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Christian Counseling Approach to Biblical Understanding and Healing for the Sense of Shame and Guilt

  • Journal of Counseling and Gospel
  • Abbr : Jocag
  • 2011, 16(), pp.225-249
  • DOI : 10.17841/jocag.2011.16..225
  • Publisher : Korean Evangelical Counseling Society
  • Research Area : Humanities > Christian Theology > Pastoral Counseling
  • Received : April 10, 2011
  • Accepted : May 13, 2011

Hahn Sook Ja 1

1한영신학대학교

Candidate

ABSTRACT

A true sense of guilt and shame renews self-awareness of the merciful God and devotion and accelerates chances for change and maturity. It also enhances the quality of human relationship and makes communication smooth by recognizing one’s own weaknesses and flaws and tackling them properly. On the other hand, a false or improper sense of guilt and shame negates the existence of God’s grace and limits chances to change and grow,and makes people disguise and hide themselves out of fear that others might see what they think their real face is, which results in downgrading the quality of personal relations and communication. In order to treat sense of shame, much effort is needed to bring out and exteriorize the sense of shame that has been internalized in the client. The purpose of counseling for a sense of shame is to help restore the client’s relation with God, and to help nourish a healthier self-image breaking away from a negative one and go further towards a holy self-image. It is important that both the Christian counselor and the client need to have the right understanding and biblical viewpoint towards sin. Those who feel they are sinners need much commiseration and sympathy rather than criticism and purgation, and they also need the process of facing directly their own faults with many encouraging words. This helps them to reassure salvation and to stay within the grace of God, breaking free from the fear of losing the salvation due to the sense of guilt from a past event.

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