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Effective Biblical Counseling by Dr. Larry Crabb

Running Head : A Review of Effective Biblical Counseling

A Review of Effective Biblical Counseling

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Introduction

The pace of lifestyle and the different kinds of experiences that people have on this planet can sometimes create circumstances that are difficult to deal with . Some people live in fear and in discouragement Other reactions to difficult experiences are escape from reality , mental illnesses and in worst cases , suicide . Because of these difficulties people need a better way to deal with their difficult experiences . This

is provided by counseling (Fall , Holden Marquis , 2004 . For simple problems , the counselor does not need to be a professional , he can be a friend , a confidante or a colleague who can sit back and listen to the person unload his stories and sort out his experiences

For Christians and for church people , however , they usually rely on their pastors and their Christian friends in sorting through their problems . More than simply looking at psychological matters and issues Christian counselors usually look to the Bible and to the traditions of the faith in dealing with psychological and mental health issues . Their perspective usually seeks to use the Bible in their counseling . In some cases , counseling that makes use of psychological and psychotherapy strategies is criticized by evangelicals as unbiblical and bing on the occult . Some of these evangelicals tend to hold the Bible as the sole source of authority even for counseling their church members and other Christians

According to Garner (2003 , Christian counseling tends to be seen apart from secular counseling . The reason behind this dichotomy is that the former relies upon a number of Christian concepts , which are not really recognized by its secular counterpart . These concepts include the nature of salvation and sanctification in Christ , the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of people , and the integration of the various aspects of the personality and life of a person . In extreme cases , some authors in Christian counseling discount the benefits and strategies contributed by secular counseling . Garner (2003 ) argues that such a disregard of the strategies offered by psychology is folly and that incorporating strategies of counseling and therapy can help a Christian counselor in helping an individual find the answers to his dilemmas and issues

Effective Biblical Counseling : An Overview

Amid this debate in the ranks of Christian counselors , Dr . Larry Crab (1977 ) wrote Effective Biblical Counseling in an attempt to provide a kind of synthesis between what psychology has to offer and use these principles and theories to enrich the view and practice of Biblical counseling

In his book , he gave focus on the role of the local church as a community of believers . However , it is not merely an association of people , rather , it should be like a big family where the Christians belonging to that local church are helping each other . The local church therefore is the main venue for counseling . The counselors , the author said , does not necessarily have to be trained technically...

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