SOUL CHANGE MODEL: CBT FROM A CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY …restorationnola.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/AACC-2019... · 2019-10-08 · • Assumptions about Emotions: • They are God

SOUL CHANGE MODEL: CBT FROM A CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY PERSPECTIVEASHLEY BROOKS, PH.D, LPC-S, LMFT

OBJECTIVES PARTICIPANTS WILL:

• Understand the need to create therapy models or modify existing models to base assumptions on a biblical foundation and allow for the role of the Holy Spirit in the therapeutic process.

• Be introduced to a modified/translated CBT model from a Christian Psychology perspective called Soul Change Model.

• Leave with an understanding of the basic goals and techniques of the Soul Change Model, specifically highlighting the use of the Christian disciplines of confession, forgiveness, gratitude and walking in a believers authority in Christ.

INTRODUCTION: WHY DO WE NEED MODIFIED/TRANSLATED MODELS OF THERAPY?

• Existing models of therapy are based on a humanistic worldview.

• The Theory of Change in existing models of therapy are not biblically based.

• Existing models of therapy do not allow for the role of the Holy Spirit.

MAINSTREAM COUNSELING: ROLES IN CHANGE

• Symptoms = Initiator of Change

• Client = Agent of Change

• Therapist = Facilitator of Change

HOLY SPIRIT’S ROLE IN CHANGE

• Holy Spirit = Initiator & Agent of Change

• Client = Participant in Change

• Therapist = Facilitator of Change

…many systems of humanistic psychology have no clear picture of

what the true self even looks like. This is understandable because they do

not take into account either the Healing Presence or the Sacred

Writings. The healing of the soul is a very complex matter - in fact, there is no end to its unmet need - when we

bypass the Incarnation and the Cross, God’s way, through His Son, of

bringing us back into communication with Himself. (p. 56)

ASSUMPTION OF THIS PRESENTER

• That you are interested in counseling from a foundation of biblical truth

• That you have a basic understanding of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Model.

• That you are interested in learning a way of translating a model you already know into a model based on biblical truth.

ASSUMPTIONS OF COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY

• There is an activating event leading to thoughts, which lead to emotions, which lead to behaviors

• Thinking/Beliefs change emotion and behavior

• People have the ability to heal themselves through changing beliefs

• Hope is inside people

• Goal: Behavioral Change & Symptom Relief

PROBLEMS WITH THESE ASSUMPTIONS

• Locus of control for change is within the person

• Change only involves the Soul and the Body to some extent

• Places thinking (thoughts) above feeling (emotions)

• Does not take into account the relational aspect of people

• Does not take into account the reality of the spiritual realm

WHAT DOES TRANSLATING A MODEL MEAN & WHY SHOULD WE DO IT?

“…the translation metaphor offers a different and possibly a more profitable way of

conceiving of the Christian psychological community’s interpretive task than does the

modern understanding of integration.

Translation,…suggests that the task begins with differences in communal interpretation, understanding and expression (including in some cases vocabulary) that must be taken

seriously for genuine communication to occur - differences that arose in particular sociohistorical contexts.” (pg 228-229)

WHY SHOULD WE TRANSLATE THE CBT MODEL?

• It has been shown to be effective for behavioral change & symptom relief

• It is widely known and widely used

• It has some aspects which are supported in scripture (Take every thought captive; Meditate on truth; etc)

ASSUMPTIONS OF THE SOUL CHANGE MODEL• Assumptions about The Person

• Body, Soul, and Spirit should be included in the therapeutic process

• Thoughts and Emotions are aspects of the Imago Dei, are equally important and should be treated that way in a therapy model

• People are either thinkers or feelers and a therapy model should cater to the unique make up of the person and work to strengthen the lesser used mode of operation.

• 4 Basic Needs: Acceptance, Security, Significance, & Hope (Neil Anderson)

• Every person is either a Seeker or a Jesus Follower

• Assumptions About Beliefs:

• Created from experiences from conception to present time based on what we are told, what is observed; what is experienced; and the enemies lies

• Beliefs present themselves in a combination of thoughts, patterns of thoughts, and emotions

• Beliefs can be divided into two categories: stated and functional

• Beliefs center around 3 Topics: Identity; Who God Is; View of the World

ASSUMPTIONS OF THE SOUL CHANGE MODEL

ASSUMPTIONS OF THE SOUL CHANGE MODEL

• Assumptions about Emotions:

• They are God given, part of the Imago Dei and very good.

