herapy is in accord with scripture.
Applying this notion to the school counselor, it might be said that the counselor would want to make sure that the therapeutic approach or approaches and techniques which he or she selects for use in work with the fundamentalist student are not in violation of the student's scriptural beliefs. For example, the school counselor may wish to take a structured eclectic approach in which the over-riding principle in selection of theories and techniques for use is not to violate the student's values and belief systems.
The foregoing leads to the question: What theoretical perspectives and/or techniques are considered to be ones that do not violate Christian fundamentalist beliefs? The good news is that a great deal has been written on this subject by Christian psychologists; the bad news is that there is little agreement among the psychologists regarding the issue. An example of this can be seen in Christian psychologists' notions of the therapeutic techniques and theories of Carl Rogers.
In this regard, Pervin (1990) has noted that Rogers' theory of personhood holds that "self" represents an organized pattern of perceptions which people seek to preserve and, if mentally and emotionally healthy, also seek to move beyond in a continuing pattern of growth and development (self-actualization). Purhonen (1988) has noted that many Christian counselors and psychotherapists view Roger's therapy model as sufficiently scriptural for even pastoral counseling, enriching and widening the older concepts.
On the other hand, Purhonen also reports that many other Christians reject Rogers' therapy model as unsuitable for counseling on the basis of the secular starting point from which Rogers approaches human life. This lack of agreement even among Christians makes it difficult for the school counselor desiring to use this theoretical perspective in his or her work with fundamentalist students.
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