Theology for better counseling: help from within the Wesleya-holiness theological tradition.

Holeman, Virginia T.

Theological themes are embedded in many presenting problems, and religious clients may ask counselors to help them understand how their spiritual and/or religious life relates to their problems. Such requests involve the art of theological reflection. This article presents a model for theologically reflective counseling using examples from Wesleyan-holiness theology.

Spirituality and religion provide lenses through which clients interpret troubling circumstances. Pargament, Magyar, Benore, and Mahoney (2005) report that clients attribute sacredness to many aspects of their lives. When events negatively impact these sacred areas, clients may suffer either sacred loss, experienced as a benign passing away of something considered sacred, or a desecration, experienced as a more deliberate and even violent violation or sacrilege. Pargament's research has associated increased anger and depression, and decreased measures of well-being with sacred loss and desecration. Other areas in which clients may experience sacred loss and desecration can include:

* Clients who present with disappointment in God/Christianity/church (Exline, Kaplan, & Grubbs, 2012).

* Clients dealing with the problem of evil and the justice of God (Grubbs, Exline, & Campbell, 2013).

* Clients recovering from trauma or tragedy (Exline, 2013).

* Clients wrestling with the forgiveness of interpersonal betrayals (Holeman, Dean, DeShea, & Duba, 2011).

When Christian clients bring concerns about sacred loss and desecration to counseling, they may ask their counselors to consider with them how God speaks to their painful situation. In other words, Christi clients are asking therapists to engage in theological reflection. Theological reflection is a way of looking at the world that informs who we are, how we live, what we value, and how we make decisions (Coe & Hall, 2010; Walls, 2008).

The integration of theological reflection happens on implicit and explicit levels (Coe & Hall, 2010). Implicit theology and its influence on counseling processes functions outside of one's awareness. Circumstances that generate theological dissonance, such as a crisis (Holeman, 2012; Janoff-Bulman, 1992) or perhaps clinical supervision (Gilliam & Armstrong, 2012), may bring this tacit knowledge into conscious awareness. In contrast, explicit theology is readily accessible to counselors and clients in the form of creeds, doctrinal beliefs, formal written prayers such as the Lord's Prayer (Mt. 6:9-13), and personal convictions about the relationship between God and humanity. Greater proficiency with implicit theology (now made known) and explicit theology increases the resources for clinically oriented theological reflection that counselors may offer clients who give consent for such.

Counselors can use theological reflection in one of two ways. On one hand, counselors can place theological reflection under the category of spiritual and religious accommodative interventions. After hearing clients' stories during intake, counselors collaborate with clients around treatment goals and tasks, with theological reflection being one option. Theological reflection may also be included as an aspect of Christian accommodative evidenced-based practices (Worthington, Johnson, Hook, & Aten, 2013). In this instance theological reflection is a supplemental component in service of clinical goals. Counselors begin with counseling theories and techniques and then look for complementary theological processes (Strawn, 2004). Integrating theology in this manner may be the method of choice for counselors with little or no theological background or for clients who have low-commitment to Christianity (Wade, Worthington, & Vogel, 2007).

On the other hand, counselors can see therapy as a type of Christian formation process during which theological reflection becomes particularly salient. "Theology-directed integration" (Strawn, 2004, p. 141) begins with questions and concerns that are central to life as a follower of Christ. Theological reflection is present from intake to termination. Counselors' theological reflection is active as they listen to clients' presenting narrative so that they might discern theologically oriented themes that are subsequently integrated with, and in service of, traditional clinical goals. Theology-directed integration also supports the creation of treatment goals that are associated with the client's theology (e.g., client will identify one way to express love for God overtly on a daily basis). Theology-directed integration may be especially appropriate for clients with higher levels of religious fundamentalism and deferred religious coping (expecting God to intervene and help with life's problems). Wamser, Vandenberg, and Hibberd (2011) found that research participants with these characteristics preferred religious rather than psychological treatments. Theological reflection may be the integration method of choice for counselors with moderate to robust theological backgrounds or for clients who have high-commitment to Christianity (Wade et al., 2007).

