Rosemary,<br><br>There are so many things to say about this kind of so-called "therapeutic" "counseling" endeavor that one doesn't know where to start. But just to keep a discussion going, here's a couple.<br>
<br>Many years ago, almost a geological era in my life, a co-worker, who was a a diligent, likeable, quite normal person, started having episodes of outre behavior. As the episodes gained more frequency, some of us suggested that she see a mental health professional. The only person she listened to was a salesman who was an avid "One Way" advocate. (One Way was/is? a fanatic Christian group who held that the only way to live and the only path to redemption/eternal life/etc was their very narrow and crackpot way.)<br>
<br>The co-worker was talked into meeting with a religious counselor from One Way who told her that she was having these problems because her relationship with God was all wrong -- she had lost her way. Despite numerous "counseling sessions" -- more than usual, I suspect because she was a very, very attractive woman -- she became more and more depressed, her episodes increased in frequency and strangeness. One day at lunch with several of us she became unconscious. A LA City ambulance arrived, we briefed the attendants on her recent history who then briefed the attending ER physician.<br>
<br>The short story: she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She was transferred to the neurological center on the UCLA campus, had a successful operation, and after many months of recovery and therapy was able to return to work, much to our delight.<br>
<br>The moral: mental health problems can have purely organic causes or even partial organic causes. Even well trained professionals can miss the signs at the beginning. However, correctly schooled and certified mental health professionals are trained to always consider the possibility of some underlying organic causes, and there are many. A few hours of Bible-based training can hardly prepare anyone to discern if organic causes may be at work even for simple, apparently-less-serious mental health problems. Besides the tragedy to the counseled at risk here, the enormous financial liability of the so-call "counselors" in case where things go radically wrong ought be a detriment -- unfortunately, it seldom is.<br>
<br>Therapeutic psychology/psychiatry is not an exact science, and it is a relatively young science. Even with years of training, conscientious, well-intentioned therapists can make mistakes. <br><br>Amateur, snake oil "counselors" not only lack the depth and kind of knowledge needed to diagnose and to attempt to treat the thousands of kinds of known mental health problems, they naively rely on doctrines/beliefs which are in fact unverifiable, and based purely on superstitious mythology. The result of such counseling can be tragic sometimes resulting in the suicide of the counseled. Many of such Bible-based therapies include the infliction and amplification of guilt and conflict in the counseled.<br>
<br>As a nonbeliever who has observed many incredible, irrational, and no-supporting-evidence-for beliefs of credulous believers, it doesn't surprise me that some people think that a few hours of training at a very low cost could enable them to solve problems that billions of hours of research and training still do not grapple with successfully in many cases. Such a belief is on a par with that of believing that the righteous will be sucked up through space in a whirlwind to heaven and eternal life at the so-called Rapture (See the letter to editor from Larry Kirkland in yesterday's <i>Daily News</i>.) <br>
<br>A fool and her/his money are soon parted. In the case of losing money in a shell game at a carnival, only money and a little pride is lost. In the case of Bible-based counseling for mental health problems, the risk of just losing a little money and pride is small compared to the very real dangers of causing egregious harm to the counseled and even loss of life. A little Googling can confirm this -- an example: the the Bible-based "counseling" used to attempt to change a person's sexual orientation.<br>
<br>There is no magic elixirs for mental health problems. They are many times difficult to diagnose and to successfully treat. Even with the best of therapists, successful treatment is not guaranteed in many cases.<br><br>
There are several other issues with Bible-based "therapeutic counseling", among them the legality of practicing and/or training Bible-based "therapeutic counseling"; the very real danger that information given by the counseled during a "counseling" session with such a counselor will be used against them in some very devious ways to forward the ends of the counselors and their religious organizations, one of which is to suck more money out of the counseled and to create a dangerous, parasitic dependency not unlike drug addiction.<br>
<br>w. <br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, May 14, 2012 at 2:05 PM, Donovan Arnold <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:donovanjarnold2005@yahoo.com" target="_blank">donovanjarnold2005@yahoo.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div><div style="font-size:10pt;font-family:tahoma,new york,times,serif"><div><span>Mr. Hansen</span></div>
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<div><span>Don't be dissing water cooler talk by comparing it to <span><span>Biblical</span></span> Counseling from <span>the made</span> up teachings of the far religious right. One of these has a bit more foundation in fact and relevance. <var></var></span></div>
