Contemplation and Counseling : An Integrative Model for Practitioners

Interest in mindfulness and contemplative thought is growing among Christians, and it's time to consider the place of contemplative prayer within the field of counseling.

Can contemplative prayer be integrated into therapeutic work? Can it in fact serve as a foundation on which to build a new approach to counseling?

In Contemplation and Counseling Gregg Blanton presents a new paradigm for integrating contemplative prayer with counseling practice. He contends that contemplative prayer can illuminate the purposes of counseling and suggest interventions that help us accomplish these goals. This paradigm builds an alliance between science, theology, and Christian contemplative thought to create a dynamic approach to counseling and balance various dimensions of the human person: emotion, cognition, and action. And by recognizing the power of both words and silence, it harmonizes their functions.

Based on this integrative foundation, Blanton offers eleven fundamental interventions to fit the needs of clients (including silence, empathy, and teaching contemplative prayer) and a practical four-stage process for helping clients change, using examples from his own counseling experience and from the Bible. Ultimately, contemplative prayer leads us to the healing power of love. How we view our clients, the ways that we relate with them, and the strategies that we use to help them change are all informed by our loving search for God in contemplative prayer.

Particular topics include

• how Christian contemplation compares with therapeutic uses of mindfulness
• insights from interpersonal neurobiology understood in light of Scripture
• psychological and spiritual benefits of lectio divina and centering prayer
• how practicing contemplative prayer can help counselors develop traits that correlate with positive client outcomes
• when and how to teach contemplative practices to clients
• the role of the body, emotions, conscious and unconscious mind, and behavior in contemplative practice and counseling

Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) Books explore how Christianity relates to mental health and behavioral sciences including psychology, counseling, social work, and marriage and family therapy in order to equip Christian clinicians to support the well-being of their clients.

P. Gregg Blanton (EdD) is professor of psychology and human services at Montreat College. He is founder of the Center for Contemplation and Marriage and is in private practice in Asheville, North Carolina, where he provides counseling and supervises counselors-in-training. He is the author of Mind Over Marriage: Transforming Your Relationship Using Centering Prayer and Neuroscience.