CAPE Approach
A Compassionate Method to Christian Counseling, Crisis Hotlines, and Soul Care
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CAPE is an acronym for Compassion, Action, Prayer, and Empathy. Compassion without action is as faith without works. The Apostle Paul says in James 2:17 "...faith by itself, if it’s not accompanied by action, is dead." To understand this statement let’s discuss verses 15 and 16 of the same chapter. They read, "Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?" In other words, if a person tells a brother in need that his faith in God will solve his problem and does not get personally involved in the solution, the helper is displaying both lack of faith and a dead spirit. This kind of talk is a Christian cliché and a way out of a Christian responsibility. It is not faith! It’s an excuse for not doing what God asks us to do; it’s a way of getting personal attention, recognition and inflating one’s own ego. It’s a way of spreading false hope. It’s not only not Christian-like, but selfish. The same situation is true with a helping professional. If a person comes with a crisis to a counselor and the counselor does not identify herself with the emotional problem the individual is experiencing, then she has no compassion. She might be in the helping field for personal and selfish reasons. Here is what Kottler ( 1993) says about this issue. Becoming a therapist is one way some people seek to fulfill their need for power and control. Others are attracted to the opportunities for having successful relationships with minimum personal involvement. Still others who feel stupid can act wise, those who are selfish can pretend to be altruistic, and people who are timid can be assertive (p. 209). True compassion only comes from God. True compassion was born in the Garden of Eden when God went to visit Adam and Eve and found out that they were scared and were hiding from Him. He understood their emotional situation, "had compassion," and immediately went into action. He made garments of animal skin and clothed them. This is the first example of compassion and action. The example came from God Himself. Later, while on the earth, His Son gave us many more examples of compassion, some of which we will discuss as we discuss the CAPE Approach. The CAPE Approach should be seen as a warm coat used during a cold winter day, a raincoat used during a rainy day, a shawl used during a cold spring morning, and sometimes an umbrella to protect a person from the rain. Your compassion, empathy, action, and intensity of prayer have a lot to do with the issues at hand and the personality of your client. All of the above mentioned garments are used to protect an individual from different types of weather. The same is true with the CAPE Approach. See it as a spiritual cape, coat, umbrella, raincoat or shawl that you are symbolically using to protect your client from the weather of his emotions as both of you work together to reach an emotional climate that is comfortable for him or her.
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About the Book
The purpose of this handbook is to help the Christian counselor, as well as any individual in the helping profession, paid or volunteer, including parents and teachers, develop the necessary skill, trust, self-confidence, and spirituality to help others in a compassionate and spiritual way. Many self-help books have been written about dealing with emotions, but this book is different. This book introduces the reader and the counselor to a new and simple approach of compassion and empathy in counseling. Many lay people are asked to "counsel" a member in a church without being given the proper tools. Many Christian Hotline volunteers are asked to answer the phones without the proper training. This book is intended to be used as either a classroom-training manual or a personal tool to help those in the helping professions become better at what they do. It is not intended to replace techniques of theories, but to supplement them. It is a model that has four phases, all of them very easy to follow and implement. The uniqueness of this method, other than being inspired by the Holy Spirit, is that the counselor or helper can use it to help the client or to recharge his or her own spirit.
About the Author
Dr. Judith A. Justiniano-Houts is the founder and Executive Director of the Agape Ministry-Crisis Prevention and Intervention Center in Pataskala, Ohio. She was also the founder and Executive Director of the Agape Haus, Inc. in Battle Creek, Michigan, a human services agency providing services o people who fell through the gaps of the Welfare System, which included support groups for abused women. She founded and directed, for ten years, the award-winning Christian Hotline, called the Agape LifeLine. Before being ordained as a minister, Justiniano-Houts was a missionary to Columbia, South America, where she ministered to many in need, not only spiritual need but physical, spiritual, and emotional. She has started two bilingual churches, one in Michigan, and the other in Ohio. She is a mediator, a coach, and a mentor. Justiniano-Houts has mentored many young men and women in not only becoming a better citizen by staying in school, but also becoming a better Christian. She is an instructor and develops custom-made training for the needs of the churches or agencies. Dr. Houts is a seminar presenter and a public speaker with speaking engagements ranging from civic organizations to Federal agencies. Justiniano-Houts had her own local television and radio program in Battle Creek, Michigan. Actually, she not only pastors the Agape Ministry Church, but she also counsels women who are survivors of sexual and emotional abuse, and mediates and counsels couples. She received her B.A. from Nazareth College in Michigan and her Ph.D. from LaSalle University in Mandeville, Louisiana. She received her Marriage Works Certificate from the American Association for Christian Counselors, and a Leadership Certificate from the Battle Creek Leadership Academy. Presently, she is working towards her Master’s Degree in Community Counseling through the University of Dayton, Ohio.