[acb-hsp] Remediation That the Tolerant Left Won't Tolerate

[Donna Rose]

Leaving the social work code of ethics aside, I think there are many left 
winger people who are Christians.  Jesus was a left winger.  After all His 
most important tenet was "love one another".  He hung with the people less 
likely to be accepted by others.  I suppose we will all find out someday, 
but I think many Christians will be very surprised about how we were 
supposed to handle issues like this throughout our lives.  I have to admit I 
do not understand why some people are gay and others are not. But it doesn't 
seem to usually be a choice because there are some who want to change and 
find it extremely difficult if not impossible.

I am disappointed that this student didn't even want to do this guy's 
intake.  He was depressed.  Heaven help him.  The number of people who are 
so judgmental about the behavior of two consenting adults could cause such 
depression.  But, after the initial assessment, if she really didn't feel 
qualified to help him then it might be valid to ask someone else to work 
with him.  On the other hand, if you have learned the skills to help people 
deal with depression, and that is truly the goal, then I don't understand 
this student's problem.

Personally I think Jesus would be disappointed in a servant who couldn't 
just act out of love.  I used to treat sex and other offenders.  Some of 
them really disgusted me.  I did not support their values or their views of 
life, but I tried my best to do my job and help them through their issues in 
the hope society would be better off for it.  And I thought I was called to 
do my best.  But some of these people had purposely hurt others, unlike the 
problems which others do not perpetrate    on themselves.  I guess we need 
to think about the harm in trying to help someone regardless of our own 
values.

Obviously this student needed some counseling to discover where she was 
going to work with her current viewpoint, but maybe this was done.  And you 
know, even if she works in a Christian counseling environment she will still 
encounter a variety of differences in that specific group too.  Christianity 
does teach that all humans are sinners, so sin is everywhere!

I may be sorry for saying this, but here goes.  I am a Christian.  I think 
the reason Christians get such a bad rap is because of this type of issue. 
People of many faiths use their religions to be very judgmental of others 
instead of trying to just practice the main tenets of their faith which is 
usually love.  If we could use the Bible as more of a guide, taking in 
account its historic value and not so much the literal, we might all be 
better off.  As individuals we need to follow the commandments, including 
the two in the New Testament.  But since we were all given freedom of choice 
it is not up to us to decide who is living right and who is living wrong. 
According to Christianity God is the final judge.

In my work at CMH we do discuss spirituality at times.  In my life as an 
American Indian I find that balance between mind, body and soul is 
essential.  But I would prefer to allow others to find their own path and 
not let their path hinder me in my effort to be of assistance where they 
feel they need it.



Go Bravely,
Donna Rose, LMSW
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sharon" <mt281820 at comcast.net>
To: "'Discussion list for ACB human service professionals'" 
<acb-hsp at acb.org>
Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2011 10:20 AM
Subject: Re: [acb-hsp] Remediation That the Tolerant Left Won't Tolerate


