Christian Psychology and Counseling Theory
Paraclete Ministries
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Calls for Christian Psychology Models
“But even a moderate philosophy of science which wishes to avoid relativism must today accept that would
appear that Christian psychologists would at least be open to the possibility of a distinctively Christian
psychology, a psychology which would reflect distinctively Christian convictions and values, just as
feminist and Marxist psychology reflect feminist and Marxist convictions and values.” (p. 16)
“Lack of confidence that Christian psychology could lead to genuine knowledge seems tantamount to me to
lack of confidence that Christianity itself can be known to be true. If Christianity is true, and can be known
to be true, why should not those who study human beings as Christians gain true insights?” (p. 137)
C. Stephen Evans. (1989). Wisdom and Humanness in Psychology.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
“Why is it that we have not gathered any significant bank of psychological data? Why have we failed
to examine carefully the underlying philosophical presuppositions of secular psychology and suggest some
biblical alternatives? Why have we not developed either a definitive Christian theory of personality or a
general theory of behavior?” (p. 31)
“We would like to go further and suggest several other reasons for our past failure to establish a distinctively
Christian psychology.” (p. 32)
John D. Carter and Bruce Narramore. (1979). The Integration of Psychology and Theology.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
“Critical evaluation needs to be followed up with the second stage, theory-building. After Christian scholars
have discerned the advantages of secular models with which they have interacted in the critical-evaluation
phase, they need to develop new and different theories to incorporate these insights. They need to propose
new hypotheses and theories for scholarly examination, ones which bear the imprint of the Christian
presuppositions. We would contend that good ‘integrators’ must not only review research, but do research
as well. This implies active involvement in the process of doing science, informed by enlightened notions of
philosophy of science (Evans, 1989). . . . Currently, the community of Christian psychologists is weak in
this area.” (pp. 22-23)
“Our hope is to contribute eventually to the theory-building enterprise from a Christian presuppositional
base.” (p. 23)
“Developing a tested Christian psychotherapy is our dream. . . .We do not offer a powerful new theory, but
hope to encourage the development of thoroughly Christian thinking.” (p. 23)
“When we move to the level of a comprehensive understanding of the ‘person,’ then there will be a
distinctively Christian approach to psychology.” (p. 58)
“No counseling model we know of embodies the diversity of interaction styles that seem to be recommended
in Scripture. So, as the Christian therapist moves beyond a secular theory, one needed area of growth is an
expanded vision of technique that incorporates the eclecticism found in Scripture.” (p. 59)
“The development of well-articulated, comprehensive Christian models will not be facilitated by the
presence of divisiveness, territoriality, and claims of exclusive possession of the truth . . . Humility and a
commitment to community interaction and feedback are vital for progress to occur.” (p. 396-397)
“Such a well-articulated, comprehensive and integrated approach to Christian counseling does not exist
today. We cannot offer the definitive model.” (p. 398)
“The Christian mental health establishment is far from being the effective handmaiden of the church that it
ought to be. Pastors, when they are honest, often feel that they are mainly seen as a referral source by the
mental health professional, people to be romanced by the psychotherapist to yield the obvious payoff of
paying clients. . . . Pastors are more aware than ever that it cannot be taken for granted that psychotherapy
is advancing the cause of the church, because there is often too much slippage between therapy goals and the
church’s needs.” (p. 415)
“We would advocate the need to think with Christian clarity about the theoretical approaches to
understanding and changing people, which provide the background for all counseling practice.”
(p. 415)
“Too much of what passes for integration today is anemic theologically or biblically, and tends to be little
more than a spiritualized rehashing of mainstream mental health thought. The church has a rich corporate
history in the field of pastoral care which we need to know about if we are to be Christian psychotherapists.