While scholars have generated an impressive body of literature to understand spiritual and religious accommodative techniques (see for example, Aten, McMinn, 8z Worthington, 2011; Worthington et al., 2013), less attention has been paid to theology-directed integration (Strawn, 2004) or theologically reflective counseling (Holeman, 2012). In this article I present a model for theologically reflective counseling, and I illustrate its use through the lens of one specific theological tradition--Wesleyan-holiness theology. I will show how theological reflection can work hand-in-hand with therapeutic thinking to help highly committed religious clients achieve their counseling goals.

Three clarifications are warranted before turning to that discussion. First, Wesleyan theology is not monolithic. Variations exist across time on Wesleyan tenets and definitions of central Wesleyan terms (Abraham, 2011; Mann, 2006). A more accurate portrayal is to speak of theologies shaped by the Wesleyan-holiness tradition. Nevertheless, for the sake of simplicity I will refer to Wesleyan theology without further qualifications. Second, my location within the helping professions is primarily as a counselor educator of master's degree students. I am keenly interested in the practical application of theologically informed clinical practice. Third, for the sake of efficiency the following discussion is applied to highly committed Christian clients who give permission for the use of spirituality and religion in therapy.

Theologically Reflective Counseling Model

Holeman (2012) offers a process model for theologically reflective counseling. Holeman's model is intentionally independent of theological tradition and therapeutic theory so that practitioners of any theological and therapeutic persuasion can adopt this model. Drawing upon concepts from a meta-model of change for couples therapy developed by Sprenkle. Davis, and Lebow (2009), Holeman applies the basic structure of this template to describe how one can integrate theological reflection with clinical work.

Attending. Holeman (2012) outlines four major movements in the model: attending, addressing, aligning, and attaining. In the first movement, counselors attend to theological echoes that are embedded in clients' stories. As counselors give focused attention to clients' stories, they are listening for "theologically related undertones" (p. 46) that are present. Theologically focused attending helps counselors understand the spiritual, religious, or theological frames that clients use to make sense of their problems. Clients' theological framing may be well articulated (why is God punishing me?) or it may appear in embryonic form ("This pain is senseless") even if the client is highly committed to Christianity. Spiritual or theological considerations may be central to the clients' concerns or peripheral to clinical work. When such frameworks are present, counselors can invite clients to explore these matters more fully during a time of securing informed consent. Holeman cautions therapists not to use their personal theology to judge clients' spiritual or religious interpretations of events. Instead, she invites counselors to increase their sensitivity to how their personal theology colors their understanding of clients' clinical concerns so that they may avoid imposing their belief system upon clients.

Addressing. In the second movement, counselors address theological themes with their clients. As goal setting unfolds, counselors and clients collaborate to name salient theological themes that are of sufficient interest to the client to warrant further exploration. Theological themes are narrative threads woven throughout the scriptures. Examples of theological themes include loving relationships with God, others, and self; justice and mercy; forgiveness, repentance, and reconciliation; hope and healing; etc. Counselors and clients agree on the extent to which these themes are central or peripheral to clinical work, andwhether clients wish to employ overtly Christian interventions (e.g., Worthington et al., 2013).

Aligning. The third movement invites clients to align targeted areas of their lives with clients' theological commitments. Counselors may use interventions that change clients' cognitions (e.g., align thinking with Scriptural truths), help clients regulate their affect (e.g., contemplative prayer), or challenge clients to adopt new patterns of behavior (e.g., forgiving, repenting, serving the poor). Mirroring the insights about common factors as developed by Sprenkle et al. (2009), theologically reflective counselors help clients (a) to slow down so that they can see the faithfulness of God in the midst of their pain, (b) to stand meta to their own situations and place their concerns in God's hands, and (c) to take personal responsibility to love God and to act rightly in their relationship with others so far as it depends on them (Rom 12:18).

Attaining. The final movement of theologically reflective counseling may find clients attaining a deepening Christian character. Specifically, clients may experience greater capacities for faith, hope, and love (1 Cor. 13) in the context of their clinical goals. Regarding faith, clients may become better promise-keepers, and their relationships now may be denoted by faithfulness to God, others, and self. Regarding hope, clients may be reassured of God's presence in the midst of their trials, tribulations, and traumas. Regarding love, clients may be able to give and receive love in ways that they could not prior to completing their therapeutic work.

