@article{ART003364130},
author={Kang, Min Chul},
title={The Possibility of Biblical Counseling for Spiritual Guilt in a Terminal Cancer Patient: A Single-Case Exploration Using Peter’s Narrative of Repentance and Restoration},
journal={Journal of Counseling and Gospel },
issn={1739-0745},
year={2026},
volume={34},
number={2},
pages={5-37},
doi={10.17841/jocag.2026.34.2.5}
TY - JOUR
AU - Kang, Min Chul
TI - The Possibility of Biblical Counseling for Spiritual Guilt in a Terminal Cancer Patient: A Single-Case Exploration Using Peter’s Narrative of Repentance and Restoration
JO - Journal of Counseling and Gospel
PY - 2026
VL - 34
IS - 2
PB - Korean Evangelical Counseling Society
SP - 5
EP - 37
SN - 1739-0745
AB - This study explored, through a qualitative single-case design, how spiritual guilt experienced by a terminal cancer patient in relation to a past visit to a fortune-teller could be understood and addressed within biblical counseling. The participant was a Christian woman in her seventies with terminal colon cancer; data were drawn from a one-session counseling transcript, case records, and the researcher's reflective memos. Using Peter's narrative of repentance and restoration as the central interpretive framework—with reminiscence and structured imagery critically incorporated as means subordinated to that narrative—the counseling facilitated emotional confrontation and the reconstruction of meaning. Findings indicated that the participant's guilt was not merely regret about a past act, but a compound spiritual suffering intertwining a damaged religious identity (a vertical dimension) with relational responsibility for having entrusted her daughter's life decisions to a shaman out of her own anxiety (a horizontal dimension). Peter's narrative helped her reinterpret repentance not as intense emotion but as a process of relational restoration, while structured imagery enabled her to verbalize suppressed anger and helplessness and to express the meaning of forgiveness and acceptance. This case suggests that integrating biblical narrative, reminiscence, and imagery may transform a self-condemning narrative into one of forgiveness and peace.
KW - Peter's narrative of repentance and restoration;guided imagery;terminal cancer patient;spiritual guilt;biblical counseling
DO - 10.17841/jocag.2026.34.2.5
ER -
Kang, Min Chul. (2026). The Possibility of Biblical Counseling for Spiritual Guilt in a Terminal Cancer Patient: A Single-Case Exploration Using Peter’s Narrative of Repentance and Restoration. Journal of Counseling and Gospel , 34(2), 5-37.
Kang, Min Chul. 2026, "The Possibility of Biblical Counseling for Spiritual Guilt in a Terminal Cancer Patient: A Single-Case Exploration Using Peter’s Narrative of Repentance and Restoration", Journal of Counseling and Gospel , vol.34, no.2 pp.5-37. Available from: doi:10.17841/jocag.2026.34.2.5
Kang, Min Chul "The Possibility of Biblical Counseling for Spiritual Guilt in a Terminal Cancer Patient: A Single-Case Exploration Using Peter’s Narrative of Repentance and Restoration" Journal of Counseling and Gospel 34.2 pp.5-37 (2026) : 5.
Kang, Min Chul. The Possibility of Biblical Counseling for Spiritual Guilt in a Terminal Cancer Patient: A Single-Case Exploration Using Peter’s Narrative of Repentance and Restoration. 2026; 34(2), 5-37. Available from: doi:10.17841/jocag.2026.34.2.5
Kang, Min Chul. "The Possibility of Biblical Counseling for Spiritual Guilt in a Terminal Cancer Patient: A Single-Case Exploration Using Peter’s Narrative of Repentance and Restoration" Journal of Counseling and Gospel 34, no.2 (2026) : 5-37.doi: 10.17841/jocag.2026.34.2.5
Kang, Min Chul. The Possibility of Biblical Counseling for Spiritual Guilt in a Terminal Cancer Patient: A Single-Case Exploration Using Peter’s Narrative of Repentance and Restoration. Journal of Counseling and Gospel , 34(2), 5-37. doi: 10.17841/jocag.2026.34.2.5
Kang, Min Chul. The Possibility of Biblical Counseling for Spiritual Guilt in a Terminal Cancer Patient: A Single-Case Exploration Using Peter’s Narrative of Repentance and Restoration. Journal of Counseling and Gospel . 2026; 34(2) 5-37. doi: 10.17841/jocag.2026.34.2.5
Kang, Min Chul. The Possibility of Biblical Counseling for Spiritual Guilt in a Terminal Cancer Patient: A Single-Case Exploration Using Peter’s Narrative of Repentance and Restoration. 2026; 34(2), 5-37. Available from: doi:10.17841/jocag.2026.34.2.5
Kang, Min Chul. "The Possibility of Biblical Counseling for Spiritual Guilt in a Terminal Cancer Patient: A Single-Case Exploration Using Peter’s Narrative of Repentance and Restoration" Journal of Counseling and Gospel 34, no.2 (2026) : 5-37.doi: 10.17841/jocag.2026.34.2.5