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<div><span>Donovan J. Arnold</span></div>
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</div><b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold">From:</span></b> Tom Hansen <<a href="mailto:thansen@moscow.com" target="_blank">thansen@moscow.com</a>><br><b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold">To:</span></b> Don and Rose Huskey <<a href="mailto:donaldrose@cpcinternet.com" target="_blank">donaldrose@cpcinternet.com</a>> <br>
<b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold">Cc:</span></b> Moscow Vision2020 <<a href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com" target="_blank">vision2020@moscow.com</a>>; "<<a href="mailto:office@christkirk.com" target="_blank">office@christkirk.com</a>>" <<a href="mailto:office@christkirk.com" target="_blank">office@christkirk.com</a>> <br>
<b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold">Sent:</span></b> Sunday, May 13, 2012 9:32 PM<div class="im"><br><b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold">Subject:</span></b> Re: [Vision2020] The newest, and by far the worst scam in town<br></div>
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<div>Coincidentally, the Center for Biblical Counseling (518 S. Main, Moscow) is located next door to the Nuart Theater (516 S. Main, Moscow).</div>
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<div>The Center for Biblical Counseling</div>
<div><a href="http://www.ccmbooks.org/index.cfm?i=14114&mid=4&ministryid=25930" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.ccmbooks.org/index.cfm?i=14114&mid=4&ministryid=25930</a></div>
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<div>Rose does bring up an interesting question . . .</div>
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<div><span>What credentials do ANY of those listed within Rose's email possess that qualifies them for anything beyond water cooler gossip?</span><br><br>
<div>Seeya round town, Moscow.</div>
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<div>Tom Hansen</div>
<div>Moscow, Idaho</div>
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<div>"If not us, who?</div>
<div>If not now, when?"</div>
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<div>- Unknown</div>
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<div><br>On May 13, 2012, at 19:59, "Rosemary Huskey" <<a href="mailto:donaldrose@cpcinternet.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">donaldrose@cpcinternet.com</a>> wrote:<br><br></div>
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<div style="LINE-HEIGHT:normal;MARGIN-BOTTOM:0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE:16pt">Greetings to Christ Church and Trinity Reformed Elders: Jeremy Bunch, John Carnahan, Bill Church, Dale Courtney, John Grauke, Matt Gray, Ed Iverson, Fred Kohl, Mike Lawyer, Csaba Leidenfrost, Ben Merkle, Matt Meyer, Jim Nance, John Sawyer, Wes Struble, Matt Whitling, Douglas Wilson, Gordon Wilson</span></div>
<div style="LINE-HEIGHT:normal;MARGIN-BOTTOM:0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE:16pt">Deacons</span><span style="FONT-SIZE:16pt">: Andrew Crapuchettes, Jim Crapuchettes, Greg Ditton, Tom Garfield, Jonathan McIntosh, Joe Myers, Rusty Olps, Marc Rust, Mark Wintz</span></div>
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<div><span style="LINE-HEIGHT:115%;FONT-SIZE:16pt">Is there ever going to be an end to the trouble and error the elders and deacons of Christ Church bring to the people of our community? When I learned about your newest scam, <i><a href="http://www.ccmbooks.org/?i=14114&mid=1000&id=376911" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Center for Biblical Counseling</a>,</i> my heart plummeted. What in the name of God, and I mean that literally, leads you to believe that you are qualified to counsel distressed people, or worse, train others – in a three day, forty dollar course - to do so? Your ludicrous claim to <a href="http://www.cbcmoscow.com/contact-us/counseling-in-a-week/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">“training”</a> (your own and the moronic people who will pay forty dollars for it) does not stand up under scrutiny. The damage you will do is <b>incalculable.</b> Clearly, you don’t
give two hoots in hell about the people, their families, and the community that you will harm with your pseudo-counseling. How do you plan to maintain the confidentiality of your clients? It is to be hoped that they will not in the files of Anselm House where any Tom, Doug, Ben, or Greyfriars student might have access to them. Spare me from pretending a <a href="http://www.nanc.org/Certification" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">NANC credential</a> is convincing to anyone but the most credulous. Let’s be honest, genuine counseling credentials are more than exchanged emails, phone conversations, open book tests, and videos. Good Lord, in comparison ITT Tech look like an ivy leage university.</span></div>
<div><span style="LINE-HEIGHT:115%;FONT-SIZE:16pt">What twisted, egocentric, lust for self-importance drives the men of the Kirk (and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/216223811815889/?ref=nf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">their like-minded allies</a> - click on the “see more …” to learn who else is involved) to believe they are competent to tackle any professional area that arouses their interest? It’s no wonder that your befuddled wives (who are not even R.N.s) <a href="http://www.fruitfulvinemidwife.com/services/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">deliver babies at home in a look-a-like child’s wading pool</a>. I wonder, can surgery on a kitchen table be far behind? Have you considered the distinct pattern of behavior among Kirkers – men and women - who consistently substitute swaggering (or sashaying) hubris for actual expertise. </span></div>