Wesleyan-Holiness Theology and Theologically Reflective Counseling

I will use the four movements of Holeman's (2012) model to explore how seven features of Wesleyan-holiness theology interact with theologically reflective clinical practice. The presentation is organized as follows:

* Attending to theological echoes finds support in Wesley's conjunctive theology and his study of affectional moral psychology.

* Addressing salient theological themes is based upon Wesley's understanding of "practical divinity."

* Aligning specific areas of a client's life to be more theologically congruent is undergialed by love as Wesley's framing metaphor, his description of God's grace as relational and responsible, and his understanding of holiness as personal and social.

* Attaining a deepening Christian character through a consolidation of client gains is founded upon Wesley's emphasis on sanctification.

Attending to Theological Echoes in Presenting Problems

When clients initially disclose their concerns to a therapist, the clinician has an opportunity to listen for, or to attend to, theological echoes that may be heard in the background of clients' presenting problems (Holeman, 2012). Support for this practice is found in Wesley's conjunctive theology and his study of affectional moral psychology.

Conjunctive theology. Whereas many theologians in Wesley's time were influenced by the Western or Latin branch of Christianity, John Wesley was inspired by theological thinking from the Eastern or Greek branch (Collins, 2007; Maddox, 1994). As a result Wesley rejected "either/or" theological reflection. Instead he favored a "both/and" or a conjunctive approach because Wesley tended to join two theological assertions that were otherwise in tension with one another (Collins, 2007). For example, Wesley affirmed the juridical effects of sin and of people's inability to atone for their own sins (Western), and he affirmed a therapeutic concern for the extent to which salvation can heal humanity's sin-diseased nature (Eastern; Maddox, 1994). Other examples of Wesley's both/and theology include his emphasis on faith alone and holy living, grace and works, justification and sanctification, evangelism and social action, God's sovereignty and human responsibility/freedom.

Wesley blurred the dichotomy between the sacred and the secular. He was as much at home studying the Greek New Testament as he was studying the natural sciences of his day (Maddox, 2009), demonstrating a conjunction of faith (understood as faithful living) and science. Wesley was not threatened by scientific discoveries (Malony, 1999); rather, he was an astute student of the natural science of the 18th century, particularly the theories of Sir Isaac Newton. Wesley used knowledge of God's laws of the universe to reduce human suffering, for he was convinced chat much suffering was caused by violating God's physical laws" (Malony, 1999, P. 8). Drawing upon the medical science of his day, Wesley equipped his itinerant preachers with a medical self-help book, The Primitive Physick (Wesley, 1747/1992), so that rich and poor alike, would have access to practical health care information. Wesley did not choose between faithful living and scientific discovery; instead, he affirmed all truth as God's truth, including truths from psychology (Malony, 1999).

Moral psychology. Wesley critically reviewed the competing moral psychologies in his 18th century England. His engagement with affectional moral psychology is reflected in the theology that he developed more fully after his conversion experience at Aldersgate in 1738 (Maddox, 2004, 2009). Based on his understanding of moral psychology, Wesley approached the spiritual Christian life holistically, including its cognitive, behavioral, emotional (affectional), and relational components (Headley, 2013; Maddox, 2004). For example, Wesley's 18th century understanding of the believer's emotional and volitional life (in terms of "tempers and affections") resembles contemporary neuroscience findings which highlight the interconnection between neurological processes, relational experiences, and affect (for examples see Cozolino, 2002, 2006; Damasio, 1999; Siegel, 1999)--all of which have implications for counseling practices and spiritual development (Blevins, 2009; Brown & Strawn, 2012; Headley, 2013; Holeman, 2012; Mann, 2006). Wesley's emphasis on community-based, small-group practices for spiritual growth and accountability built on his uninformed, but intuitive understanding of the social brain (Stratton, 2013). If Wesley were alive today, in addition to A Primitive Physick, he probably would have developed an app that his itinerant clergy could use on their smart phones to address their parishioners' relational and emotional distress so that the poorest of them would have access to some level of sound mental health care.