Psychology was a division of practical theology long before it became a separate field and the pastoral care
tradition has rich resources to digest.” (p. 415)
“Have we engaged in an intentional dialogue whereby we put in practice our desire to be responsive to and
centered on the will of God and the welfare of the church over and beyond our individual professional
welfare?” (p. 416)
Stanton L. Jones and Richard E. Butman. (1991). Modern Psychotherapies.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
“A consistent body of such thinking can eventually form the foundation for Christian theories that have
intellectual respectability.” (p. 127)
“Growing out of the critiquing stage is a final and ideal component, theory building. Marsden asks
rhetorically why there are no identifiable Christian schools of thought in mainstream academe, comparable to
Marxist, feminist, gay, postmodern, and African American systems.” (p. 127)
“What seems to be missing is a body of work by Christian scholars that moves beyond philosophical
justifications for faith-and-learning synthesis to actual examples of this type of scholarship.” (p. 128)
“Writing is difficult; theory construction is even more so. Christians engaging in this component of the faith-
and-learning dialogue make a major contribution, at the very least by breaking ground on the theory-building
component. No matter how convoluted their initial constructions, they have begun the necessary task of
developing within their disciplines models of thought that square with a Christian worldview.” (p. 129)
“The Christian community would benefit greatly from the development of some foundational theories in
various disciplines, particularly the pre-paradigmatic humanities and behavioral sciences. Almost any serious
attempt at theory building has at least some redeeming value, because it is a seed that can germinate into
quality Christian scholarship examination and research. And these . . . could stimulate ongoing research and
theorizing, all the while building a body of knowledge that coheres with basic Christian notions. . . .
Christians can use this work, ever sifting, researching, and theorizing as they build academically competent
yet Christian modes of thinking.” (p. 130)
“The theory-building work of Christian thinkers can go on in the mainstream university or at the Christian
college. In any case, there is a need to develop ever stronger academic communities to engage the effort.” (p.
133)
“Given all the accusations of pathology associated with Christian belief, and even simply theistic belief,
extant in the mental health field, it would be interesting to see a Christian mental health model.” (p. 275)
David Claerbaut. (2004). Faith and Learning on the Edge.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
“In 1991, after a comprehensive review of counseling theory, Jones and Butman noted that no clear or
preferred theory of Christian psychology or psychotherapy yet existed, and they called for believers to
engage in theoretical integrationism, or ‘responsible eclecticism.’” (p. 48)
“Bufford . . . noted that integration is used in many contexts with many different meanings. He then panned
the use of integration as an organizing concept because it implies that our knowledge base is fragmented and
needs to be put back together. He argues that integration is deficient terminology as it belies the unity of
truth in a biblical Christian worldview.” (p. 49)
“Our goal is to challenge all Christian counselors toward a more intentional development of a descriptive,
prescriptive, and heuristic perspective that will help guide the practice, teaching, and research in our field for
years to come.” (p. 50)
“We must facilitate a biblical paradigm for counseling and help shape a caring community where people are
able to grow into what God intends them to be. Such dedication thrives on excellence and creativity.” (p. 697)
“There are many holes and gaps in our models and treatment methods, we lack a solid empirical base to
support their validity, and our knowledge base is not yet systematically organized and taught.”
(p. 701.)
“We need a simple yet potent model that shows the efficacy of Christian counseling across a wide range of
applications. . . . We need to have an effective model. . . . Christian counseling needs a broadly accepted,
biblically based, Spirit-directed, and empirically validated model that invites Christ into the helping process.”
(p. 37)
“This emphasis on theoretical integrationism . . . involves constructing a theory of theories, one that seeks to
incorporate all the best findings that have defined the very essence of counseling. . . . The rise of metatheory
as a preferred mode of counseling development has allowed counselors ‘to operate within [a] holistic
framework by integrating moral concepts with physiological/sensorimotor issues [and] to reconstrue
counseling and therapy as basically spiritual in nature.’. . .We firmly believe the recent trend in Christian
counseling, that of bio-psycho-social-spiritual therapy, will prove to be just this kind of useful metatheory.”
(p. 162)
Timothy Clinton and George Ohlschlager. (2002). Competent Christian Counseling.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
“The result is an inability to communicate across conflictual worldviews, compounded by the absence of
substantive research and/or theoretical literature from Christians about psychopathology and the demonic. . .
. A model that accounts for a multiplicity of causal factors in the relationship between emotional distress and
illness and the etiology of problems of the mind and body is needed.” (p. 225)
“At its core, psychopathology is the study of wounded souls. Given this, the voice of the church is
desperately needed in contemporary deliberations on the nature of human function and dysfunction. The
absence of a clear Christian voice in part reflects the discipline’s general indifference toward faith-based
perspectives on psychopathology. However, some of the responsibility for this must be owned by the
church as a whole, and in particular by Christians in the field of psychology who have been reluctant to
stand up and be heard within the scientific community. . . . Perhaps the most significant challenge in the
work of psychopathology is regaining our lost voice.” (p. 434)
“Strikingly absent . . . in the field of psychopathology are voices stemming from a Christian worldview and
asking the nosological questions that emerge from it.” (p. 441)
"There is a great need for theory formulation, research and treatment planning that acknowledges the reality
of evil and sin and the impact of these on the developmental processes of childhood and adolescence. If this
work does not emerge from Christians in the field of mental health, it will not likely be done." (p. 372)
Mark Yarhouse, Richard Butman, and Barrett W. McRay. (2005). Modern Psychopathologies.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Christian psychology is sometimes characterized as a new movement within Christian counseling (Mark R.
