Counseling and Christianity: Five Approaches

by Stephen P. Greggo, Timothy A. Sisemore, Eric L. Johnson

Overview

What does authentic Christian counseling look like in practice? This volume explores how five major perspectives on the interface of Christianity and psychology would each actually be applied in a clinical setting. Respected experts associated with each of the perspectives depict how to assess, conceptualize, counsel and offer aftercare to Jake, a hypothetical client with a variety of complex issues. In each case the contributors seek to explain how theory can translate into real-life counseling scenarios. This book builds on the framework of Eric L. Johnson's Psychology Christianity: Five Views. These include the Levels-of-Explanation Approach, the Integration Approach, the Christian Psychology Approach, the Transformational Approach and the Biblical Counseling Approach. While Counseling and Christianity can be used independently of Johnson's volume, the two can also function as useful companions. Christians who counsel, both those in practice and those still in training, will be served by this volume as it strengthens the connections between theory and practice in relating our faith to the mental health disciplines. They will finally get an answer to their persistent but unanswered question: "What would that counseling view look like behind closed doors?"

Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) Books explore how Christianity relates to mental health and behavioral sciences including psychology, counseling, social work, and marriage and family therapy in order to equip Christian clinicians to support the well-being of their clients.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780830839780
Publisher:	InterVarsity Press
Publication date:	07/24/2012
Series:	Christian Association for Psychological Studies Books
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	549,715
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Stephen P. Greggo (Psy.D.) is department chair and associate professor of pastoral counseling and psychology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He is a licensed psychologist and has a variety of ministry and counseling experiences. He regularly leads workshops and gives presentations at CAPS, AACC and ETS.

Timothy A. Sisemore (Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary) is director of research and professor of psychology and counseling at Richmont Graduate University in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and maintains a clinical practice at Richmont's CBI Counseling Center. He is the author of several books, the most recent being The Clinician's Guide to Exposure Therapies for Anxiety Spectrum Disorders.

Eric L. Johnson (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is Lawrence and Charlotte Hoover Professor of Pastoral Care at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He is editor of God Under Fire and the author of Foundations for Soul Care. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Psychology and Theology, Journal of Psychology and Christianity, and the Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care. In addition he is the director of the Society for Christian Psychology (AACC).

Table of Contents

Foreword by Eric L. Johnson
1. Setting the Stage for the Five Approaches
2. Moving Models into Practice
3. A Levels of Explanation Approach, Thomas G. Plante
4. An Integration Approach, Mark R. McMinn
5. A Christian Psychology Approach, Diane Langberg
6. A Transformational Approach, Gary W. Moon
7. A Biblical Counseling Approach, Stuart W. Scott
8. Distinctives and Dialogue
9. Conceptualization and Contextualization
10. Case Scenarios for Further Exploration
Author and Subject Index
Scripture Index

Editorial Reviews

"Consideration on how to best integrate faith into counseling can (and perhaps should) be a life-long endeavor. This book offers an opportunity for both new and seasoned Christian psychologists to contemplate and appreciate diverse approaches to integrating Christian faith with counseling and psychotherapy."

Bethany Claes

"Consideration on how to best integrate faith into counseling can (and perhaps should) be a life-long endeavor. This book offers an opportunity for both new and seasoned Christian psychologists to contemplate and appreciate diverse approaches to integrating Christian faith with counseling and psychotherapy."

--Bethany Claes, Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 36/1

From the Publisher