Christian Counseling 3rd Edition: Revised and Updated

Years ago, I was cleaning out over forty years of Elder’s files for the congregation where I attend. I was looking for sensitive information like names, addresses and phone numbers to shred. I came across a letter written to the elders by a former member who had decided to leave the church. I am always interested in knowing the reasons people would give to leave the church. In the letter I found, a woman cited her reason for leaving was that the Minister acted unprofessional in counseling for her needs. Normally a letter like this could be brushed off as an expression of sour grapes or a matter of personal preference. I knew this minister and he often treated church members in a condescending fashion, especially when they disagreed with him. Later, he was the cause of a mass exodus of twenty-three church families from the congregation that felt the same way as this woman. Perhaps, if this minister had read Collins, Gary Christian Counseling, A Comprehensive Guide. Thomas Nelson, 2007, this series of unfortunate events might have turned out differently.The author, Gary R. Collins is a licensed psychologist and is co-founder of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He keeps informed about current counseling trends while editing Christian Counseling Today magazine. His book, Christian Counseling, is a comprehensive guide written to help church leaders in counseling work. This massive volume registers at 976 pages of small type print and includes every conceivable issue that a Christian counselor might face. The author even has two special chapters on other issues and counseling waves of the future to address areas that might have been missed in other counseling books because they do not fall into a category large enough to address alone.Since this book is so long and large, I found the type and text difficult to read. I considered it a personal challenge to finish reading through the entire text. In fact, I now feel that I can read any other book that appears challenging in volume size with small text.There is much to recommend in reading such a difficult book. I discussed the writing with family and friends while working to understand sensitive issues like depression, anxiety, guilt, forgiveness, sex apart from marriage, abuse and neglect. These are subjects that enslave many people but this book was written to set souls free from these burdens.The book works best for me as a reference guide. At the close of each chapter, Gary Collins includes a section called Key Points for Busy Counselors. The key points listed usually summarize fifteen to twenty pages of a chapter. I find it helpful to refer back to these key points as topics for future reference.My favorite chapter, called the Counselor and Counseling places a strong emphasis on pre-counseling preparation. The section advises readers about preparation techniques to help present themselves as professionals while counseling. What I especially found refreshing was a strong emphasis on prayer and biblical scripture reading used in preparation before seeing a new client. This type of preparation can set the tone for future counseling sessions while letting the counselee know that there is structure and spiritual guidance required to be in partnership with God, the Son and the Holy Spirit.A complete notes section in the back of the book lists scripture references the author used to teach Christian counselor etiquette. This sets the Christian counseling session apart from a secular counselor’s approach that looks to the counselor, rather than including God as the final authority.In a book this size, there is some duplicity. At times, I found myself with the feeling of déjà vu as I read chapters on family issues, interpersonal issues and control issues where the writing seemed to overlap in language, technique and counseling method. If a person only read partial sections of the book this process of duplicity would be fine.Still, I found some refreshing ideas that I discovered that could be of help to Christian counselors. It can be easy to get into a self- diagnosis mode while reading about subjects that are close to home. One example is the subject of how to handle the difficulty of change. All of us are going through changes; some subtle and other changes are glaring. Managing change poorly can make the counselor feel like a hypocrite. While trying to guide people toward lasting change, it can be easy for the counselor to backslide into advising people to do as I say, not as I do. Struggles like weight gain, financial difficulty and marital relations need to be corrected at the counselor level before any success can be achieved with others caught in similar struggles.Gary Collins reminds us that counseling is about stories. Personal stories he uses at the beginning of each chapter often fall flat when I compare them to other Christian counseling books. However, these stories force the reader to engage in personal introspection as you start to read each chapter. I found myself doing much soul searching while reading this book.Despite the size and difficulty in reading the manuscript, I would highly recommend that a reader make the effort to read the complete the text. A major take away I get from this book is found in the scripture reading of (Matt. 7:7-8 NIV). Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Unlike the minister in our story, we do not need to counsel people alone. Instead, I believe that God will find a way through us, if we trust in Him from the beginning.

This book was explosive in nature… exposing past faults in this field, contemporary challenges, and futuristic probabilities. This is a must read for anyone in the field of ministry.

Great information presented in the book and would recommend for anyone who is wanting to get into the feild of biblical counseling.

I've just started reading this to not only help others but for my own needs. This book can be used "as a resource guide for individual counselors, a manual for Christian leaders (including pastors), a textbook for students and their professors, a training tool for lay counselors, a source of information for those who want a greater understanding of human behavior, a guide to the biblical basis of counseling, and sourcebook that gives greater awareness of people-helping skills."

This is a great resource. It's packed with information for counsellors, pastors, and Christians involved in helping professions.

I just began reading as there’s a lot to read, but all very good subjects I’m sure I can use as a “lay counselor” guiding women who want to be heard and want to make heathy choices as they plan their future.

The book came in preety good conditions and arrived on time.

This is what I do. So I know a good book about my field when I read one. Practical ideas that can be located quickly for tough situations for the rookies in this area.