Application. This 18th century Wesleyan conjunction of faithful Christian living and moral psychology invites 21st century Christian clinicians to use all that social science research has to offer to bring wholeness to those with whom they work and to attend to how theological melodies are playing in the background or foreground of clients' presenting concerns. This process includes critical thinking about competing models of counseling. Clinicians of faith can give serious thought to which contemporary models of psychotherapy address or ignore and help or hinder the spiritual or theological dimensions of clients' lives. Attending to theological themes early in the counseling process parallels the current clinical standard of taking a thorough religious and spiritual history and assessment as part of intake (Aten & Leach, 2008). Nevertheless, Christian professional mental health workers do not have permission to turn professional counseling sessions into spiritual direction (Riggs, 2006), but they can support a careful integration of theologically oriented conversation within contemporary counseling. The following scenario illustrates a counselor employing theologically reflective attending.

Susanna sought counseling because she was depressed and angry. She was recently "let go" from her job as a result of down-sizing. While Susanna has no proof, Susanna believes that she was "thrown under the bus" by her immediate supervisor, who was able to save his position because Susanna lost hers. Susanna feels betrayed because the supervisor had made promises of job security to her in her recent performance review. Susanna asks, "How can this be happening to me? I was doing exactly what God called me to do!" As Susanna's counselor listened to her story, the counselor saw the theological threads of suffering and forgiveness woven through this situation. A counselor working within a Wesleyan framework would wonder how Susanna might use this experience to help her grow in her love for God and others in the face of this betrayal, and how she might struggle to see God's hand at work in her situation.

Addressing Theological Themes Reflected in Counseling Goals

The second movement of theologically reflective counseling (HoLeman, 2012) invites Christian clients to work with theological themes that are consistent with their counseling goals. Wesley's concern with practical divinity informs this process.

Wesley's practical divinity. Wesley was a man of God with an overarching concern for lived Christianity. His dual emphasis on knowledge and vital piety combined his unswerving commitment to the import of scriptural truth in the believer's life (personal holiness) with his unswerving commitment to the centrality of communalpractices of a lived faith in the church's life and mission (social holiness). Wesley considered applied theology a matter of practical, experiential, or experimental divinity (Amistead, Strawn, & Wright, 2010). Collins (2007) clarifies that, for Wesley, "experimental or practical divinity is participatory and engaging. It entails nothing less than the actualization and verification of Scripture with respect to inward religion (by grace through faith) within the context of the Christian community" (p. 2). This emphasis is reflected in the question that guided Wesley's theological journey: "How can I be the kind of person that God created me to be, and that I long to be, a person holy in heart and life?" (Maddox, 2004, p. 101). Some variation of this question is often at the center of counseling goals for many Christian dients.

Wesley expected that God would really transform people--in their thought life, their emotional life, and in their relational life--once they were filled with God's love. This transformation was facilitated by Christian practices that Wesley called "the means of grace," which were individual and corporate activities that drew people closer to God's heart, and as a result, would increase their ability to love God and to love others. This grace-infused transformation took on practical contours as attested to in Wesley's sermons--for example, Sermon 41: Wandering Thoughts, Sermon 47: Heaviness through Manifold Temptations, Sermon 48: Self-denial, Sermon 49: The Cure of Evil Speaking, Sermon 50: The Use of Money, and Sermon 52: The Reibrmation of Manners (Burwash, 1988).

Application. Wesley's emphasis on practical divinity (one's deep experience of God's love that makes a difference in how one lives) provides a rationale for viewing counseling as a means of grace, a process through which God can pour God's transforming love into human lives (Holeman, 2012). Counseling provides a context where clients can experience God's love, first through forming a secure attachment to an empathic therapist, and subsequently through transferring that experience into a secure attachment with God (Stratton, 2013). Wesleyan counselors earnestly anticipate that clients will experience real change as therapy helps them to open their lives more fully to God's agenda for this world. Authentic transformation may happen when counseling helps clients remove the barriers that get in their way of receiving and sharing God's love.

From Wesleyan perspectives, dividing client concerns into "secular" and "spiritual" categories creates a false dichotomy. One can easily imagine the titles of the aforementioned sermons as therapeutic goals or clinical observations in a counselor's case notes. Counselors are engaged in God's work when they help clients see the fingerprints of God in the concrete situations of their lives. Wesleyan-informed counseling expects that God's presence is evident in the counselor's work because that is the nature of God's love for all clients. Every step that a client rakes toward wholeness can be a step closer to aligning the client's life with God's kingdom agenda.