• They are just as important to self-awareness as Thoughts.

• They are messengers from the soul to the conscious mind and body about how the current situation is interacting with the held beliefs.

• They can be diseased or healthy.

SUMMARY: OUR THOUGHTS & EMOTIONS ARE VITALLY IMPORTANT TO ABUNDANT LIVING

We can believe and know all sorts of things, but emotion is what moves us to act on what

we believe and know. Our emotional responses impart

value to the many options we have in any decision. (p.130)

ASSUMPTIONS OF THE SOUL CHANGE MODEL• Assumptions about Change:

• The Lord uses circumstances in the lives of people to initiate change.

• For Seekers: to show them their need for Him

• For Jesus Followers: to draw them into a deeper friendship with Him by showing them their need to change functional beliefs that do not align with the Truth of Scripture.

• Change happens in the context of relationships.

• Changing functional beliefs to align with Scriptural Truth requires more than just thought change. Functional change requires a change in motivation as well.

• The Agent of Change in a person is the Holy Spirit

• The client is a participant in change

• The therapist is a facilitator of change

• The Holy Spirit is the Wonderful Counselor and Healer

ASSUMPTIONS OF THE SOUL CHANGE MODEL

• Healing involves Body, Soul, and Spirit

• In order for healing to take place, the soul must be postured to be led by the human spirit in conjunction with the Holy Spirit.

• The spiritual disciplines of confession, forgiveness, and gratitude can be used as keys to posture the soul to be led by the individual’s spirit under the guidance and wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

THE GOAL OF THE SOUL CHANGE MODEL

• In participation with the Holy Spirit,

• To enhance friendship with God and move a person into a life of thriving with freedom and abundance

• By aligning functional beliefs and emotions with biblical truths through the healing power of the Holy Spirit.

SCM: BASIC STEPS & TECHNIQUES

• Develop Therapeutic Connection

• Develop Cognitive & Emotional Awareness

• Restructure Functional Beliefs

• Foster Connections with God, Self, & Others

• Consolidate New Way of Functioning

STEP ONE:

DEVELOP THERAPEUTIC CONNECTION

• Gather History

• Technique Examples: Emapthic Attunement, Timeline, Accepting individual’s experience

• Conduct Diagnostic Evaluation

• Technique Examples: DSM-5 Cross-cutting Assessments, ACES, Attachment assessments, Interview

• Develop Goals

• They need to be SMART

• They need to be measurable

STEP TWO:

DEVELOP COGNITIVE & EMOTIONAL AWARENESS

• Enhance Emotional Regulation Skills

• Technique Examples: engine plate, deep breathing, emotion coaching, psycho-education on regulation/dis-regulation, guided imagery, contemplative prayer

After determining if your client is a Thinker or Feeler, start enhancing the area they are more naturally inclined toward:

STEP TWO:

DEVELOP COGNITIVE & EMOTIONAL AWARENESS

• Enhance Emotional & Cognitive Awareness by:

• Feelers:

• Improving client’s ability to identify triggering events

• Improving client’s ability to identify emotions

• Improve client’s ability to identify thoughts connected to emotion

• Thinkers:

• Improve client’s ability to identify triggering events

• Improve client’s ability to identify thoughts connected to event

• Improve client’s ability to access and identify emotions

• Improve clients ability to connect thoughts with identified emotions

STEP TWO:

DEVELOP COGNITIVE & EMOTIONAL AWARENESS

• Enhance Emotional & Cognitive Awareness

• Technique Examples:

• Feelers: journaling, emotion logging, self regulation skills, “I feel __________ because ________” statements, thought records, (SCM Worksheets)

• Thinkers: thought records, emotion logging “I feel _______ because _______” statements, journaling, (SCM Worksheets)

STEP THREE:

