INTEGRATION EXAM NEFF & MCMINN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What does postmodernism mean? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅It is a shift toward a frame of reference
which is comfortable with holding multiple perspectives and viewing knowledge through a contextual
and relational frame.
How would you describe "integration as a conversation"? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅"Conversations with
one another as we consider how to live well in a complex world, conversations between old ways of
thinking and new ones, between religion and science. Bringing our messy embodied lives into
conversation with one another is how we engage in integration." p.5
Randall Sorenson noted: - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Integration is caught more than taught
What is included in the idea of lament? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅1. Suffering
2. Crying out- "giving voice to the ache deep in our bones"
3. Expressing resistance for the way things are; calls for the other to be moved in sorrow and act to
make things better
4. Experience some trust and confidence in whomever is hearing our words
Lament in the Western Church- stay present in the midst of suffering. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Those of
us who are Christian may struggle to stay present to suffering. We see the resurrection more than the
crucifixion, the forgiving more than the estrangement. But still, those of us called to be counselors and
psychotherapists are also called to bear witness to the suffering of the world. P. 32
What is the "Problem of Evil?" - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅If God is omnipotent (all-powerful) and
benevolent (all-loving), why does he allow suffering to happen? Some conclude that God must not exist.
Others continue to believe in God while making sense of suffering (theodicies).
What are the 3 counterpoints (theodicies) to the "Problem of Evil?" - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅1. Free Will
2. Growth
3. Suffering God
, Explain the Free Will theodicy. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅God is committed to allow humans freedom,
even if it means permitting evil. Anything less would be to create automatons that
knowingly/unknowingly follow divine scripts through life. With freedom comes selfish choices, and with
selfish choices pain is spread through the fallen world.
Explain the Growth theodicy. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Creation is still in process. As unpleasant as pain
may feel, it is also what prompts human morality to develop and grow over time.
Explain the Suffering God theodicy. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅God is profoundly present in the hardships
of life as can be seen throughout the Bible. Taking the form of man demonstrates that God will spare no
cost to enter into the mire of human experience and suffer alongside us.
What does Brene Brown mean when she says, "there is no such thing as selective emotional numbing.
There is a full spectrum of human emotions and when we numb the dark, we numb the light"? -
CORRECT ANSWER✅✅One cannot fully experience the light if they have not also fully experienced
darkness (p. 46). The author experienced a wider spectrum of emotion in Malawi (joy and gratitude as
well as suffering and pain); Western culture desires to numb and avoid pain, collective numbing of
complex emotions; how can we as therapists create a safe space for clients to talk about difficult
emotions?
What are some considerations when treating someone with depression from a Christian worldview? -
CORRECT ANSWER✅✅1. Some depression may be marked by an increased longing for connection and
desire to be cared for by others.
2. When Christians experience this kind of depression, they may feel abandoned by God in their
aloneness.
3. It is easy to make a therapeutic misstep and discourage the client's from feeling abandoned and
angry.
4. We can gently encourage patients to express their anguish and feelings of abandonment to God in the
therapy room
What is the definition of the Hebrew word 'hebel'? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅The literal meaning of hebel
is breath, vapor, or breeze. Hebel is without substance, it is not lasting, it is transient.
What does postmodernism mean? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅It is a shift toward a frame of reference
which is comfortable with holding multiple perspectives and viewing knowledge through a contextual
and relational frame.
How would you describe "integration as a conversation"? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅"Conversations with
one another as we consider how to live well in a complex world, conversations between old ways of
thinking and new ones, between religion and science. Bringing our messy embodied lives into
conversation with one another is how we engage in integration." p.5
Randall Sorenson noted: - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Integration is caught more than taught
What is included in the idea of lament? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅1. Suffering
2. Crying out- "giving voice to the ache deep in our bones"
3. Expressing resistance for the way things are; calls for the other to be moved in sorrow and act to
make things better
4. Experience some trust and confidence in whomever is hearing our words
Lament in the Western Church- stay present in the midst of suffering. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Those of
us who are Christian may struggle to stay present to suffering. We see the resurrection more than the
crucifixion, the forgiving more than the estrangement. But still, those of us called to be counselors and
psychotherapists are also called to bear witness to the suffering of the world. P. 32
What is the "Problem of Evil?" - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅If God is omnipotent (all-powerful) and
benevolent (all-loving), why does he allow suffering to happen? Some conclude that God must not exist.
Others continue to believe in God while making sense of suffering (theodicies).
What are the 3 counterpoints (theodicies) to the "Problem of Evil?" - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅1. Free Will
2. Growth
3. Suffering God
, Explain the Free Will theodicy. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅God is committed to allow humans freedom,
even if it means permitting evil. Anything less would be to create automatons that
knowingly/unknowingly follow divine scripts through life. With freedom comes selfish choices, and with
selfish choices pain is spread through the fallen world.
Explain the Growth theodicy. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅Creation is still in process. As unpleasant as pain
may feel, it is also what prompts human morality to develop and grow over time.
Explain the Suffering God theodicy. - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅God is profoundly present in the hardships
of life as can be seen throughout the Bible. Taking the form of man demonstrates that God will spare no
cost to enter into the mire of human experience and suffer alongside us.
What does Brene Brown mean when she says, "there is no such thing as selective emotional numbing.
There is a full spectrum of human emotions and when we numb the dark, we numb the light"? -
CORRECT ANSWER✅✅One cannot fully experience the light if they have not also fully experienced
darkness (p. 46). The author experienced a wider spectrum of emotion in Malawi (joy and gratitude as
well as suffering and pain); Western culture desires to numb and avoid pain, collective numbing of
complex emotions; how can we as therapists create a safe space for clients to talk about difficult
emotions?
What are some considerations when treating someone with depression from a Christian worldview? -
CORRECT ANSWER✅✅1. Some depression may be marked by an increased longing for connection and
desire to be cared for by others.
2. When Christians experience this kind of depression, they may feel abandoned by God in their
aloneness.
3. It is easy to make a therapeutic misstep and discourage the client's from feeling abandoned and
angry.
4. We can gently encourage patients to express their anguish and feelings of abandonment to God in the
therapy room
What is the definition of the Hebrew word 'hebel'? - CORRECT ANSWER✅✅The literal meaning of hebel
is breath, vapor, or breeze. Hebel is without substance, it is not lasting, it is transient.