The addressing movement in theologically reflective counseling connects seamlessly to traditional goal setting as demonstrated in the case of Susanna. Susanna and her counselor develop goals for treatment. Susanna agrees that she would like to explore what it would mean to forgive her supervisor for this betrayal. She believes that she "should" forgive because that is what a Christ follower does, but she is so angry at the supervisor that she is not sure that she "can" forgive right now. Susanna affirms that she prefers exploring what this job setback means to her in the larger picture of her Christian life. Then she may be ready to forgive. From a Wesleyan perspective, the counselor is helping Susanna set goals that will help her to answer Wesley's orienting question: How can Susanna be the kind of person that God created her to be, a person holy in heart and life?

Aligning Areas of Life to be more Theologically Congruent

The third movement of theologically reflective counseling (Holeman, 2012) is the "workhorse" stage where Christian clients move toward their identified goals. As they reach these goals, they may also discover a greater degree of congruence between their theological beliefs and their life choices and behaviors. Three Wesleyan distinctives are foundational for this phase: love as Wesley's framing theological metaphor, grace that is relational and responsible, and holiness that is personal and social.

Love as Wesley's theological framing metaphor. Wesley tolerated no theological interpretation that diminished an emphasis on the fullness of God's love for creation (Wynkoop, 1972). God's love was the attribute by which all other attributes of God were understood, including God's sovereignty. What the book of Romans was for John Calvin, the book of 1 John was for John Wesley (Wall, 2011). Wesley's theology rested on 1 John's message of God's love for humanity, and God's expectation that God's love would overflow in believers' lives into love for the people God loved. The result of this was that God's love reoriented the saved person's internal motivating system (i.e., his/her moral affections; Maddox, 1994). This reorientation of self and life goals happened as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit, who empowered believers to respond to God's divine bid for loving connection. Examples of this perspective are found in numerous Wesley sermons including Sermon I: Salvation by Faith and Sermon IV: Scriptural Christianity (Burwash, 1988). Through the Holy Spirit, believers were empowered to respond to God's heart and to conform their hearts to God's heart of love--a process that Wesley labeled sanctification or Christian perfection. Given that clients tend to represent those who struggle to live a life that is reflective of God's love, counseling becomes one way to help clients grow in this capacity.

This Wesleyan perspective is linked to Wesley's understanding of sin. Over the course of Wesleyan history, theologians in the Wesleyan family have adopted different definitions of sin and its remedy (Mann, 2006). The definition of sin that most closely maps onto Wesley's original emphasis is sin defined as disordered moral affections that entice a person to turn away from God. Sin is not a "thing" to be removed (i.e., like a bad tooth). Instead, sin is a relational concept (Mann, 2006; Wynkoop, 1972), the counterpoint to God's relational love. By the grace of God imparted to believers through the work of the Holy Spirit, and with the believer's cooperative response to that grace, Wesley taught that believers could be healed from the destructive influence of disordered moral affections, which is the therapeutic function of grace (Maddox, 1994). Through engagement in individual and communal practices (i.e., means of grace) that drew believers closer to God, believers could align with God's loving purposes .and have the ability to resist "choicefur sin (see Sermon 13: On Sin in Believers; Burwash, 1988). As a result, believers' lives were no longer oriented around sin (i.e., ways of relating that separated them from God and others). Instead). their lives manifested God's love as empowered by the Holy Spirit through whom God's love flowed for the saved person.

Grace that is relational and responsible. Grace that is relational and responsible is the next Wesleyan distinctive that provides a basis for helping clients align their lives so that they live in ways that are more theologically congruent. Wesley preached the impartial provision of God's grace to humanity prior to their justification, or prevenient grace. Prevenient grace is God's grace chat is active before people are conscious of their need for God. It is grace that precedes one's choice to live for God. This grace is relational: God relating to people and enabling them to relate to God and to experience God's grace in increasing measures (Willimon, 2010).

God's grace is not only relational, it is also responsible. Wesley proposed that humans are partners with God (Kilian & Parker, 2001; Maddox, 1994), expressed through their moral freedom. In other words, through moral freedom, people can resist and even reject God. Nevertheless, God's gracious love continually calls to all persons. The Holy Spirit helps individuals to respond to that call. Christian lives are transformed through God's loving grace to the point where they are freed to love God and others as consistently as possible. This embodiment of Christlikeness is manifested within the constraints of human limitations or infirmities (Mann, 2006). God works within people. Yet they are called to be responding and responsible partners with God so that, by nurturing a holy character through the means of grace, they can increase their capacities to love God and others.

