SM 60 Human Growth

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SM 60 Human Growth Development

• Erskine Theological Seminary
• Robert Bell, Ph.D.
• September 8, 2004

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• Dr. Phil today (900 AM)
• How is Your Child Doing on the Developmental
  Curve?
• Take note of all the many human growth
  development items in the news. New discoveries
  revisions of earlier theories.

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Development

• To unwrap, unfold
• In HGD, development is understood as an
  unfolding of a living organisms latent
  possibilities. or the changes through which an
  organism passes in the course of its
  maturation.
• The gradual unfolding of the pre-existent
  structure of a living organism through specific
  stages toward a predetermined telos or end.
• R. R. Osmer, Developmental Theory Pastoral
  Care, in Dictionary of Pastoral Care
  Counseling, Rodney Hunter, ed. (Nashville
  Abingdon, 1990), 277-78.

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Pastoral Implications

• A helpful diagnostic tool
• (normal dev. vs. pathological)
• Insight into how best to relate to persons
• Insight into how best to offer guidance
• A CAUTION TO NOTE
• Often focuses only upon human achievement moral
  advancement, to the exclusion of Gods
  intervention. R. R. Osmer

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Studying HGD

• Be aware of some of the basic differences between
  secular and Biblical approaches to the study of
  human growth development

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Some Critical Differences

• Where you begin (anthropologically or what you
  believe about human beings)
• Where you focus (soteriologically, to what end?
  What you believe about the work of Jesus Christ
  and the implications for human life) and,
• Where you look for truth (revelation, God, Gods
  Word).

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A Biblical View of Human Beings

• God created us as whole persons
• Spiritual
• Physical
• Mental
• Emotional
• Social
• Moral
• Purpose WCF, Catechism Qu. 1 Cf. Deut. 6 4-6
• Effects of the fall, sin Gen. 65, 821

Spiritual
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What Shapes Ones Approach to the Study of HG
D?

• Ones religious convictions regarding
• The problem
• The solution
• The goal
• The guide

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The Role of Faith in Study

• Faith commitments and understandings provide (
  limit) perspective
• Theology (study of God beliefs about God) is
  central sometimes as unseen foundation, other
  times as explicit guide
• Problems in study often are related to the
  relationship between theology psychology.
• ltltltltlt Continuum gtgtgtgtgt

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ltlt A Possible Continuum gtgt
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The Christian Psychology Spectrum
Psychology
Bible
NANC
Biblical Counselors
Christian Psychologists
Ideologues
Psychologists with a Seminary Education
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Where Does the Study of HG D Fit In?

• All truth is Gods truth
• All truth is revealed truth God is source
• Some truths regarding common human
  life/experience are reflected in Scripture e.g.,
  Proverbs 2329-35
• Other useful (yield-glory-to-God) truths of human
  life/experience can be observed by human beings
  e.g., angiograms heart condition

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R. Thomas Murray, Counseling Life-Span
Development, 1990.

• Seven Significant Counseling
• Decision Points Contained
• within Three Phases of the
• Counseling Process
• Why Study Human Growth Development?

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Normative Data

• Normative Information a statement about the
  degree to which a defined group of people are
  alike. What characteristics are correlated with
  being in a defined group? (divorcees,
  single-parents, children of alcoholics, children
  of divorce, Baptists, Hispanics, seminarians,
  etc.)
• Proverbs 23 29-35 provides normative data
  regarding the abuse of alcohol

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Value of Normative Data

• Educators couple communication, bedwetting,
  alcoholism and dynamics of an enabler, etc.
• Provide a head start in addressing problems
  provides initial expectations or probabilities
  behavior problems with children gt boundaries
  adolescent gt sexuality elderly gt depression

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Clues Used to Recall Normative Data

• Age
• Gender
• Height
• Weight
• Facial features
• Educational level
• Occupation
• Cultural characteristics (language, style of
  dress, mannerisms)

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What is NORMAL?
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Normal used two ways

• Statistical similarity or frequency
• Decisions about normal defined in this way
  involve two steps
• Knowing how people are distributed in terms of
  the characteristic being studied
• Deciding how close to the average a person needs
  to be in order to be judged normal rather than
  abnormal
• A matter of objective statistical description.

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Normal a second meaning

• Desirability or acceptability
• A matter of subjective judgment based upon the
  judges values and on a rationale that is adduced
  by that judge.
• Normal as defined here refers to how closely
  the condition matches the value system of the
  person making the judgment about normality.
• Normal approved, admirable, satisfactory,
  acceptable, proper, etc.

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Normal as Subjective Value

• Requires clarification of the elements that go
  into the decision the set of values held by the
  definer.
• Identification of the proper sources for making a
  decision about normalcy.
• Implications of a Biblical/theological view for
  ones definition of normalcy?

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Definitions of Normal

• Can guide
• Can predict provide a prognosis
• The question being answered is not one of
  absolute desirability (normal vs. abnormal), but
  the extent to which development is desirable or
  acceptable AND whether or not intervention is
  required.

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Phase I Identifying the Nature of the Clients
Problem

• Problem Incidence
• Correlated Problems
• Typical Symptom Clusters
• Causal Variables
• Genetic Endowment
• Environmental Forces
• Developmental History
• Predictions about the Clients Future
• Societal Expectations Pressures

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Phase II Adopting Suitable Counseling Techniques

• An Appropriate Counseling Approach
• Logical Analysis
• Normative Data re Technique success in the past
• Progress of the Case
• Counselee cooperation
• Counselee testimony
• Adjective (adjustment) inventories
• Abatement of symptoms
• Assessment of long-term outcomes

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Phase II Adopting Suitable Counseling
Techniques continued

• Evaluating the Solution to the Clients Problem
  evaluating the outcome longtitudinally
• Phase III Completing the Counseling Process
  Terminating Counseling
• - How?
• - Why?
• - By Whom?