Agape Counseling Center Articles

The Temperament Theory Pt. 1

August 16, 2006

Ken Wilson

At Agape Counseling Center we use a counseling method called Temperament Therapy, which is now becoming more and more accepted in Christian counseling circles. This theory is basic to the belief that, "we are created by God with different temperaments." In fact, some counselors call this Creation Therapy.

The temperament, in simple terms, is the genetic, inborn part of man that determines how we react to people, places and things. It reveals certain characteristics and traits that are a part of us, and that reveal what we are. In short, it is how we interpret our environment and interact with it. The temperament pinpoints our perceptions of ourselves (and the people who love us). It is also the determining factor in how well we handle the stresses and pressures of today.

Hippocrates (460-370 B.C.) was the first to bring to light the theory of temperament, even though he may have been building on the thoughts of Impedocles (495-435 B.C.). Since Hippocrates did not have the scientific tools that are available today, his theories were based on his observations of man's behavior. According to Hippocrates, man's behavior was governed by the color of bile within a person's body.

The body fluids, which Hippocrates called humors, were divided into four classifications: 1. Blood, 2. Black Bile, 3. Yellow Bile, and 4. Phlegm. He believed that an excess of one or more of these fluids would cause the person to behave according to the nature of the fluid(s): i.e., a person who had an over-abundance of black bile would be an extremely dark, moody person, as in melancholy. As we know today, the theory of humors has proven to be scientifically unsound, but it has given us a basic understanding of the differences in human behavior.

In 1927, Alfred Adler interpreted Hippocrates' four temperaments as the Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholic, and Phlegmatic.

Dr. Tim LaHaye, a well known contemporary Christian author and psychologist, has successfully challenged the Christian community with the probability that temperament needs and traits are God-given characteristics, and are genetically inbred differences of uniqueness. Many temperament therapists believe that the temperament is: "who we really are" (characteristics and traits unique to the person) and that the personality is: "who we portray ourselves to be." The wider the difference between the temperament and the personality, the higher the anxiety/stress level a person will experience. This produces a stronger possibility of engaging in destructive and compulsive/obsessive behavior.

This author is a Licensed Pastoral Counselor and a Board Certified Clinical Supervisor with the National Christian Counselors Association, which endorses the Temperament Theory and has developed the Temperament Analysis Profile. From the questions answered, this profile reveals the temperament traits and characteristics of the counselee. This profile is quite accurate, which I can attest to, having used it with hundreds of clients as of the date of this writing.

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