McMinn and Clark D. Campbell. 2007. Integrative Psychotherapy, p. 24). However, as an effort to build a
psychology from within, rather than simply with, a Christian worldview, Christian psychology initiatives
predate focused Christian integrationism efforts by many decades. In 1912 Oswald Chambers’ wife
published verbatim notes from lectures Chambers gave in 1911 at the Bible Training College, London. The
book title: Biblical Psychology. Fifty years prior to Chambers's book, theologian Franz Delitzsch (1813-
1890) published A System of Biblical Psychology (1855, 1861)--before Sigmund Freud was born (1856).
appear that Christian psychologists would at least be open to the possibility of a distinctively Christian
psychology, a psychology which would reflect distinctively Christian convictions and values, just as
feminist and Marxist psychology reflect feminist and Marxist convictions and values.” (p. 16)
“Lack of confidence that Christian psychology could lead to genuine knowledge seems tantamount to me to
lack of confidence that Christianity itself can be known to be true. If Christianity is true, and can be known
to be true, why should not those who study human beings as Christians gain true insights?” (p. 137)
C. Stephen Evans. (1989). Wisdom and Humanness in Psychology.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
“Why is it that we have not gathered any significant bank of psychological data? Why have we failed
to examine carefully the underlying philosophical presuppositions of secular psychology and suggest some
biblical alternatives? Why have we not developed either a definitive Christian theory of personality or a
general theory of behavior?” (p. 31)
“We would like to go further and suggest several other reasons for our past failure to establish a distinctively
Christian psychology.” (p. 32)
John D. Carter and Bruce Narramore. (1979). The Integration of Psychology and Theology.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
“Critical evaluation needs to be followed up with the second stage, theory-building. After Christian scholars
have discerned the advantages of secular models with which they have interacted in the critical-evaluation
phase, they need to develop new and different theories to incorporate these insights. They need to propose
new hypotheses and theories for scholarly examination, ones which bear the imprint of the Christian
presuppositions. We would contend that good ‘integrators’ must not only review research, but do research
as well. This implies active involvement in the process of doing science, informed by enlightened notions of
philosophy of science (Evans, 1989). . . . Currently, the community of Christian psychologists is weak in
this area.” (pp. 22-23)
“Our hope is to contribute eventually to the theory-building enterprise from a Christian presuppositional
base.” (p. 23)
“Developing a tested Christian psychotherapy is our dream. . . .We do not offer a powerful new theory, but
hope to encourage the development of thoroughly Christian thinking.” (p. 23)
“When we move to the level of a comprehensive understanding of the ‘person,’ then there will be a
distinctively Christian approach to psychology.” (p. 58)
“No counseling model we know of embodies the diversity of interaction styles that seem to be recommended
in Scripture. So, as the Christian therapist moves beyond a secular theory, one needed area of growth is an
expanded vision of technique that incorporates the eclecticism found in Scripture.” (p. 59)
“The development of well-articulated, comprehensive Christian models will not be facilitated by the
presence of divisiveness, territoriality, and claims of exclusive possession of the truth . . . Humility and a
commitment to community interaction and feedback are vital for progress to occur.” (p. 396-397)
“Such a well-articulated, comprehensive and integrated approach to Christian counseling does not exist
today. We cannot offer the definitive model.” (p. 398)
“The Christian mental health establishment is far from being the effective handmaiden of the church that it
ought to be. Pastors, when they are honest, often feel that they are mainly seen as a referral source by the
mental health professional, people to be romanced by the psychotherapist to yield the obvious payoff of
paying clients. . . . Pastors are more aware than ever that it cannot be taken for granted that psychotherapy
is advancing the cause of the church, because there is often too much slippage between therapy goals and the
church’s needs.” (p. 415)
“We would advocate the need to think with Christian clarity about the theoretical approaches to
understanding and changing people, which provide the background for all counseling practice.”
(p. 415)
“Too much of what passes for integration today is anemic theologically or biblically, and tends to be little
more than a spiritualized rehashing of mainstream mental health thought. The church has a rich corporate
history in the field of pastoral care which we need to know about if we are to be Christian psychotherapists.
