Creational Counselor Job Description

Creational counselors use biblical principles and temperament analysis as a framework within therapy sessions.

Ongoing stressors and pressures have become a normal part of many people’s lives. Counselor jobs are designed to address the problems that arise from this ever-increasing demand on personal development. The creational counseling approach deals with emotional and relationship problems from a God-based belief system. This counseling approach uses the Arno Profile System, which is a questionnaire designed to identify a person’s inborn temperament.

Creation Therapy

Creational counselors work as Christian therapists who view people as God’s creations, and not the products of an evolutionary process. According to RMCM Ministries, this counseling job is specifically designed to assist individuals in establishing a personal relationship with their Creator. Within the counseling setting, practitioners address individual issues and problems from the inside out, focusing on the inner self as a means for solving whatever problems have surfaced in everyday life. According to the Pastoral Counseling Center, educational requirements involve a master’s or doctorate’s degree in therapy coupled with a certification course in temperament analysis based on the Arno Profile System.

Function

As with many other counseling job roles, creational counselors work to put together an orderly recovery process designed to give the client a sense of stability and hope. According to Faith Counseling and Training, creation therapy differs in that sessions attempt to target the source of the problem through a step-by-step process, rather than work with behavioral symptoms caused by the problem. Counselors also provide their clients with a detailed plan that lays out what will be covered within each session.

Salary ranges for creational counselors can vary based on educational level and industry-specific roles, such as school counselor, government-based or private practice. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, salaries for mental health counselors ranged between $24,000 and $64,000 as of 2008.

Belief System

Creation therapy was first developed in 1983 by Drs. Richard and Phyllis Arno in an attempt to create a therapeutic approach based on the Holy Bible. This approach enables creation-oriented Christian therapists to draw from a school of thought specifically designed to work from scriptural teachings as opposed to working within the more conventional, or secular client-centered, therapy approaches. According to RMCM Ministries, the creation therapy belief system is based on Psalms 139:13-14 from the Holy Bible: "For you created my inmost being: you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made: your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

Arno Profile System

The Arno Profile System (APS) was first designed in 1983 by Drs. Richard and Phyllis Arno, according to the Arno Profile System resource site. The survey used with the APS contains 54 questions designed to identify an individual’s inborn, God-given temperament. Temperament refers to a person’s natural inclinations, or behaviors. Creation counselors use the information gathered from this survey to assist individuals in expressing their natural traits and talents while eliminating the behaviors that mask the true self.

Temperament Analysis

Creational counselors use temperament analysis to identify a person’s inner needs based on her temperament category, according to the Arno Profile System. In total, there are five basic temperaments, four of which are based on the traditional Keirsey Personality Test. Sanguine, choleric, melancholy, phlegmatic and supine make up the five categories. The Arno Profile System adds supine as the fifth temperament, which is characterized by feelings of servitude in which individuals experience a lack of value to self or others. The creation counselor’s role works to promote emotional, behavioral and spiritual healing using temperament analysis and Christian principles as guidelines for treatment.

References

• Faith Counseling and Training: Christian Counselor Training – Creation Therapy
• RMCM Ministries: Creation Therapy Counseling Model
• Arno Profile System: History & Development of the Arno Profile System
• Pastoral Counseling Center: Christian Counseling Degree and Licensing Programs - bottom of page
• Keirsey: Keirsey Temperament Website

Resources

• God’s Way Services: Creation Therapy
• Bureau of Labor Statistics: Counselors