Christian counseling

Christian counseling is pastoral counseling that drawsupon psychology and Christian; practitioners approachpsychology through the lens of the Bible.[1]

1 History

Christian Counseling began in the end of the 1960s lead-ing into the 1970s with the Biblical Counseling Move-ment directed by Jay E. Adams which brought to atten-tion in his book Competent to Counsel a Christian-basedapproach which was different from the psychological andpsychiatric solutions of the time. He was a devout Protes-tant who believed that it was the job of the church toheal people who he believed were morally corrupt, butlabeled by society as mentally ill. He did not believe inpsychological practices and he gained converts but alsolost popularity among people as well. [2] Prior to thismovement, counseling had become something more sec-ular and not associated with the church. People such asCharles Darwin, who questioned the book of Genesis andhow life began in his book Origin of Species published in1859. This caused panic in the church because it calledin to question everything that the church believed at thetime. Following in that direction, Later Wilhelm Wundt,a main contributor to the scientific method, introduced itto psychology and claimed that one’s biological makeupwas the reason why humans are the way they are. He wasone of the main drivers behind psychology being lookedat in the scientific realm. In addition to Wundt, SigmundFreud believed that the church had failed to counsel in thecorrect way, so he came up with psychotherapy, “the talk-ing therapy”, apart from the church. These were drivingfactors behind why the responsibility of counseling wasmoved away from the church and began to be secular-ized. The Church began to fall behind the ever-changingscientific field that seemed to blossom quickly. WhenAdams did come along he brought the attention back tothe church but his influence faded in the 1980s only tobe continued by David Powlison. Powlison converted toChristianity in his adult life publishing a journal, Journalof Biblical Counseling that made his beliefs known andwas extremely influential in this movement. Because ofhis work, biblical counselors reflected on their movementand began to seek ways that it could improve which hadnever really been called to question before. His aim wasto advance what had already been started by Adams. [3]

2 Integration with psychology

Efforts to combine counseling, psychotherapy or otherscientific or academic endeavors with Christian or otherreligious perspectives or approaches are sometimes called“integration.” Integration of academic subjects withtheology has a long history in academia and continues inmany colleges and universities that have continued theirfounding religious underpinnings. [4] There are multi-ple kinds of integration, as it has been defined differentlyover the years. The way in which Christianity has beenintegrated with psychology thus far is by considering theways in which psychology and the bible agree and notintegrating the teachings of psychology that don’t agreewith the bible. While this tactic is still in progress andcontinuing to be looked at there have been significant ef-forts to try and integrate the two. Two men Stanton Jonesand Richard Buteman came up with a list of three dif-ferent methods on how to integrate psychology and theChristian faith. The methods are called Pragmatic eclec-ticism, Metatheoretical eclecticism, and Theoretical inte-gration. The first method, pragmatic eclecticism, looks atthe best solutions for resolving patients’ problems basedon previous research comparing different methods thathave been used. The second method is concerned withthe effectiveness of the counselor and looks at the tac-tics they are using that are beneficial and those that arenot. The third method takes theories that are previouslyexisting and makes that the baseline from which furtherresearch can build upon. [5]What all integrators of Chris-tianity and Psychology do believe as underlying truth isthat all truth is God’s truth.[6]

3 Principles of Christian Counsel-ing

Christian counseling focuses on a fewmain principles thatare different from traditional counseling. It focuses onthe care of the whole person as it is also sometimes named“soul-care”, and maintains the values taught in the bible.The aim of Christian counseling is to help people regaina sense of hope for their life that is found in Jesus Christ.Faith-based counseling has been increasingly sought af-ter in recent years. When people seek counseling, peo-ple are open to the idea of having their lives transformedand changed in a positive way. People are searching foranswers in the midst of pain and suffering that is experi-enced in life and to obtain meaning for their life. Chris-

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tian counseling believes that at the core of what they dois to help others achieve a better understanding of them-selves and God which is rooted in the Holy Spirit’s con-viction. People become aware of the sin in their lives thathas caused them suffering but also come to know the im-mense worth and value they have as a person to God.[7]

4 Criticism

Jay E. Adams published Competent to Counsel in 1970,criticizing the influence of psychology throughout Chris-tian counseling. He began the Nouthetic counselingmovement which teaches that the Bible alone is sufficientfor all counseling.[8]While Nouethic counseling is strictlybased on the biblical scriptures and the power of the holyspirit separate from any psychological implementations,Christian counseling tries to implement psychology andChristianity still keeping God and biblical truths in thepicture. While they do not take psychology as the ab-solute answer or solution to problems that people face,rather it is used as a tool in unity with Christianity tohelp people have a deeper understanding of themselvesand God. Therefore, Christian Counseling should not bethought of in opposition to psychology but as complemen-tary, it is not a competing religion. Though some Chris-tians do reject the teachings of science completely, othersthink that they shouldn’t have to be separate and that theycan be integrated together. Christian Counseling aims todo just that.[9]

5 References[1] Lelek, Jeremy. “Biblical Counseling Defined”. Associa-

tion of Biblical Counselors. Retrieved 4 December 2014.

[2] Powlison, David (2010). The Biblical Counseling Move-ment. Greensboro: New Growth Press. ISBN 978-1-935273-13-4.

[3] Lambert, Heath (2012). The Biblical Counseling Move-ment After Adams. Crossway. pp. 30–33. ISBN 978-1-4335-2813-2.

[4] Stevenson, Daryl H.; Eck, Brian E; Hill, Peter C (2007).Psychology & Christianity integration: Seminal works thatshaped the movement. Batavia, IL: Christian Associationfor Psychological Studies. ISBN 978-0-9792237-0-9.

[5] Jones, Stanton; Buteman, Richard. “Modern psychother-apies: A comprehensive Christian appraisal”. InterVarsityPress.

[6] Stevenson, Daryl; Ick, Brian; Hill, Peter (2007). Psychol-ogy & Christianity Integration: Seminal Works that Shapedthe Movement. Batavia, Illinois: Christian Association forPsychological Studies. ISBN 978-0-9792237-0-9.

[7] Clinton, Timothy; Ohlschlager, George (1984). Compe-tent Christian Counseling. Colorado Springs, Colorado:Waterbrook Press. ISBN 978-1-57856-517-7.

[8] “History”, About, NANC.

[9] Wallace, Ken. “Integrating Psychology and Christianity”.Integrating Psychology and Christianity. Retrieved 4 De-cember 2014.

6 External links• Christian counseling at DMOZ

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