The Role of the Lord's Supper Debate in the Theory and Practice of Counseling

A debate that is highlighted in Christian theology is that of the Lord's Supper (Boyd & Eddy, 2002). The contrasting perspectives are: the Spiritual Presence view and the Memorial view. First, the Spiritual Presence understanding of communion asserts Jesus' spiritual presence in the communion elements (Boyd & Eddy). Second, the Memorial understanding of communion asserts that it serves as a "reminder of the love and grace he expressed on the cross at Calvary" (p. 198). While each view seeks to identify Jesus' scriptural meaning regarding His body and blood in relation to the bread and wine, a thought remains in how the Lord's Supper affects the role of theory and practice in counseling.

Communion is representative of the sacrifice Jesus made with His body and blood for the salvation of others. After this sacrifice and the coming of the Holy Spirit, those who believed were soon referred to as the Body of Christ (Ephesians 1:11-14; 2:21-22; 3:6). While being a part of the Body, believers gained a further identity including no longer having a spirit of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2), life in Christ rather than death in transgressions (Ephesians 2:5), and the receipt of gifts by grace according to the calling one has received (Ephesians 4:7-16). Therefore, how does adoption into the Body of Christ affect one's identity in relation to mental health?

The Dimensions of Personal Identity model provides a framework for understanding the various characteristics that comprise individual identity (Arredondo, Toporek, Brown, Sanchez, Locke, Sanchez, & Stadler, 1996). From a multicultural perspective, this model divides the characteristics of personal identity into three dimensions: (1) "A" Dimension - profiling characteristics into which people are born into (i.e. gender, race, age, and language), (2) "B" Dimension - not visible but represented by shared experiences, interests, and individual achievement (i.e. marital status, educational background, and literary interests), and (3) "C" Dimension - view of the individual in a social context as impacted by historical, environment, global, and sociopolitical factors and events (i.e. Civil Rights Act of 1964, World War II, and colonization of land) (Arredondo et al.). Therefore, a counselor's understanding of the impact of various dimensions upon the individual identity strengthens interactions within the therapeutic process. In addition, it is important for the counselor to explore which aspects of one's culture are viewed as primary toward the client's self-definition (Arredondo et al.). Furthermore, a characteristic of a culturally-skilled counselor is to respect the spiritual and religious beliefs of a client as each may aide toward understanding of psychosocial functioning and the expression of difficulties (Arredondo et al.).

An aspect of the individual's spiritual identity is to choose the work of Christ through means such as repentance, confession, and surrendering (Day, 2006). Reportedly, such means help to decrease aspects of the client's thinking patterns and behaviors that are in contrast with biblical teachings. As written by Day, "The essential person, therefore, is a miraculous transformation of I given by Christ and in Christ (p. 539). Therefore, the identity of the client prior to the acceptance of Christ is thought to no longer exist and was replaced with the gift of a new identity as one who has received salvation (Day).

As defined by McDonald (1990) and Swinton (2001), "Spirituality can give life direction and can help people maintain mental health" (as cited in Robinson, 2005). Therefore, counselors are to use interventions that are consistent with the purpose of counseling and spiritual practices (Jones, 2007). Furthermore, the counselor should implement such spiritual interventions within the scope of his or her competency and in response to the interpersonal, cognitive, and affective needs of the client (Eck, 2002 as cited in Jones). As identified in Proverb 20:5, "a man's heart is like deep waters, but it takes a man of understanding to draw it out." Therefore, the clinician's role is to submit to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, listen with humility, teach, guide, and witness to the Truth revealed in the client's soul by means of the Holy Spirit (Day; Jones). According to Bingaman (2006), the increase in self-awareness enhances one's ability to become more intimate with friends, family, and God. Yet, a challenge is "to bring the totality of ourselves" into relationship with God and others in order to have genuine intimacy (Bingaman, p. 88). The clinician's role also consists of creating a safe environment where the client can be both emotionally and spiritually honest within the office and in the presence of God. This level of honesty includes self-disclosure about positive thoughts and experiences in addition to issues that may produce discomfort or anxiety (Bingaman). Therefore, the process of self-awareness is continuous throughout the lifespan.

According to counseling literature, there are several methods that can implemented to aide an individual in spiritual awareness, identity, and coping strategies during periods of distress. One method is through the use of a spiritual genogram. This method is an assessment technique that helps to explore a client's spiritual history, past and present affiliations and conflicts, and how these impact the client's identity (Jones). Furthermore, this assessment helps to increase client awareness of areas of strength and positive coping skills.

A second method is through the use of biblical stories (Williams & Frame, 1999). The use of a biblical story may help "provide both the authority and inspiration for personal change" (Williams & Frame, p. 309). For example, the therapist may assign the reading of a biblical story and person that may serve as a metaphor for the client's life and situation. Next, during the next session, the therapist may ask the client questions that promote self-reflection. As a result, the client may gain a vision that may help him or her identify ways to cope during periods of distress (Williams & Frame). Furthermore, the client may gain additional insight toward healing as generated by the Holy Spirit (Day).

A third method is a postmodern approach, which uses narrative to improve the client's mental health, create a new identity, and decrease the disempowerment of previous stories (William & Frame; Blanton, 2008). As the client becomes aware of his or her spiritual self, the therapist is able to encourage client awareness of discrepancies between the story and the spiritual self (Blanton). This process allows the client to examine the impact of this story on life experiences and how long the story has been maintained (Blanton). A further step is to aide the client in recognizing the strengths of a story that were once unnoticed (Blanton).

In conclusion, the goal of this writing was to identify the relevancy of a current theological debate to counseling theory and practice. As the Lord's Supper represents the body and blood of Christ, it is important for the clinician and client to understand the impact upon a believer's identity. The Body of Christ is referenced as those who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior therefore, it is important to understand the aspects of this identity. To create a healthy therapeutic environment, the counselor must promote the theme of safety in order to generate emotional and spiritual honesty from the client story. Such honesty consists of both positive and negative thought processes and experiences. As a result, therapeutic interventions to aide in the increase of self-awareness include genograms to explore past and current spiritual and religious practices; the use of biblical stories to provide a means of hope and recognize coping skills; and narrative techniques to increase client awareness of the positives and negatives of personal narratives that may be adjusted to create a more healthy identity.

References

Bingaman, K. A. (2006). The postmodern life cycle and pastoral care and counseling. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 9(1), 83-94.

Blanton, P. G. (2008). Integrating postmodern and Christian contemplative thought: Building a theoretical framework. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 27(1), 73-84.

Boyd, G. A. & Eddy, P. R. (2002). Across the spectrum: Understanding issues in evangelical theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.

Day, R. B. (2006). Incarnational Christian psychology and psychotherapy: What do we believe and what do we do? Pastoral Psychology, 54, 535-544.

Jones, J. W. (2007). Training supervisors to integrate psychology and Christianity. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 26(4), 336-341.

Robinson, T. L. (2005). The convergence of race, ethnicity, and gender: Multiple identities in counseling (2^nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Williams, C. B. & Frame, M. W. (1999). Constructing new realities: Integrating womanist traditions in pastoral counseling with African-American women. Pastoral Psychology, 47(4), 303-312.