Customer Reviews

Christian Counseling That Really Works

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This is a masterpiece on psychotherapy in general, and Christian counseling in particular. The Self Compass growth tool and the LAWS of personality (Love and Assertion, Weakness and Strength) will immediately empower therapists, pastoral counselors, and chaplains. Lay persons who seek personality wholeness can apply these user-friendly concepts as well.

The Compass Model is diagnostic and therapeutic at the same time. As soon as you recognize how a person is stuck on one or more compass points, you encourage the person to take action steps into unused compass points, thereby making practical progress toward a balanced Self Compass. Montgomery explains and demonstrates 25 therapeutic techniques that stimulate personality healing and relational fulfillment. He also shows how to integrate a person's whole human nature in the counseling process: mind and heart, spirit and body. This promotes therapeutic transformation with lasting results.

I've read countless books in this field for over twenty years. Dr. Dan Montgomery's Compass Therapy stands head and shoulders above the rest.

Raymond D. Anderson, Ph.D., Th.D., LPCC

Self-help books fill the shelves but very few provide real, lasting help in making real, lasting changes. This book does. It doesn't matter if you read it as a counselor looking for new ideas to assist patients or as a person seeking to make life changes, this book "really works" as the title says. If you're looking for something that will actually make a difference in the way you cope with life situations, difficult people, personal challenges or emotionally stresses, pick this book up today.

This book introduces the reader to the compass model and how to use it to zero in on exactly where a counselee is having problems. The compass theory is easy to understand and to apply in its basic form. Author Dr. Dan Montgomery has developed this technique and shares it with Christian Counselors as an effective counseling tool. Dr. Montgomery is well respected among his peers and has held a license as a Psychologist and Marriage and Family Therapist for over twenty-five years. He has taught at the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Psychology, the United States International University, and the University of New Mexico. His work and techniques are praised by the likes of the Yale Divinity School, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Fuller Theological Seminary.

In the book Dr. Montgomery covers the basics of the Compass system, the anatomy of a counseling session, dealing with the counselee's image of God, and using metaphors and symbolization in therapy. Appendix I provides basic commentary on twenty-five specific techniques that provide quality tools to aid the counselor. In the second appendix he even includes some short True/False self-assessment tests to help map out the counselee's position on the compass.

Written for the Christian Counselor these techniques and the compass model can be used not only by clinicians but also by pastors, chaplains, and others involved in this healing ministry. Christian Counseling that Really Works is highly recommended to everyone involved in counseling in any form.

I've never read anything related to psychology or counseling, but a friend gave me this book and I loved it. The author riveted my attention from beginning to end. I could visualize each case study as though the person was right in front of me. Every point was presented in a logical and memorable way. And the Self Compass growth tool gave me valuable information about myself and other people that I immediately used. I predict that this book will become a bestseller!

I loved this book and consider it is a must read for any pastor, counselor, or counselee who works within the realm of a spiritual background. I have known Dr. Montgomery for over 30 years and have benefited from his writings and supervision. This book synthesizes his philosophy and his practice. It is readable and user friendly, and will be worth reading and re-reading for years to come.

Rev. Dr. Bernardo Monserrat, D.D.

As I converted from Islam into Christianity, I have had my own set of issues to deal with. How easy for people to throw in Bible verses right in your face and they think they just "fixed" your pain problem. By leaving Islam, I dealt with rejection as an outcast. I have also had a lot of anger and less trust in people after being betrayed. I have talked to many people of godly counsel, but frankly nobody is like Dan Montgomery. He is not in an ivory tower but he is right down to earth and meets you where you are in a compassionate way showing you how to truly apply the Bible principles in counseling that really"works". I liked a lot what he had to say on feeling God's presence even though when we don't feel like it. I had to read this part in his book over and over again. I even plan to translate to myself in Arabic, my native tongue, and apply it to myself as well as those I evangelize in the Muslim religion. This is "The Lean-Against-the Wall Technique" on pages 115,116,117 and 118. As I have come to explore the American male psyche, this part is the best answer that I can also give in response to the question of why I don't feel like my prayer just hit the wall and I can't feel God. If you read where I have begun all along in my Christian journey and how Dan has helped me, you would really appreciate his book enormously.

Compass Therapy is an impressive addition to the field of counseling and psychotherapy. The Self Compass and the 25 therapeutic techniques enrich counseling sessions and empower treatment strategies. Clients find these concepts user-friendly and relevant to daily life.