Holiness that is personal and social. The last Wesleyan distinctive that provides a basis for the third movement of theologically reflective counseling is Wesley's understanding of personal and social holiness. Wesley described holiness as the here-and-now embodiment and enactment of God's love within the church and to the world (Maddox, 1994). Holiness not only made believers fit for heaven, it also made them fit to live with each other on earth. Wesley often used the terms holiness and love interchangeably, because he saw the link between holy living and loving others so strongly (Coffins, 2007). For Wesley and his theological successors, holiness was ultimately about relationship. When believers respond to God's love, then the holy love of God fills them to such an extent that it spills over into everyday relationships. Wesley labeled the individual, inward transformation personal holiness. Believers' capacity to align their heart with God's heart is nurtured as they grow in God's grace imparted to them through the Holy Spirit (Maddox, 2004; Wynkoop, 1972) and reinforced through individual and corporate means of grace. Through personal holiness, Christians are transformed in increasing measures into the image of Christ.

Social holiness is the communal extension of personal holiness. Wesley argued against individualized, disconnected-from-the-body-of-Christ spirituality. He argued for Christians in loving relationship with each other, and by logical extension, for Christians in service to the world. Wesley is widely recognized for his organizational strategy of placing converts into different groupings called classes, select societies, and bands. These groups progressed in spiritual intensity and served as support and accountability for spiritual maturation (Collins, 2007; Gregg[degrees], 2008).

Wesley's concern centered on living out one's faith within the community of believers. Yet, because of his extensive ministry to the poor, we can logically extend social holiness into the realm of social activism and social justice. For Wesley, service to the poor was an integral part of holiness. It was a present-day enactment of God's heart for the widows, the orphans, the sojourners, and the aliens. Wesley pictured personal and social holiness as a mutually reinforcing dynamic between the two great commandments: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself (Snyder, 1996).

Application. How do these three features of Wesleyan theology support clinical practice that helps clients to align areas of their lives to be more theologically congruent? First, holy love provides a theological metaphor for the therapeutic relationship. Clinical attending creates the conditions for the client to become attuned to a loving presence in the context of counseling. The client first experiences attunement from the counselor. Then the client may experience attunement from the presence of a Divine Other. Attending creates an experience of the kind of secure base and safe haven that eventually may reduce the fears that get in the client's way of giving and receiving love (Stratton, 2013). According to Stratton, learning to love in a Wesleyan ordered way is at the heart of almost all counseling concerns. Therefore, when counselors help clients to love and to act in ways that are more loving to self and to others, counselors are engaged in God's restorative kingdom work.

Second, Wesley believed that God gave humanity the freedom to resist the influence of His grace. The ethical directive for counselors to respect the client's autonomy is congruent with this aspect of Wesleyan theology. Many clinical problems exist because of clients' sinful choices or because the client is trying to cope with the aftermath of being sinned against. Clients can be held accountable for their choices. With the clients' informed consent, Christian spiritual disciplines and other practices can be used as adjuncts to clinical practice. Clients are active participants in the therapy process and God is invited into the therapy arena (Kilian & Parker, 2001).

Third, social holiness is a clear support for group work and for counselors as advocates for social justice (Holeman, 2012). Social holiness as spiritual-accountability-in-community speaks to the basis of personal and societal transformation. Transformation requires relationality, which is at the heart of the therapeutic relationship, Wesley's small group processes, and contemporary support or recovery groups (Brown & Strawn, 2012; Greggo, 2008).

Susanna's vignette demonstrates how one counselor put this movement into action. The counselor first encouraged Susanna to rally as much social support from the body of Christ as Susanna could muster to assist her through crisis. At the counselor's urging, Susanna consulted her pastor for Biblical or theological resources. Susanna also shared her situation with a trusted prayer partner. Susanna gave consent for the use of contemplative prayer/mindfulness interventions to help her manage her anxiety about the future. In session, Susanna discussed her personal inventory of the ways that she has experienced God's faithfulness as an avenue for building hope about her future. She began to update her resume and to activate her professional network to help her find a new job. In the midst of these practical therapeutic activities, Susanna indicated that she was ready to forgive her supervisor. Her motivation was not to please her pastor or to avoid God's wrath; she saw forgiveness of her supervisor as a way for her to manifest her love for God and to live a life pleasing to God, a holy life. Susanna began to see new possibilities for her future as she engaged these spiritual and therapeutic practices. In Wesleyan terms, the counselor was activating different components of personal and social holiness to support Susanna through this crisis. The counselor was helping Susanna to rake responsibility for her life - spiritually and vocationally - so that she would have open eyes to see God at work in her life's circumstances.