<div><span style="LINE-HEIGHT:115%;FONT-SIZE:16pt">You have chosen a fearful path to walk. Do you understand the damage you can do? Do you care? How many desperate people, lured into your office by the claim of <b>free counseling</b>, will be further damaged by your ignorance and presumption. Why can’t you appreciate the difference between praying with a troubled person and then sending him/her with your blessing and support to a proficient, academically credentialed, and state licensed counselor who has received an education including subjects like neurobiology, psychiatric illness, personality disorders, human development, and organic brain damage? And, in an act of true Christian charity, the Kirk can pay the bill. How do your counselors plan to differentiate between personality changes due to a malignant tumor or just a run of the mill sociopathic personality disorder (which,
incidentally is not generally believed to be curable – prayerfully or otherwise)? Will you also be praying the gay away? Given Doug’s penchant for mocking, hateful, homophobic language, I suspect it will be high on the agenda. </span></div>
<div><span style="LINE-HEIGHT:115%;FONT-SIZE:16pt">The entire community is aware of the Christ Church “cure” for pedophiles – arranged marriages. (Is that a Christ Church / Biblical Counseling example of a treatment plan?) Or, are you planning to beat the devil out of your patients – a Reformed exorcism – the way you spank your sinful children? <a href="http://www.credenda.org/archive/issues/16-2childer.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Whoops, I forgot, spanking is funny</a>. <a href="http://logosschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Application12-13.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Is Tom Garfield, aka Mr. Spanky</a> and Superintendent of Logos School, the leading candidate for that chore based on his expertise with a paddle or has a new child whacker taken over that job at Logos? (I’m betting not.) Doug Wilson is the unblushing author on how <a href="http://www.credenda.org/archive/issues/8-4childer.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">spanking is just what God ordered, and it should hurt</a> so maybe he will be a switch hitter.</span></div>
<div><span style="LINE-HEIGHT:115%;FONT-SIZE:16pt">But of course, your free counseling isn’t just charity work, is it? Once again the old Pyramid Scheme peeks around the corner and gives us a smirky wink and a slimy nudge. The old tried and true formula “You-too-can-start-a-Classical–Christian-school and you don’t need any silly government school degrees to do it “ has morphed to “For-the-meager sum- of-forty-dollars-and–three-days–of- training-you–can- become- a -Christian counselor” and here’s the best part, you don’t need a silly, worthless degree in Psychology to set up shop. What <b><u>is </u></b>the matter with you? Do you need money so badly that you will peddle snake oil and pretend it is of value? Have you no shame – oh, wait we know the answer to that question. You have moved from the jackass category which is sufficiently awful to the
toxically dangerous category. And while, I don’t believe that we have heard the last from the leaders of Christ Church and Trinity Reformed Church, I can’t imagine you could sink much lower.</span></div>
<div><span style="LINE-HEIGHT:115%;FONT-SIZE:16pt">Rose Huskey</span></div>
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<div><span>=======================================================</span><br><span>List services made available by First Step Internet,</span><br><span>serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.</span><br><span> <a href="http://www.fsr.net/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.fsr.net/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.fsr.net</a></span><br>
<span> <a href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><a href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com</a></span><br><span>=======================================================</span></div>
</blockquote></div></div><br>=======================================================<br>List services made available by
First Step Internet,<br>serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.<br> <a href="http://www.fsr.net/" target="_blank">http://www.fsr.net</a><br> mailto:<a href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com" target="_blank">Vision2020@moscow.com</a><br>
=======================================================<br><br></div></div></div></div></div></div><br>=======================================================<br>
List services made available by First Step Internet,<br>
serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.<br>
<a href="http://www.fsr.net" target="_blank">http://www.fsr.net</a><br>
mailto:<a href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com">Vision2020@moscow.com</a><br>
=======================================================<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)<br><a href="mailto:art.deco.studios@gmail.com" target="_blank">art.deco.studios@gmail.com</a><br>