DVCO 550 - Human Development in Theological Perspective (3)

This course helps students develop a theologically grounded understanding of the nature of persons and the self. Development will be looked at through the lens of biblical anthropology across all of life’s stages. Major transitions and crises of the life cycle, in the context of the family and culture, will be reviewed especially in light of how they impact personal formation and love of God and neighbor. The tension between individual responsibility and reaction within the system of the family, and how this forms us as relational beings, will be a recurrent theme in addition to the implications of this for moral and faith development nurtured in the context of the life of the church. The course will provide an understanding of human development, the process of change, the impact of trauma and developmental crises, attachment issues, resilience, and the process of meaning-making, thus equipping the Christian counselor with a nuanced and sensitive understanding of the context in which we and our clients live and grow. It will provide the faith-informed counseling student an opportunity for self-reflection, self-evaluation, and self-understanding to facilitate the process of becoming a thoughtful provider of counseling resources.