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Exodus! Movement of Army Behavioral Science Specialist

Exodus! Movement of Army Behavioral Science Specialist

Freud to Skinner to Jesus:
Exodus! Movement of Army Behavioral Science Specialist to ACBC Certified Biblical Counselor

by Charla Echlin, Army Veteran, ACBC Certified Biblical Counselor

As I sit and write this article, memories carry me back many years to my ten-year-old self when I first heard the word "psychiatrist." The embodiment was "Marlena," a character in the daytime TV drama Days of Our Lives, which I faithfully watched on hot summer days with my mom. Marlena sparked in me an almost fifty-year fascination with this social science.

Seven years following that nebulous introduction to the psychiatric field, I sat in a US Army recruiting office, completing the initial screening necessary to start my four-year active duty service in the armed forces. I was thrilled to hear that my ASVAB score allowed me to select 91G (currently 68X), "Behavioral Science Specialist," as my MOS.  I was seventeen and still in high school. I joined the Army through the Delayed Entry Program, which sounded pretty fancy to me. Immediately, I had envisioned myself as Marlena, dressed as she always was in her smart pencil skirt. Truth be told, my class Bs would easily fulfill that vision in just twelve months. Corny, I know, but as I said, I was seventeen.

The sixteen-week boot camp took me from my hometown of Kailua, Hawaii, some 3,700 miles to Fort Sam Houston Army Base in Texas, where I trained in general medical (91B), then on to the eight-week MOS training to officially be titled a behavioral science specialist (enter Freud). Yes, the driving methodology behind that training was . . . behaviorism.

I still have the sheet of paper the recruiter gave me that briefly explains what I would be doing: a behavioral science specialist is responsible for assisting the psychologist, social worker, or psychiatrist with "management of mental health activities, collection of case histories, basic psychological data, as well as performing counseling functions."

You may or may not be surprised that I have a tote filled with all of my training materials (including the "Soldier’s Manual and Trainer’s Guide" and what appears to be every exam given to me in AIT. To underscore my earlier reference to the methodology, I found a document labeled "Ego Defense Mechanisms," which described the mechanisms as "vital to your understanding of the reasons behind human behavior, employing various techniques to protect our self-image and reduce or prevent anxiety." In a nutshell, that was pretty much my focus over the next four years. (Uhm . . . thank you, B.F. Skinner? (1904–1990) "immeasurably influential" 1 psychologist on behavioralism.)

I came out of that training fully convinced that behavioral modification was the key to helping people. What followed was three and half years working in the Outpatient Psychology Clinic at the 97th General Hospital in Frankfurt, Germany. My training was in psychological testing to identify personality disorders. Sometimes, the testing was used to aid in forensic investigations, but most often, we used the diagnostics to assist soldiers with learning management techniques for situational stressors. 

I had no idea how off-base that thinking was.

We were only treating the symptoms. We never touched the source problem: one’s heart. Easy was telling a soldier (and spouse), "Your anxiety, depression, and anger problems can all be helped by attending a stress management group. You’ll be taught various techniques to help you regulate your emotions when stressed, such as taking deep breaths, focusing on things that could distract your thoughts, utilizing our (newly acquired) biofeedback machine, and sometimes even hypnosis."

Often, treatment would extend to an eventual change in their situation, i.e., new location orders, spouse’s deployment, family dynamics, or a different job. Often, their symptoms would have either decreased to a manageable degree or stopped. The client would feel much better and move on. I have some notes that say exactly that: "Client experienced migraines and anxiety, but now, six months later, home life has settled down, and client no longer experiences the symptoms. Case closed"—until next time, of course, because the issues at heart had not been addressed, and we’d do it all over again.

My military training also included how to treat "Battle Fatigue"(this was in 1983, so the term "post-traumatic stress disorder" had only just made its way into the DSM III. But, apparently not into the Soldier’s Manual). As I look back through those notes, I see where the treatment was so, so close—or one could say, "almost right."

The Soldier’s Manual takes several pages to discuss evaluation and treatment procedures. After ensuring the soldier is comfortable and secure, the counselor was to encourage them to acknowledge their powerful yet normal emotions but also explain that the feelings were "personally controllable". 
My heart aches now for the young soldier left to battle those demons by their own strength. While full of compassion and reassurance, the Army's treatment modality stopped short of giving the soldier the true solution: the only One who can battle those demons and win. 
In 1984, I fulfilled my service obligations and processed out of the Army and Germany. But I remained oblivious and stuck in the methodology, even after becoming a follower of Christ and trained to "counsel from a biblical perspective".

