View from a Consultant's Chair

by Jack B. Schaffer, M.Div., Ph.D.

I have had the privilege of serving as a consultant to the Westminster Counseling Center for the past three and a half years. It has felt to me very much like a natural relationship.

I was asked by John Henrich, who was a former student and supervisee of mine, because of our relationship and because he knew that in addition to being a licensed psychologist, I am also a clergy member of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area. In addition, I served with Margaret McCray as a member of what was called the Sexual Misconduct Response Committee (now Advocates for Integrity in Ministry-AIM) and with Margaret on a couple of cases the committee dealt with.

It has been a complete pleasure for me to work as a consult with the Counseling Center's staff. I have been extremely impressed with the competence and dedication of the staff, of the expertise of the other consultants, Dr. John Heefner and Dr. Will Larson, and of the collegial and committed and, frankly, humorous style of the staff and of our weekly meetings.

My practice for over 20 of its 30 years has been solo. That has a number of challenges and opportunities of its own, so it has been interesting to see how this committed staff works together. I would have loved for the opportunity for sharing and learning from each other early in my career that is afforded the staff of the Counseling Center.

There are also a number of challenges as a function of the nature and location of the Counseling Center, some of which have to do with boundaries. I want to focus very briefly on two such boundaries in this article.

The first has to do with the nature of the practice in a context that involves the intersection of theology and psychology. The boundary has to do with the definition of the practice. Is one practicing theology, i.e., serving as a pastor to the client? No, not really. Is one practicing psychology? No, not really. The goal is to provide both psychological healing and spiritual growth, but not by functioning either as a pastor or as a psychologist, but as a mental health professional whose work is informed by both theology and psychology. That can be a fine line to walk, and one I think the staff of the Counseling Center walks with great skill.

The second boundary has to do with providing services to individuals one knows in another context, i.e., as a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church or in some other church-related context. That raises very complicated, and, sometimes, awkward, issues of confidentiality of information received and of dual relationships, issues that can be the basis of uncomfortable and damaging interactions. Again, I am impressed with how well the staff handles the complexities of their practices-and it is noteworthy how frequently boundary issues are raised in our consultations.

I trust that the members of the Westminster Counseling Center community know and appreciate the tremendous resource you have in your midst as much as I have appreciated my association with it. I hope that my relationship with the Center and the Center's relationship with Westminster Church continue for a long time into the future.