RESTRUCTURE FUNCTIONAL BELIEFS

• Identify Beliefs & Unmet Needs

• Improve client’s ability to identify functional beliefs

• Technique Examples: Downward arrow technique, empathic attunement, challenging beliefs, speaking Biblical Truth, empathic conjecture/interpretation, SCM Worksheets

• Improve client’s ability to identify unmet needs

• Techniques Examples: psycho-education on needs, discern unmet needs based on past hurts, empathic attunement, empathic conjecture/interpretation, SCM worksheets,

STEP THREE:

RESTRUCTURE FUNCTIONAL BELIEFS

• Compare Functional Beliefs w/ Biblical Truth

• Identify the lies that are being believed.

• Technique Examples: empathic attunement, challenging incongruence in stated and functional beliefs, gentle confrontation, empathic conjecture, open-ended questions, speaking biblical truth over client, prayer, guided imagery, contemplative prayer, SCM Worksheet

STEP FOUR:

FOSTER CONNECTION WITH GOD, SELF, & OTHERS

Step 4 postures the soul before the Lord in preparation for the Holy Spirit to do healing work.

• Connection is Fostered in Three Ways:

• Confession - with our mouths/out loud

• the lie(s) that is(are) being believed - {breaking connection with the enemy}

• the truth(s) that will replace the lie(s) - {God & Self}

• Forgiveness - “giving up my right to be angry”

• Who do I need to forgive? (self/others) - {God, Self, & Others}

• Do I need to give up any anger towards God? - {God}

• Gratitude - with our mouths/out loud

• What can I thank the Lord for right now? - {God}

Why Confession, Forgiveness, & Gratitude?

• Confession

• Empties our soul before the Lord

• Refills our soul with Truth & invites His Presence

• Scripture:

• Leviticus - confession is used to restore relationship with God

• 1 John 1:9 - if we confess, God is faithful to forgive

Why Confession, Forgiveness, & Gratitude?

• Forgiveness

• Frees the soul from anger & bitterness

• Removes a counterfeit protection

• Scripture:

• Matthew 6:14-15 - Commanded to forgive

• Mark 11:25 - Forgiveness impacts relationships

• Luke 17: 3-4 - Continually forgive

Why Confession, Forgiveness, & Gratitude?

• Gratitude

• Refocuses the soul on “Who God Is”

• Recalibrates the Client’s Identity

• Scripture

• Colossians 3:15-16: Gratitude is connected to peace, worship, and healthy relationships

• Psalm 107:22 & Psalm 116:17 - Gratitude is paired with Sacrifice

STEP FOUR:

FOSTER CONNECTION WITH GOD, SELF, & OTHERS

• Enhance the Discipline of Confession

• Technique Examples: psycho-education on confession, confession exercises, journaling, SCM Worksheet

• Enhance the Discipline of Forgiveness

• Techniques Examples: psycho-education on forgiveness, forgiveness exercises, forgiveness bodywork, SCM Worksheets

STEP FOUR:

FOSTER CONNECTION WITH GOD, SELF, & OTHERS

• Enhance the Discipline of Gratitude

• Technique Examples: psycho-education on gratitude, gratitude exercises, guided imagery, contemplative prayer, meditation, SCM Worksheet

• Enhance Connections

• Enhance relationships with God, Self, & Others

• Technique Examples: psycho-education on community, church community groups, Contemplative prayer, journaling, Bible study, listening prayer, self-care, apply confession/forgiveness/gratitude to other significant relationships, spiritual disciplines

STEP FIVE:

CONSOLIDATE NEW WAY OF FUNCTIONING

Now that I am intentionally working to operate from this truth, how will I be functioning differently? (Motivation of the heart is the focus rather than behavior change.)

• Integrate Process

• What will I chose to do differently based on this truth in my relationships with God, self, & others?

• Technique Examples: journaling, SCM worksheet,

• Reflect and Validate Process

• What was learned and how has it been helpful?

• Maintain Process

• Continue using the skills to press into relationship with God in order to love self & others well

MORE INFORMATION

Ashley Brooks, PhD, LPC-S, LMFT www.restorationnola.com

[email protected]