Christian Counseling Connection
5
LEAD ARTICLES
AS IA
the
2014
~
SUMMIT AND CONFERENCE
~
O
n May 29-31, the National Association of Christian Counselors (NACC)
Malaysia held their third annual conference, creating an expanded
platform that highlighted participating Christian counseling organiza-
tions in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Singapore, Taiwan and
the Philippines, as well as Interserve International that
works among various people groups in Asia and the
Arab world. This year’s theme was:
Culturally Sensitive
Christian Counseling in Asia: Towards Integrating Psy-
chology and Theology as Care and Counsel in Mission for
Christ.
The American Association of Christian Counselors
was pleased to be one of the event’s sponsoring part-
ners and excited to see the cause of Christian caregiv-
ing and mental health services reach a broader global
audience. The 2014 Asia Summit and Conference was
also endorsed by the Asia Theological Association
(ATA) and formally officiated by Datuk Paul Low, who
is a Senior Minister in the Malaysia Prime Minister’s
Office.
There were two distinct components for this year’s
gathering: a pre-conference Summit held at the beauti-
ful Sunway Convention Centre and the actual confer-
ence at Grace Community Centre—home to one of the
area’s leading churches offering multi-ethnic services in
English, Chinese and Tamil. Both venues are located in
Petaling Jaya, a satellite city just southwest of Malaysia’s
capital, Kuala Lumpur.
The Summit portion was attended by more than
100 invited delegates who are recognized leaders in the
field of Christian counseling, missions and theological
education—several who were members of the AACC
family. Objectives included:
1.
Presenting papers to generate discussions on significant issues that will
shape culturally sensitive Christian counseling in Asia in ways that are
appropriate and authentic.
•
Understanding and addressing both the contributions and limitations
of Christian counseling of the West from an Asian mindset.
•
Facilitating the development of Christian psychology with greater
biblical and theological depth to be effective to the contextual needs
of the Asian people.
•
Bridging the gap between Christian counseling theory and applica-
tion in professional practice, ministry and service in Asia.
2.
To propose the formation of an Asian network, secretariat and taskforce
groupings for further dialogue among leaders and practitioners in Chris-
tian counseling.
The primary focus of the conference was to promote and educate participants
on important aspects of Christian counseling, with
a special emphasis on an Asian perspective. Some of
the conference themes were:
• Cognitive-Behavioral Approaches
• Psychodynamic Counseling
• Asian Culture and the Concept of Shame
• Mindfulness
• Disaster Relief Strategies
• Compassion Fatigue and Self-care
• Christian Psychology Models
• Care and Counsel as Mission Strategies
The AACC was represented by Dr. Eric Scalise,
Vice President for Professional Development, who
provided a workshop and gave the closing plenary at
the conference. As the son of a diplomat, Dr. Scalise
has lived Asia—his father served at the U.S. Embassy
in Singapore—and has travelled to the region on
numerous occasions for professional and ministry-
related training and consultation. Other notable
speakers included:
• Dr. Siang-Yang Tan, Professor of Psychology at
Fuller Theological Seminary
• Dr. Edmund Ng, President of NACC Malaysia
• Dr. Brad Smith, President of Care and
Counsel International and Senior Associate for
Care and Counsel as Mission, Lausanne
Committee for World Evangelisation
• Dr. Annabel M. Manalo, Chair, Counseling De-
partment of Asian Theological Seminary and Lecturer at the University of
Philippines Psychology Department
• Eileen Lin, President of the Taiwan Association of Pastoral Counselors
• Jia Youchun, a Mainland Chinese counselor and founder of the Si Chun
Shepherd Counseling Centre, in Chengdu, Sichuan, China
• Philip Chang, Chairman of Interserve Malaysia and International Deputy
Director, SE Asia for the Lausanne Movement
While the AACC’s primary presence has been within the United States, the 2014
Asia Summit and Conference offered a wonderful opportunity to support the need
to counsel the whole person throughout the entire world.
