One of the great questions facing Christians in the social sciences and helping professions is this one: How do we legitimately and meaningfully connect the conceptual stock of the Bible and Christian tradition with the tech¬nical terminologies and observational riches of the behavioral sciences?  Within this perennial question, two particular sub-questions have long intrigued and perplexed me.

by Mike Emlet

Other posts in this series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

To close this series on training interns, I want to address the issue of suicidal counselees.  (Obviously there are other crises an intern may encounter but I'll focus on counselees who pose a danger to themselves.) It's inevitable during the year that an intern will have a suicidal counselee. Learning how to assess and manage the risk of such a situation is a critical aspect of training.

Probably the most important thing I stress is, "Be willing to ask your counselees whether they have thought about suicide." This is particularly critical in counselees with depression, severe anxiety, or fluctuating moods. It is a myth that asking someone about suicidal thoughts can give that person the idea. But the opposite is true—not asking someone initially or not following up on a passing comment that indicates risk is a problem. Invariably, counselees who have had suicidal thoughts are thankful that their counselor has raised the issue. Doing so is an act of loving care.

by Mike Emlet

Read Part One

In my post last week I mentioned the necessity of supervision in the formation of a wise, skilled biblical counselor. My focus today is on three ways I facilitate group supervision for our interns. The first two are likely familiar to you, but the third may not be.

The interns and I meet weekly for 2-2 ½ hours of group supervision. The interns come ready to present their cases orally for the purpose of feedback and direction. I encourage them to come with specific questions in mind to gain the most from their presentation. Other interns in the group are the front line in offering feedback to the presenter. I usually offer comments only after the others have contributed, in order to develop critical conceptual and methodological thinking in the intern group. This approach to supervision is tried and true, and it tells much about the intern’s approach to his/her counselee. The way the interns structure their presentations, the kinds of questions they bring to the table, and the kind of feedback they give their peers demonstrate quite a bit about their growth in maturity as a counselor. However, what this approach lacks is observation of the intern actually counseling! It’s much easier to be an arm-chair quarterback than to call the plays in real-time.

by Mike Emlet

I decided to write a short series on training biblical counselors, more specifically, on the CCEF internship, which I have either co-directed or directed for the last six years. The internship is an opportunity for a select number of students to put into practice what they have been learning in the classroom and in other aspects of their lives. Wisdom gained by supervised experience is critical in the formation of a biblical counselor. While the learning curve never stops with regard to developing your counseling competence, a season of more intensive training is invaluable to develop and refine your care of people.

Today I’ll focus on the structure of our internship, including some of the readings I have the interns do. The most important aspect of training is—no surprise here—the actual face-to-face counseling that interns do. There is no substitute for that “hot seat.” Interacting with case studies, reading counseling transcripts, even observing live counseling, as helpful as they are, pale in comparison to the actual experience of wrestling with how to bring the gospel to the person, the couple, or the family sitting with you. You have to decide what to say or not to say. You have to prayerfully consider the direction of the session. And so on.

Mike Emlet discusses the importance of understanding both the physical and spiritual well-being of someone God has called you to help. More information about Dr. Emlet’s courses and writing are available by visiting our website at CCEF.org.