Member Spotlight: Dr. Donald Ibbitson

ABOVE AND BEYOND COUNSELING ACADEMY

Above and Beyond Counseling Academy, is an NCCA Certified Academic institution since September 10, 2008. Dr. Donald Ibbitson, the President, is an NCCA Licensed Clinical Pastoral Counselor, Advanced Certified. He is also an International Representative of the Sarasota Academy of Christian Counseling.

Dr. Ibbitson informs us that Spirits of lust and pornography run rampantly through our nation and, indeed, the church today. That statement does not represent revelation to anyone paying attention to secular news or keeping up with drama in the church.

Like many of you, we encounter male and female pastors, leaders, and lay persons who are in bondage in this area and desperately seek freedom.

At Above & Beyond, we adopt a two-prong approach, if the client concurs, that incorporates deliverance ministry and APS testing. Along with traditional counseling techniques and tools, we also focus extensively on deliverance ministry and have done so for more than twenty years.

We believe Christians can be indwelt and tormented by demonic spirits that must be driven out, per Mark 16:17, if those are the root of their struggles. Once that is done, the client is better able to receive and act upon godly counsel, including recommendations from the APS profiles.

Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that our struggles are not fleshly but against spiritual forces of evil (demons) in the heavenly and earthly realm. We have seen people helped tremendously by calling out spirits of lust, perversion, pornography, and others that torment believers in this area.

If the client is open (and most are because they know about our Center), we first take them through our five-step delivery process.

That is the ideal approach because the inner torment will be released. Some clients experience such freedom that they do not want to continue counseling.

However, we recommend the APS testing to help them stay free and make life and mind battle changes to walk out their freedom.

Common Temperament Themes in Clients

My issues are common to all. We have found that the Melancholy temperaments appear most prone to becoming addicted to pornography. Still, we find the loner temperament, with their tendency to isolate, active fantasy life, and desire for intimacy to end with sexual activity as conducive to this.

One of our counselors dealt with a client who was bombarded with stress. He used porn as a release which got him entangled in perversion and addiction. He scored Melancholy in Affection, so he did not make it a priority to express affection to his wife. This caused her to draw away, and he became addicted to porn and went on a downward cycle. He lost his wife and family.

Another individual, Melancholy in Inclusion, had a man cave and found no guilt or shame because he wasn't hurting anyone in his office.

One of our counselors, José Barreda, has been a counselor for over thirty years and shared these insights on his experience with temperament tendencies linked to pornography and immorality:

"It has been my experience that through my years of Temperament Counseling, all temperaments have the tendencies to fall into the grips of pornography and immorality. In counseling primarily men, I have seen that the Melancholic temperament tends to fall deeper into self-gratification more than any other of the temperaments. Secondly, I have seen those Phlegmatic mixes with the Melancholic and Sanguine are drawn to immorality and get addicted to pornography.

In counseling couples or women, I have seen that the Sanguine and Melancholic women tend to practice self-gratification. I believe that romance novels, movies, and the promotion of immodesty have lit the fuse to these tendencies in women with these temperaments. Yet all temperaments may be affected due to cultural or generational concerns, any type of trauma which brings out insecurity, lack of operation in our God-given spiritual gifts, and using these gifts for personal gain or gratification. All temperaments are also affected by any emotional or especially sexual abuse as well as Those men with melancholic temperaments are isolated and yet are longing for partnership and affirmation. Intrusive thoughts defraud these men, and their inclusion and affection tendencies of not having the ability to express affection are drawn away by their imagination. Melancholic people, both men and women are highly creative. The media often defrauded this creativity to imagine themselves into immoral and lustful visual entertainment. If the melancholic is merged with the phlegmatic, their sense of insecurity and inferiority is escalated.

Those with the Sanguine or Sanguine/Phlegmatic blend constantly need to be with people. This fear of rejection triggers their impulse for self-gratification. Social media has played a big part in helping them cope with the 'feeling' of isolation or not being wanted.

Even though the Sanguine can respond or recover faster and regain their composure when rejected, the Melancholic or Phlegmatic have a challenging time with this fear of abandonment. One of the things we have found in counseling is that when one feels hurt or rejected, anger is the trigger that leads one to practice any act of impurity. Many that suffer from sexual immorality, even perversive sexual bondage, have identified rejection from an authority figure or spouse. They react in anger and fall into the trap of self-gratification and selfish ambitions.

Cholerics have a unique battle with sexually addictive behavior. In many cases, I have seen those with this temperament tendency. Their demand for affirmation makes them want to constantly be avowed and appreciated. When they do not get this recognition, they pursue it vehemently, and in many cases cause family divisions."

One of our counselors dealt with a woman who saw her sister killed in front of her at age five and was also molested by an uncle at thirteen. She began to masturbate to ease her pain, got involved in pornography, and descended into a destructive sex addiction lifestyle. She was Melancholy in Control and Sanguine in Affection and managed to keep her secret life hidden for a long time. Deliverance freed her from the addiction but beating pornography involved a six-month struggle to win mind battles.

We all know that Melancholies typically:

• Don't express their needs

• Have highly active minds

• Engage in sexual fantasies

• Need affection to end in physical expression.

Sanguines in Affection require a lot of love and, if unmet, are undoubtedly prone to unhealthy relationships and pursuits that can open the door to pornography, lust, and more.

After deliverance from the demonic torment, we focus on helping our clients learn how to wage warfare in the mind, to take thoughts captive as memories resurface. Because pornography comprises a substantial visual component linked to emotional stimulation, the walk to total freedom is often tenuous and involves daily battles.

We live in a sensually stimulating environment, and social media/internet options only fan the flames of whatever issues a person is dealing with. As counselors, we need to bring our knowledge, best tools, and solutions to bear as we co-labor with Holy Spirit to set the captives free.