> Frankly, I loved this article. While I agree that we should work with
> clients whose values we do not espouse, she simply asked to have the case
> reassigned. While I would definitely work with clients who are unmarried
> within their own value systems, I think she has a right not to work with 
> any
> client who would be better served by a different counselor. Expelling her 
> is
> way out of bounds, and again the left tends to tolerate everyone but
> Christians. Instead, she should have been counseled to work within her own
> faith tradition upon graduation. Nowadays, if I refused to work with every
> unmarried client cohabiting, and every gay client, I don't know how many
> clients I'd have left!
> Sharon
> Sharon
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org [mailto:acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf 
> Of
> peter altschul
> Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2011 10:24 AM
> To: Acbhsp
> Subject: [acb-hsp] Remediation That the Tolerant Left Won't Tolerate
>
> Remediation for those the tolerant left won't tolerate
>  David Cortman
>  In January 2009, Julea Ward, who is a Christian, was a graduate
> student in the counseling program at Eastern Michigan University.
> She was nearing the end of the program and had accumulated a 3.91
> GPA.  Then she was expelled.
>  Why? Well, EMU asked her to counsel a client in a manner that
> would have violated her Biblically-based faith and values.
> Following standard profession practice, she asked her supervising
> professor whether it would be okay to reassign the client to a
> different counselor.  EMU expelled her from the program for
> making this simple referral request, and because of the religious
> beliefs that motivated it.
>  Unfortunately, media reports on Ward's lawsuit often claim that
> EMU expelled her for refusing to counsel gay clients.  This is
> simply untrue.  She asked for the referral because her religious
> beliefs prevent her from providing counseling on any non-marital
> sexual relationship.  This means Ward would raise the same values
> conflict regardless of the sexual orientation of the client
> seeking such assistance.
>  Put simply, Ward would raise the same conflict and seek a
> referral regardless of whether the client was homosexual and
> seeking counseling on a non-marital sexual relationship (which is
> the context in which her referral request arose) or if the client
> was heterosexual and seeking counseling on a non-marital sexual
> relationship.  The "gay animus" angle often seen in media reports
> is dead wrong.
>  It is also important to note that referrals, including those
> based on values conflicts, are common and accepted in the
> counseling profession.  The code of ethics for the profession
> contains two provisions endorsing the practice of referring
> clients.  Ward acted consistent with these provisions, and with
> the advice of her supervising professor, by having a client
> reassigned in a situation where she believed another counselor
> would be better suited to meet his needs.  The profession is,
> after all, most concerned with serving the best interests of
> clients.  And sometimes, a client's best interests are served by
> working with a different counselor.
>  Rather than approving Ward's simple request to refer a single
> client, EMU initiated disciplinary proceedings against her.  EMU
> also informed Ward that the only way she could remain in the
> counseling program was if she agreed to undergo a "remediation"
> program aimed at changing her "belief system."
>  Unsurprisingly, Ward declined the "remediation" program.  And
> who would agree to such a thing? It is hard to imagine any
> student agreeing to change their beliefs as a condition to
> getting their degree.
>  In addition to the Orwellian "remediation" program, the
> disciplinary proceedings also involved EMU professors putting
> Ward's religious beliefs on trial.
>  For example, during Ward's final disciplinary hearing, Suzanne
> Dugger, one of EMU's counseling faculty, asked Ms.  Ward whether
> she viewed her "brand of Christianity as superior" to other
> Christians who may disagree with her.  And Perry Francis, another
> EMU faculty member, told Ward he was going to take her on a
> btheological boutb and then directly attacked her understanding
> and interpretation of scripture.
>  Throughout these things, Ward remained steadfast, refusing to
> abandon her religious convictions or violate them as a condition
> to getting her degree.
>  What is amazing about Ward's situation is EMU's harsh and
> drastic reaction to her request to refer a single client.  Rather
> than honoring Ward's simple request (which, again, was consistent
> with the professional standards regarding referral), EMU expelled
> an academically stellar student and, in the process of doing so,
> targeted and attacked the religious beliefs that motivated her
> referral request and told her she had to change them to get her
> degree.
>  Now, instead of being a Christian and a graduate student at
> EMU, Ward is but another Christian whom the tolerant left will
> not tolerate.
>  David Cortman serves as senior legal counsel with the Alliance
> Defense Fund at its Atlanta Regional Service Center in Georgia,
> where he heads litigation efforts to defend and reclaim the First
> Amendment rights of public school students across the nation.
> Cortman joined ADF in 2005, and is admitted to the bar in
> Georgia, Florida, and the District of Columbia.  He has practiced
> law since 1996 and graduated magna cum laude from the Regent
> University School of Law, where he earned his J.D.
> _______________________________________________
> acb-hsp mailing list
> acb-hsp at acb.org
> http://www.acb.org/mailman/listinfo/acb-hsp
>
> _______________________________________________
> acb-hsp mailing list
> acb-hsp at acb.org
> http://www.acb.org/mailman/listinfo/acb-hsp