Comments on: Can She Be a Christian Counselor?

By: Brianne

Brianne — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 07:50:58 +0000

She never said she’d treat a gay/lesbian any different. Yes, she expressed her views with her peers in class which is freedom of speech, but not once did she say she’d tell a gay student that he was going to hell. The school needs to calm down. They have no right here.
She shouldn’t have to change her views. They’re based off of the Bible. And we aren’t robotic enough to never have doubts. We do think about things and about how others think. But who’s to say that people who think homosexuality is okay aren’t the close minded ones?

By: kmw

kmw — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 05:47:23 +0000

This reminds me of the Pharmacist at Target who would not dispense the DAY AFTER pill to a customer, because it went against her beliefs.

She’s paid to do a job of dispensing medicine, not judge. I’m not sure what happened with that case.

By: bopfan

bopfan — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:13:48 +0000

depending on the state where she is licensed (assuming she goes for a license) it is possible that she could have her license revoked.

Geek Gazette – I too earned my Masters in Counseling at a religious institution. Fairly liberal school, never encountered problems from the faculty. My fellow students? Well that would be another story…but those were the minority.

By: Geek Gazette

Geek Gazette — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:03:52 +0000

@ Laura
So far my school has been pretty good about sticking with actual useful content. I have to hold my tongue when they say that being religious is rational and non-belief is irrational or when they do a prayer request at the beginning of class, but other than that I honestly can’t complain.
I admit it feels sometimes almost like I’m a fake or that I’m hiding behind enemy lines, but I never make any claim that I believe what they say or participate in their religious activities. When the rest of the class gives a presentation they always include some religious reference, mine are completely devoid of anything relating to religion.
Even though it may end up getting me removed from the program, I would never lie if asked about my views. But I’m also not gong to be a jerk and cause trouble on their turf. I’m there for the degree.

@ Aj
You are right, a counselor’s first and only job is to help the client. In the case of a school counselor they should put the needs of the student first. Their own personal views should not matter. If they do, you should do what is ethical and refer the client/student to someone better suited to their needs. Just don’t make a habit of doing this.

As far as the homosexual student scenario. If it is a school counselor, since they are not qualified mental health counselors, they should refer the student to a counselor that is competent in that area. There is obviously some kind of distortion in their perceptions. If it is a mental health counselor/therapist, who will have to assess the individual to determine the reason/cause for their feelings/thoughts/behavior and help them find ways to correct that. Of course the methods used would differ depending on the type of counselor/therapist, and on whether those thoughts are the result of their own beliefs or maybe abuse. Assuming it comes from their religious views, I really don’t think it would be ethical to condemn their beliefs in an attempt to “help” them. The counselor’s job would be to try and help them accept/come to terms with their orientation. Whether the counselor is Atheist or Christian should never matter.
Of course that is assuming the only problem is that they are a guilty about their orientation because of their religious beliefs.

By: Aj

Aj — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:54:10 +0000

Religions should not be respected or affirmed neither should “diversity” for that matter. I’ve heard a lot of disturbing things like this in the comments here and on the news, it’s ridiculous to criticize this Christian then turn around and demand that others comply with your values. If a counsellors job is to help people achieve the clients goals then that’s all that should matter. Counsellors should tolerate people and do their fucking job, and Jennifer Keeton doesn’t seem capable of that.

It got me thinking of hypothetical cases that an atheist might have trouble with. For instance, what if a homosexual student who believed strongly that homosexual relations are a sin came asking for help. I’d be interested to know how counsellors should approach this.

By: Jake

Jake — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:46:01 +0000

People should be allowed to believe whatever they want. But if those same people want to join the rest of us in the real world, they need to play by the rules.

By: Ol'Froth

Ol'Froth — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:24:00 +0000

Why would she want to become a school counselor if she won’t effectively counsel all kids? You can’t have it both ways. Either you can get over your damn bigoted views and counsel all kids equally or you should start working towards another job.

I suspect a lot of crusading-type evangelicals specifically seek out these jobs (couseler, teacher, pharmacist)in order to use them as a platform to “spread the word.”

By: LeAnne

LeAnne — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:20:14 +0000

What a dumb bitch. Like Laura said, she should teach in a Christian school, not a public school that gets paid for by public dollars and whatnot.

If you’re going to go into the profession of counseling, you shouldn’t hold a grudge on ANYONE based on your ideals. Counselors are supposed to HELP, not turn people away.

By: Enrys

Enrys — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:16:54 +0000

She’ll be FORCED to CHANGE HER BELIEFS! She’ll HAVE TO!

She doesn’t want to interact with gays at all. She doesn’t want to get to know them. That’s ignorance and bigotry at its finest.

By: Laura

Laura — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:05:53 +0000

She could work in a Christian school. Other than that, she’ll lose her license, law suit or no law suit. All it will take is a complaint to the state board. Usually. Every state has pretty different counseling rules.

Should the school put her in remediation classes? I don’t think so. She hasn’t acted on it yet, so an ethical violation has not yet been made. It’s thought crime.

@GreekGazette: I did that for a year and couldn’t take it anymore. I hated it from day one. Our classes were three hours long, and it was basically a 3 hour long Bible study with about 20 minutes of useful content thrown in. I don’t envy you.