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From: Dick Mallard
Date: 10/6/02
Time: 10:19:05 PM
Remote Name: 147.26.248.226
Liv, thanks for your point of view. I appreciate your position.
Let me first address your concern about being inappropriate and unethical with this paper. In my response to Brynn, please notice I used the term "where appropriate." Also notice that I said I let the family or client take the lead in dealing with matters that pertain to this paper. So, I believe that we agree that it would not be appropriate or ethical to do as you suggest. Having this paper, however, does give me a tool to use when appropriate.
I will stand by my suggestion that clinicians use this paper in their practice when they feel it is appropriate. There is nothing inappropriate or unethical about approaching therapy from a given perspective, even if that perspective comes from the Bible, if you as the professional can justify what you are doing and why. That is what happens every time a clinician decides to use one therapy approach over another. Citizens in the United States have choices and if the client does not like the approach taken in treatment, the client is free to see someone else. I might also add that there are many counseling centers that advertize themselves as a "Christian Counseling Center" and their approach to treatment is from a Christian perspective. If a person does not what that perspective in counseling, then he or she should not go there. Now, if I said to you that you have to believe what I believe, that is a totally different manner. That would be inappropriate and unethical.
The purpose of my writing this paper was to see what the Bible said about working with people who have problems. I simply quoted the verses and tried to make an application to stuttering. I tried to look at the Bible as a book just like I would look at any other book of instructions. In no way was I applying any religious or demoninational interpretation. I was just reading the words on the page and believing what they said.
What do I think comes next? What I hope comes next is that we in stuttering therapy might consider what the Bible says about matters of treatment and apply the concepts as appropriate. We need not limit ourselves to secular thinking when working with a problem as complicated as stuttering.
Again, Liv, I hope I have addressed your concerns. If not, let me know and I'll try again. Thanks again for your openess in replying to my paper.