The Christian Counselor's Manual [Hardcover]

Jay E. Adams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1973

The Christian Counselor's Manual is a companion and sequel to the author's influential Competent to Counsel. It takes the approach of nouthetic counseling introduced in the earlier volume and applies it to a wide range of issues, topics, and techniques in counseling: *Who is qualified to be a counselor? *How can counselees change? *How does the Holy Spirit work? *What role does hope play? *What is the function of language? *How do we ask the right questions? *What often lies behind depression? *How do we deal with anger? *What is schizophrenia? These and hundreds more questions are answered in this comprehensive resource for the Christian counselor. A full set of indexes, a detailed table of contents, and a full complement of diagrams and forms make this an outstanding reference book for Christian counselors.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The Christian Counselor's Manual is a companion and sequel volume to the author's influential Competent to Counsel. It takes the approach of nouthetic counseling introduced in the earlier volume and applies it to a wide range of issues, topics, and techniques in counseling: Who is qualified to be a counselor? How can counselees change? How does the Holy Spirit work? What role does hope play? What is the function of language? How do we ask the right questions? What often lies behind depression? How do we deal with anger? What is schizophrenia?

%These and hundreds more questions are answered in this comprehensive resource for the Christian counselor. A full set of indexes, a detailed table of contents, and a full complement of diagrams and forms make this one of the best reference books currently available for Christian counselors. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From the Author

Dr. Jay E. Adams is Director of Advanced Studies and Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Escondido, California. He received his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University, his B.D. from the Reformed Episcopal Theological Seminary, his S.T.M. from Temple University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri. In addition to having served as a pastor and then a Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Dr. Adams has been the Dean of the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation, Laverock, Pennsylvania, since its founding in the early 1970s. He has written over fifty books, translated the New Testament into English (The Christian Counselor’s New Testament), and lectured throughout the world. His books deal with many aspects of pastoral ministry and counseling as well as Bible study and practical Christian living --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 476 pages
• Publisher: Baker Book House; Hardcover in dust jacket, 476 pages including Appendices and Indexes. Baker Book House, 1981. This book is the sequel and companion volume to Competent to Counsel by this same author edition (1973)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801000718
• ISBN-13: 978-0801000713
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,506,777 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jay E. Adams (PhD, University of Missouri) is a former director of advanced studies and professor of practical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, as well as a retired pastor. He has written over fifty books on pastoral ministry, preaching, counseling, Bible study, and Christian living. His books include Competent to Counsel, The Christian Counselor's Manual, and Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage in the Bible.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sufficiency of the Scriptures, April 28, 2006

By 

Thomas Dawsey - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christian Counselor's Manual, The (Hardcover)

Adams always is a delight to read. While Adams is not perfect he is passionate about the right things and hits the nail on the head on almost every issue. He blazed the trail for modern noutetic counseling. Those who have expressed problems with this book do not have the high view of Scripture that Adams holds and do not understand the depravity of man as the Bible teaches. They also do not understand how the presuppostions of psychology are anti-Christian and they do not bring glory to God. This is a very practical book that is a good read for all Christians who seek to restore their bretheren (Gal. 6)

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Christian Counselor's Manual b Jay E. Adams, September 26, 2007

By 

MamaVi "MamaVi" (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Christian Counselor's Manual, The (Hardcover)

It is an excellent addition to an Christian counseling library. It has unquie advise for a pastoral counseling that is a little difficult to locate. Each section is covered with gentleness and care for both the client and respect for the conselor. It covers prayer in a way that is foreright and frankly not covered by many textbooks. It is comprehensive in its scope covering the client, the attitudes of the counselor as well as a full range of topics. It is a first line of defense help book.I appreciate the scripture references as well as the honor of giving pratical homework. The book does not shy away from difficut subjects like sin, fears,and the importance of giving hope. I appreciate the concretness of the books presentation.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent blend of counseling theory and counseling practice., February 14, 2008

By 

No one of consequence (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Christian Counselor's Manual, The (Hardcover)

This venerable volume from Jay Adams, who for decades has been one of the undisputed leaders in the field of nouthetic counseling, is just as relevant today as it was when it was originally published in 1973. Now thirty five years later, biblical counselors all across the country, and indeed around the world, turn to Adams' wisdom and experience as encapsulated in this text. No true biblical counselor's library is complete without it.

Adams spends some of the early chapters of this book explaining the foundational theory behind biblical counseling, counterposing it to inherently flawed secular methodologies like psychoanalysis/psychotherapy (Freud), behaviorism (Skinner) and non-directive counseling (Rogers), to name the main ones. Much of this material echoes what Adams said in "Competent to Counsel".

From there he moves on to elaborate on key themes like the indispensibility of hope, reconciliation, biblical change, and the need to identify and treat sin for what it is. Practical explanations abound for essential techniques of data gathering, assigning effective homework, and dealing with a wide range of specific problems, such as fear, anger, sexual problems, communication breakdowns, schizophrenia, etc.

Admittedly, this volume does not tell the nouthetic counselor everything he or she needs to know to counsel effectively. There is a large and growing body of other related resources from Adams and many other competent authors to assist the counselor in more specific ways. However, this book offers the fundamental framework for counseling practice that is common to all issues. It would be very difficult to practice true nouthetic counseling without applying the principles in this book.