once I did have in my practice somebody call and wanted counseling care for that very topic and I

was not in network with their insurance and they really wanted to use their insurance so they you know they continued to move on. But one of the things that I noted when I was on or in this online group was that after the person posed the question, people stayed polite, people stayed professional. They definitely did. I must say that, at least what I witnessed. I don’t know I didn’t stay there for all the comments.

But I noticed that that a lot of the mental health professionals were having a really hard time providing the information that was being asked. Instead, they were giving suggestions that would encourage the original poster to tell that person that maybe they need to really go back and rethink what they’re wanting and rethink, you know, how they got to this conclusion and and maybe consider.

like book there were book referrals or suggestions that really were going to talk to why it really was okay to to lean into the thing that they said they did not want to lean into it was really okay. And so I found that really interesting because I I was like, here’s a rub here. This is a rub. You have somebody who is an adult who is saying very clearly, this is what I’m looking for. But then you also have a group of mental health professionals who are like, this

is not what I think they should be looking for. So I was just having a small conversation about all of that, you know, in this in this online under this online post that came through my wall. And I found it it was very interesting that the person that was speaking back and forth with me, I mean they remained very professional, but but they, you know, they noted, that’s very interesting, you know, when I was sharing with them just that fact.

And and then they said, you know, but I understand that and that’s very interesting, but I don’t think that that would be anything that I would do in my practice. And that to me was interesting because we oftentimes talk about honoring client autonomy. And we know that our code of ethics, code of ethics for multiple licenses in the United States and even Canada.

talks about not only client autonomy, but respecting client beliefs and and you know just being able to acknowledge where those beliefs are important and valuable to them. And so we can talk about honoring client autonomy and we can talk about how you know we should be aware of the cultural differences and all of that. But what happens when the client’s goals differ from what you

you hold as far as convictions for your life. And so, you know, that’s that’s something that I found really interesting because oftentimes I I do see where Christians are sometimes getting, you know, I I don’t I I want to say getting ragged on a little bit or or there are just some strong feelings about being able to have your Christian faith integrated.

into a counseling practice or having your Christian faith integrated into your business. You know, people still do feel strongly about that should not be the case, you know, even in our field of mental health. And so it’s it’s important for I think all of us because I see that even if you’re not a person of faith, sometimes people feel strongly about things they don’t believe they should do in their practices. Right. And it’s not regarding faith at all.

And and so I think that goes back to us being able to have a conversation about what happens when your convictions don’t align with what a with what a potential client or a client is coming to see you for. How do you address that? And and what do we do when those things pop up? And I and I know I’ve talked about that in this, you know, this podcast. I’ve talked about that with other individuals, but I just found that that experience online

was pretty interesting. you know, and it made me kind of think about some of the things that we wrestle with in the field of mental health and also made me think about, you know, d does client autonomy only matter when we agree, you know, so

It’s it’s it’s a lot to think about and I think a lot to cause us to have to be very clear on our policies, on how we practice, why we practice, what we practice, just just so that we can be clear and sure to remain ethical and professional, and compassionate in in whatever we are doing. Because it definitely can get tested along the way.

And I think the you know, and I know these conversations can be a little difficult. Now, during this online interaction, you know, it it had me me thinking about how hard it must be to really put some of your own thoughts and feelings aside and to engage in in these conversations and acknowledge that

that you do have a worldview and that your worldview actually influences who you can see and how you see people and what you specialize in and and all of that. Yeah, because every clinician has boundaries. Every clinician has populations that they they specialize in working with or populations that they don’t feel comfortable working with and every clinician

has situations that are gonna just fall outside their area of competence, right? Or comfort. and and we, you know, we know that sometimes this is something that is related to Christian counselors, but it’s true for all counselors. It’s true for everyone. It’s true for the secular counselor. It’s true for other faith faiths. It’s it’s true for everyone that we have to acknowledge that boundaries do exist. World views do exist.

And the question is not whether or not we can discuss those boundaries honestly and respectfully amongst ourselves in the profession or with our clients, but we need to we need to check and make sure that our profession can do it well. And and and that we being a part of the profession are having these conversations and and making these decisions well, well informed of our code of ethics, well informed.

of our state laws, just you know, just well informed. And that, you know, that brings me back to this the the Oregon case. For many Christian counselors, the concern is not simply legal concern, but it is a concern of professionalism and ethics and wondering whether or not there is room in this profession for s thoughtful, ethical Christians.

you know, who take both their faith and their ethical obligations very seriously. And I think, you know, sometimes the fear, or the the serious concern is wondering whether just asking questions will cause people to assume the worst about you. And that’s I mean that’s that’s very real. it feels like you have to kind of remain silent sometimes to avoid conflict and

You know, if you if you’ve ever felt that way, you’re not alone. You’re not alone. What what I have discovered over time is that many Christian counselors they’re they’re not looking for for all that back and forth online. They really want to be peaceful. They really just wanna practice. They just wanna practice in accordance also with their convictions and they just want peace.

