Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling

by Mark McMinn

Publisher:

Tyndale

, 1996

Overview

This book is part of a professional series that offers counselors the latest techniques, theory, and general information that is vital to their work. While many books have tried to integrate theology and psychology, this book takes another step and explores the importance of the spiritual disciplines in psychotherapy, helping counselors to integrate the biblical principles of forgiveness, redemption, restitution, prayer, and worship into their counseling techniques.

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Key Features

• Includes bibliographical references
• Resource to equip Christians for evangelism

Contents

Top Highlights

“Thus, the Christian counselors best prepared to help people are those who are not only highly trained in counseling theory and techniques and in theology but also personally trained to reflect Christian character inside and outside of the counseling office. This character cannot be credentialed with graduate degrees or learned in the classroom; it comes from years of faithful training in the spiritual disciplines—prayer, studying Scripture, solitude, fasting, corporate worship, and so on.²² On this new frontier of intradisciplinary integration, the personal life of the counselor is an essential ingredient for productive professional work.” (Page 14)

“Intradisciplinary integration is a recently emerging frontier for Christian counselors. The question is not how we understand the relationship between psychology and theology but how we practically use the Christian faith in our counseling. Change brings challenge, and Christian counselors face several significant challenges as they bring religion into their counseling offices. Religious interventions require us to understand spiritual formation, place priority on personal spiritual training as well as professional development, challenge prevailing models of mental health, work toward a stronger scientific base, and sensitively recognize ethical issues.” (Pages 26–27)

“The professionalization of counseling has led to the myth that all that is relevant are those things that clients observe, such as a counselor’s demeanor, affective response, and display of empathy. I disagree: the kind of therapeutic relationships that foster healing are not formed merely from well-chosen techniques but grow out of the person’s inner life.¹⁵ In this sense, counseling is both professional and personal.” (Pages 12–13)

Product Details

• Title: Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling
• Author: Mark R. McMinn
• Publisher: Tyndale
• Publication Date: 1996
• Pages: 336

About Mark McMinn

Mark R. McMinn, Ph.D., is professor of psychology at Wheaton College Graduate School in Wheaton, Illinois, where he directs and teaches in the Doctor of Psychology program. A diplomate in Clinical Psychology of the American Board of Professional Psychology, McMinn has thirteen years of postdoctoral experience in counseling, psychotherapy, and psychological testing. McMinn is the author of Making the Best of Stress: How Life's Hassles Can Form the Fruit of the Spirit; The Jekyll/Hyde Syndrome: Controlling Inner Conflict through Authentic Living; Cognitive Therapy Techniques in Christian Counseling; and Christians in the Crossfire (written with James D. Foster).