Attaining a Deepening Christian Character

The final movement of theologically reflective counseling (Holeman, 2012) involves assisting clients in consolidating therapeutic gains into lasting character change. Therapists may or may not have the privilege of seeing clients embody the character changes that their work in counseling may bring about because many clients may terminate counseling prior to this stage, yet continue to grow as a result of their therapeutic gains. The Wesleyan understanding of sanctification supports this process.

Sanctification. Sanctification or Christian perfection is the most distinctive aspect of a Wesleyan view of grace (Oden, 1994). Sanctification is not about perfection in a static sense; rather, the emphasis is on a process of perfecting (Mann, 2006; Wynkoop, 1972). Put more simply, Wesley operationalized sanctification/Christian perfection as continually growing in one's love for God and others as manifested in a changed life and in concrete action. Sanctification is the capacity for aligning one's life as fully as possible with the heart of God at any moment in time (Wynkoop, 1972).

Wesley taught that God imparts righteousness to believers, whereby believers are enabled to relate rightly to God and to others (relational and responsible holiness). Imparted righteousness includes freedom from the power of sin so that believers may live without committing conscious, voluntary sins and choose a God-centered life. For Wesley, this freedom from the power of sin was commensurate with the restoration of the image of God in a believer's life. Sanctification/perfection, viewed as one's capacity for loving God and loving others, can either grow and develop or be limited by physical/emotional realities (e.g., limited cognitive ability, addiction, mental illness, etc.; Mann, 2006). The goal of sanctification is not flawlessness. Instead its aim is to express love for God and others as fully as one's present human condition enables one so to do.

Application. A convert enters into a special relationship with God that Wesleyans believe results in genuine character transformation (Kilian & Parker, 2001). This belief brings hope into our work with even the most challenging client. Sanctification focuses on relationships as a key to change in the counseling process (Kilian & Parker, 2001; Maddox, 2004; Mann, 2006). We have now come full circle--back to one of the starting points of this article--a Wesleyan embrace of faithful living and scientific discoveries. Neuroscientists have demonstrated that the brain is constantly changing and adapting at a neuronal level, and relational experiences are key contributors to these kinds of brain-based changes. At its heart, positive therapeutic movement is a transition from a more fearful brain to a more loving brain (Stratton, 2013). This therapeutic movement may describe the process of sanctification quite nicely as seen in 1 John 4:18 (Common English Bible), "There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear."

This final movement of theologically reflective counseling is a time of celebration. As Susanna approached the end of her counseling, she shared with her counselor that this challenging time in her life has shown her how much God truly loves her. She found God to be faithful in God's promise-keeping to never leave her or forsake her. Prior to this, she imagined her Christian life to be blessed by God only if it was pain-free. Now she believes that suffering can produce Christlikeness because she has experienced it. She no longer fears the future because she knows that God will be with her regardless of the circumstances.

Conclusion

Theologically informed counseling (Holeman, 2012) proposes that counselors can use theological reflection to help devout clients attain counseling goals. Holeman's theologically reflective counseling model can assist counselors in keeping theological reflection active from intake to termination. Using this model, I have described several features of Wesleyan theology that provide a foundation for integrating theology from a specific theological perspective. Therapists of faith are encouraged to explore the particulars of their own theological heritage and to consider how their theology can contribute to their current dinical practices.

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Virginia T. Holeman

Asbury Theological Seminary

Author Note: Virginia T. Holeman, Department of Counseling and Pastoral Care, Asbury Theological Seminary.

A version of this article was presented at the 2013 conference of the Evangelical Theological Society, Baltimore, MD. Special thanks to Stephen P. Greggo for his vision and leadership in that conference and to Stephen P. Stratton for his astute comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Virginia T. Holeman, Department of Counseling and Pastoral Care, Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, KY 40390. E-mail: toddy. holeman@asburysemnary.edu