COUNSELING THEORIES

Comparison of Counseling Theories

Comparison of Counseling Theories

Introduction

The large majority of Christian counselors today are not content to rely solely on the Word of God for “all things that pertain unto life and godliness”. Many Christian counselors have sought to wed their theories with the Bible in the hopes of integration. At the heart of most of these efforts is the essential theological and philosophical foundation, that is, the unity of truth.

However, what is meant by truth is seldom considered. For instance, is one talking about scientific facts involving the brain and the body, or about God's truth which saves and elevates the soul and spirit? If a godless person such as Jonas Salk, a New Ager, comes up with a vaccine for polio that is not truth, rather it is the facts of science. It is possible for godless men to learn some of the facts of nature, but not the truth that sets men free, unless the Spirit of God reveals those things to them. It mocks God to believe that anti-Christians have been inspired to fill in a missing portion of the truth that God Himself declares He has already revealed in its fullness in His holy Word.

Jesus said, Thy Word is truth and I am the truth, not part of the truth. Most of what passes as “Christian” psychology and counseling is dealing with subjects upon which God has spoken with finality and about which He claims to have communicated in His Word as the whole truth. There are no parts of this truth missing from Scripture and left to be discovered among the theories of non-inspired and godless men such as Freud, Jung, Maslow, Rogers, and others. To suggest that there is such a lack of spiritual truth contradicts the clear testimony of Scripture and the consistent teaching of the church for twenty centuries. The early church withstood the Roman arena and the Inquisition leaving the stamp of her martyrs upon the pages of history long before Freud or his successors came upon the scene to muddy the clear water of life.( Gary, 108)

Discussion

At this point, it is critical to compare and evaluate several theories of counseling. Jay Adams, Gary Collins, and Larry Crabb are all influential men in the field of psychology and counseling. Each man's approach to dealing with emotional and behavioral problems is distinct. To identify these distinctives, along with either the strength or weakness of a particular view, in the light of Scripture, will be the goal.

The first counseling theory to evaluate is that of Dr. Lawrence Crabb, Jr. Crabb has been quite influential in the field of counseling and Christian growth. He witnesses Christians struggling in their Christian lives and sincerely wants to offer help. He has written numerous books in the field of psychology and counseling.

Crabb's counseling theory focuses on his belief that the unconscious1 (core of his being) needs of an individual is the reason for one's emotional and behavioral ...