ACC Accord Summer 2021 Issue 111

CHRISTIAN COUNSELLING –
ANOTHER APPROACH
By Pat Brooks, Director of Cardiff Christian Healing Ministry
read with great interest the
I articles in the last issue of
Accord on the subject of Christian
counselling, and in particular The
Churchill Framework. A lack of
definition has for some time been
a real handicap. We fit best with
Hood’s definition (Hood 2018:18)
also quoted in Bukola James’
article, in that we are in partnership
with the Holy Spirit as we work
from a Christian worldview. In
this article I am putting forward
our particular approach which I
hope will add something to the
discussions. Of necessity it is a brief
overview and some reflections.
Cardiff Christian Healing Ministry
was set up in 1995 following a
citywide mission, when it was
realised that churches in south
Wales were not in a position to offer
a safe place for healing to happen,
spiritual, mental, emotional and
physical. There was a good deal of
caution and reluctance to engage
in this ministry.
Initially we offered prayer ministry -
time, a safe place to be listened to,
to listen to God, and to be prayed
for. We soon found that we needed
to be better equipped to help with
people’s issues and hurts, and took
on training with Direction for Life.
After 4 years we were qualified to
Diploma level in a model which had
its origins in the USA, but is not well
known in the UK. Subsequently we
developed this model into what we
use today, and have also taught it
to several hundred people to use in
their own settings. Because we are
all volunteers, we are able to rely on
donations alone, and we can offer
as many sessions as are necessary.
The team consists of about 20
people from all denominations
from Anglican to Pentecostal,
giving us very eclectic practice and
experience.
OUR CORE BELIEFS
We start from a position of
theological anthropology, where
we are all made in the image
of God. 1 We see in Scripture a
blueprint of how we are meant to
live in relationship with God, with
others and with ourselves, free
of the effects of rejection - guilt,
pain, anger, loss etc. knowing
with certainty that we are loved
unconditionally. We believe that
God makes no exceptions, and
these absolutes apply to all people
at all times in all places. We use the
concept that love is a movement,
giving and receiving, and that
when the flow is interrupted
rejection sets in, with all its
consequences. We believe that
rejection of self, others, and/or God,
is at the heart of all our dysfunction.
When we choose to forgive
someone who has hurt us the
negative emotions can be healed,
and we restore the flow of love.
OUR PRACTICE
After establishing a therapeutic
alliance, and allowing the client
to talk about the issues, which
may take some time, we begin
the process which is at the heart
of our practice. We start with
inviting the client to use the Gestalt
technique of the empty chair, and
to begin to articulate the pain,
hurt, rejection, its consequences,
etc. to the person responsible. It
is not about apportioning blame
but recognising the reality in
order to deal with these painful
emotions. Having done that, the
client can then choose to forgive
the person for each one that has
been expressed. Accepting the
reality, surrendering it to God and
choosing to love and pray for that
person changes the wound into a
scar, not forgotten but no longer
having any effect on the client in
terms of those relationships.
Clearly many of these terms need
32 accord Summer 2021 www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org