They’re, you know, they are looking for guidance. They are looking for wisdom. And they’re looking for people who understand the complexity of practicing in accordance with your faith beliefs. And some questions that pop up are like, you know, how do I do all of this ethically? How do I navigate this when I have to document this in my notes?

How do I, you know, stay within my scope of practice and integrate my faith appropriately at the right times? All of these things pop up really, you know, they’re not always the simplest of questions that come up. And but I do think that they definitely deserve more than just a conversation on a social media platform, right? You know, and it’s squeezed into a section and

and hoping people don’t get too angry with each other and typing anonymously and typing, you know, things that are not very kind. And, you know, we deserve to be able to have really thoughtful discussions in a safe place in a professional and ethical and faith filled way. That’s what we really do. that’s how we grow, really. And, you know, and with that comes like

The the exciting news that I said I was gonna talk about last week, but really all of that and more are reasons why I am really excited about launching the summer series through Christ in private practice. Happy summer! Yeah, it’s like what the second day of summer. So, you know, what’s gonna happen is that over the next two months, starting with

Next week’s episode, episode ninety two. over the next two months, we’re gonna be diving into topics that are related to faith integration and ethics and, you know, documentation, spiritual assessment. We’re going to be going over, like, you know, complex clo clinical situations and evidence based care, all of that and and much more. There’s going to be a topic every week, and each topic is like a a mini training.

It’s going to be approved for one continuing education credit every single one. And so those who are listening to the podcast, at the end of this two month period, you will have eight continuing education hours through this summer series that you can definitely go on Christ in private practice platform and you can go and purchase CEUs if or excuse me CEs.

continuing education hours if that’s what you desire to do with after you’ve listened to the training. But even beyond the continuing education credits, my goal is to really help Christian counselors to develop just, you know, this the competence needed to to stand really firm in providing faith integrated care. You know, because it’s important

important for us to know how we are going to hold on to our convictions and provide strong clinical skills, but also align ourselves with our code of ethics and it is definitely it’s definitely doable. So we’re going to have along with the the podcast having a summer series that is going to be like a a training broken up.

Into eight sections over the course of eight weeks. That is going to be one part, but then there’s going to be another component that’s going to be released at the same time, and and it’s going to be the faith integration consultation circle because education is important, but community matters as well.

And some of the most meaningful growth takes place when clinicians of all seasons come together to work through difficult questions, sensitive topics, not attacking one another, not arguing with one another, no proving who’s right, who’s wrong. but we are we are literally here iron sharpening iron.

coming with the with the light of Christ to come together ethically and professionally to to learn to consult to support one another and to grow and we definitely will wrestle with complex topics but we’ll wrestle together and we will seek wisdom and we’re gonna seek it together and I wanted to create this place

where Christian counselors can bring questions and discuss their cases ethically and learn from one another and have conversations that are often I would say difficult to have, difficult to be very transparent about. because you know, many Christian clinicians they feel isolated. And I know we do have spaces online.

But we don’t always have a lot of places where we just talk freely and consult on cases. And so, you know, isolation is not a healthy place that we want to kind of be in when we have difficult clinical and faith filled questions. And so we are definitely going to have a space, a safe space where you can come.

And you can grow and you can consult on client cases that you have. And we are actually opening the doors to the faith integration consultation circle today. So we open the doors on the faith integration consultation consultation circle today. And then next week starts our summer faith series and training.

for continuing education credit if that’s what you want. So, you know, as a profession, we’re going to, you know, we’re going to continue to wrestle with difficult topics. And my hope is that we become you know, known for something different. We we want to be known not for the hostility and and and fear of what’s going to happen and what state legislation is going to do and what they might, you know, bring down on us. But

We want to be known for our our clinical excellence, our humility, our compassion, our wisdom, our respect for client autonomy, our ability to hold on to our convictions, you know, our commitment to ethical practice, and just, you know, a willingness to engage in difficult conversations thoughtfully. So, you know, the Oregon case is.

made headlines, but I think the deeper question remains: how do we faithfully and ethically serve clients in an increasingly complex world? And and if you’d like to join us for the summer faith integration series, or if you would like to learn more.

About the faith integration consultation circle, then registration information is now available through Christ in Private Practice. I will also put a link below in the show notes. And if you are listening on Spotify or Apple, I would also have a link there for you too. Thank you again for joining me for another episode and listening today.

And as always, let’s continue to build our practices and serve those who are sent our way God’s way. Until we meet again, God bless.