Looking at my next formal training opportunity, Liberty University, was amazing. But, sadly, the education aligned almost exactly with what the Army had taught me. The only difference was that Someone had been added to the solution. We were to counsel the client with the compassion of Jesus, emulating the ultimate Counselor. I was taught to share Scripture with the counselee for comfort and how to model Christ’s example of ministering to the suffering and downtrodden.

As I look back at the textbooks and papers I completed, earning that BS in psychology with an emphasis on crisis counseling, I can see clearly that they, too, were "almost right," yet still falling short of giving counselees the only hope they have for their hearts and minds to "be transformed" (Romans 12:2), their desires aligned with God’s.

Around 2017, my church offered an equipping class, "Introduction to Biblical Counseling." Of course, my interest was piqued. At the time, I was volunteering as an advocate at our local pregnancy resource center, and I was certain the class would be a beneficial tool to add to my toolbox.  I remember that first class and my discussion with our pastor, who was ever so gentle in helping me recognize what was still lacking in my counseling toolbox. I briefly struggled with the concept when I realized that my Christian counseling degree was actually lacking . . . Christ! My brain could barely comprehend that gapping oversight!

My pastor was ever so gracious as I slowly began to understand. I am forever thankful to the Holy Spirit for helping me see the truth.
I committed to go even further with my training and began looking at the certification process to become a biblical counselor. The Lord was gracious in making a way for me to accomplish this in my hometown.

My heart became even more deeply grounded in the truth of the sufficiency of God’s Word as I studied the Scriptures while completing each of those forty-four questions on the ACBC exam. I began to see what I had been lacking all those years. While secular and integrated counseling were getting the solution wrong, there was more than that problem; the identity of the problem was wrong! So, of course, the solutions were only temporary.  

• If one doesn’t start with an accurate understanding of mankind—utterly depraved—and 
• God—righteous and holy—there’s no way to find 
• the accurate solution—our Savior Jesus Christ.  
 

God created us, so He’s the only one who can fix us. 

Pure and simple.

I had finally seen the right answer—the only answer: the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news that Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. We are no longer slaves to sin’s power, and the Spirit who raised Christ is the same Spirit who dwells in those who accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord. 
How glorious is that?!

I’m still in amazement at the compassion and mercy of our God and providing all that we need to live an "abundant life" (John 10:10), giving Him all the glory.

The privilege of  biblical counselors is to walk with our counselees through the trials and tribulations we have in this life(no big surprise since Jesus told us that in John 16:33, along with His promise: "But take heart; I have overcome the world."

God is such a compassionate Father; He not only warns that we will have challenges but shows us that He is the way through them! "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).

What hope this brings to our counselees and all who are in need!

Looking back at the long path that brought me where I am today, I’m reminded of a popular quote often attributed to Charles Spurgeon: 
Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong; rather, it is telling the difference between right and almost right. 
That encapsulates my forty-year walk as a counselor that began in the US Army and "transformed" to serving as a Certified Biblical Counselor (ACBC).

As I complete this writing, I see that impressionable eighteen-year-old enthusiastically bringing what I thought were the right answers to the problem. As it turned out, much weeding and digging had to be done to remove the teachings that buried the true problem and replace those with the truth of God’s Word.

These days, as I read through case notes and discern root causes in preparation for each of my counselee’s sessions, I’m foremost in constant prayer for guidance—and the Lord is always faithful in reminding me that He does the heavy work; I’m simply yoked with Him: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). As a biblical counselor, my main goal is the same as my counselees’: to glorify God in all I say and do.

 Praise the Lord for helping me see the difference between right and almost right, for helping me understand the sufficiency of Scripture, and that . . .
The Bible gives us all we need to respond to all situations in a godly manner.

His Spirit helps us discern the way that’s most pleasing to Him, filling our hearts with His peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7)!
Thank you to the Fallen Soldiers Ministries and their commitment to bringing biblical hope and healing to every veteran, first responder, and their families.

"Indeed, you are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord lightens my darkness. By you I can crush a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God—his way is perfect; the promise of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all who take refuge in him." —2 Samuel 22:29-31(NRSV)

by Charla Echlin, Army Veteran, ACBC Certified Biblical Counselor

1 B. F. Skinner, accessed November 20, 2024, https://psychology.fas.harvard.edu/people/b-f-skinner.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture was taken from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

NRSV: New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 19th, 2024 at 12:58 pm and is filed under Newsletter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.



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