Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Theophostic Ministry (TPM), developed by Ed Smith (1997, 2000), is reviewed and critiqued regarding ethical and legal issues. Since its introduction in 1995, interest in Theophostic Ministry has grown rapidly and the method has been applied to a wide range of mental health disorders. As currently employed, however, TPM may pose numerous ethical and legal issues. These issues include the adequacy of TPM training methods, debatable claims that it utilizes divine guidance, unsubstantiated claims of guaranteed healing and superiority of method, widespread use of Theophostic Ministry interventions without adequate empirical scrutiny or support, concerns regarding whether Theophostic Ministry should be considered a counseling intervention or a ministry, and concerns about the openness of TPM's founder to critique. Taken together, these issues constitute serious concerns regarding compliance with professional codes of ethics and legal guidelines.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alexander

T. D.

, & Rosner

B. S.

(Eds.). (2000). New dictionary of biblical theology. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

American Association of Pastoral Counselors. (1994). Code of ethics. Retrieved May 10, 2002, the American Association of Pastoral Counselors website: http://www.aapc.org/ethics.htm

American Psychological Association. (2002). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Washington, DC: APA.

Bidwell

(2001, February 5). Deliverance debate: Unconventional ‘Theophostic’ counseling cites results in rebutting its critics. Christianity Today, 18–19.

Bobgan

, & Bobgan

(1999). TheoPhostic counseling: Divine revelation or psychoheresy?. Santa Barbara, CA: East-Gate.

Elwell

W. A.

(1984). Evangelical dictionary of theology. Grand Rapids: Baker.

Garzon

, Paloma

M. M.

, Gorsuch

, Borden

C. R.

, & Terjsland

M. S.

(2001, March). Theophostic ministry (healing of memories): Initial Survey Data. Paper presented at the meeting of Christian Association for Psychological Studies, Richmond, VA.

Moulton

H. K.

(1978). The analytical Greek lexicon to the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Scanish

J. D.

, & McMinn

M. R.

(1996). The competent lay Christian counselor. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 15, 29–37.

10.

Scott

R. P.

, & Potts

R. W.

(1995). Using spiritual interventions in psychotherapy: Practices, successes, failures, and ethical concerns of Mormon psychotherapists. Professional Psychology Research and Practice, 26, 163–170.

11.

Seamonds

D. A.

(1985). Healing of memories. Wheaton, IL: Victor.

12.

Smith

E. M.

(1996). Genuine Recovery—In an instant! Campbellsville, KY: Family Care Publishing.

13.

Smith

E. M.

(1997). Genuine recovery. Campbellsville, KY: Alathia.

14.

Smith

E. M.

(2000). Beyond tolerable recovery: Moving beyond tolerable existence into Biblical maintenance free victory!. Campbellsville, KY: Alathia.

15.

Smith

E. M.

(2001). Theophostic ministries update. [Newsletter].

16.

Spanos

N. P.

, Burgess

C. A.

, Burgess

M. F.

, Samuales

, & Blois

W. O.

(1999). Creating false memories of infancy with hypnotic and non-hypnotic procedures. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 13, 201–218.

17.

Theophostic Ministries. (n.d.). Theophostic Ministries. Retrieved October 8, 2002, from http://www.theophostic.com. Campbellsville, KY: Alathia, Inc.

18.

Toh

Y-M

, & Tan

S-Y.

(1997). The effectiveness of church-based lay counselors: A controlled outcome study. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 16, 260–267.

19.

Wilder

E. J.

, Smith

E. M. Y

(2002). Keeping your ministry out of court. Campbellsville, KY: Alathia.

Shedding Light on Theophostic Ministry 2: Ethical and Legal Issues

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References