Psychology was a division of practical theology long before it became a separate field and the pastoral care
tradition has rich resources to digest.” (p. 415)
“Have we engaged in an intentional dialogue whereby we put in practice our desire to be responsive to and
centered on the will of God and the welfare of the church over and beyond our individual professional
welfare?” (p. 416)
Stanton L. Jones and Richard E. Butman. (1991). Modern Psychotherapies.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
“A consistent body of such thinking can eventually form the foundation for Christian theories that have
intellectual respectability.” (p. 127)
“Growing out of the critiquing stage is a final and ideal component, theory building. Marsden asks
rhetorically why there are no identifiable Christian schools of thought in mainstream academe, comparable to
Marxist, feminist, gay, postmodern, and African American systems.” (p. 127)
“What seems to be missing is a body of work by Christian scholars that moves beyond philosophical
justifications for faith-and-learning synthesis to actual examples of this type of scholarship.” (p. 128)
“Writing is difficult; theory construction is even more so. Christians engaging in this component of the faith-
and-learning dialogue make a major contribution, at the very least by breaking ground on the theory-building
component. No matter how convoluted their initial constructions, they have begun the necessary task of
developing within their disciplines models of thought that square with a Christian worldview.” (p. 129)
“The Christian community would benefit greatly from the development of some foundational theories in
various disciplines, particularly the pre-paradigmatic humanities and behavioral sciences. Almost any serious
attempt at theory building has at least some redeeming value, because it is a seed that can germinate into
quality Christian scholarship examination and research. And these . . . could stimulate ongoing research and
theorizing, all the while building a body of knowledge that coheres with basic Christian notions. . . .
Christians can use this work, ever sifting, researching, and theorizing as they build academically competent
yet Christian modes of thinking.” (p. 130)
“The theory-building work of Christian thinkers can go on in the mainstream university or at the Christian
college. In any case, there is a need to develop ever stronger academic communities to engage the effort.” (p.
133)
“Given all the accusations of pathology associated with Christian belief, and even simply theistic belief,
extant in the mental health field, it would be interesting to see a Christian mental health model.” (p. 275)
David Claerbaut. (2004). Faith and Learning on the Edge.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
“In 1991, after a comprehensive review of counseling theory, Jones and Butman noted that no clear or
preferred theory of Christian psychology or psychotherapy yet existed, and they called for believers to
engage in theoretical integrationism, or ‘responsible eclecticism.’” (p. 48)
“Bufford . . . noted that integration is used in many contexts with many different meanings. He then panned
the use of integration as an organizing concept because it implies that our knowledge base is fragmented and
needs to be put back together. He argues that integration is deficient terminology as it belies the unity of
truth in a biblical Christian worldview.” (p. 49)
“Our goal is to challenge all Christian counselors toward a more intentional development of a descriptive,
prescriptive, and heuristic perspective that will help guide the practice, teaching, and research in our field for
years to come.” (p. 50)
“We must facilitate a biblical paradigm for counseling and help shape a caring community where people are
able to grow into what God intends them to be. Such dedication thrives on excellence and creativity.” (p. 697)
“There are many holes and gaps in our models and treatment methods, we lack a solid empirical base to
support their validity, and our knowledge base is not yet systematically organized and taught.”
(p. 701.)
“We need a simple yet potent model that shows the efficacy of Christian counseling across a wide range of
applications. . . . We need to have an effective model. . . . Christian counseling needs a broadly accepted,
biblically based, Spirit-directed, and empirically validated model that invites Christ into the helping process.”
(p. 37)
“This emphasis on theoretical integrationism . . . involves constructing a theory of theories, one that seeks to
incorporate all the best findings that have defined the very essence of counseling. . . . The rise of metatheory
as a preferred mode of counseling development has allowed counselors ‘to operate within [a] holistic
framework by integrating moral concepts with physiological/sensorimotor issues [and] to reconstrue
counseling and therapy as basically spiritual in nature.’. . .We firmly believe the recent trend in Christian
counseling, that of bio-psycho-social-spiritual therapy, will prove to be just this kind of useful metatheory.”
(p. 162)
Timothy Clinton and George Ohlschlager. (2002). Competent Christian Counseling.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
“The result is an inability to communicate across conflictual worldviews, compounded by the absence of
substantive research and/or theoretical literature from Christians about psychopathology and the demonic. . .
. A model that accounts for a multiplicity of causal factors in the relationship between emotional distress and
illness and the etiology of problems of the mind and body is needed.” (p. 225)
“At its core, psychopathology is the study of wounded souls. Given this, the voice of the church is
desperately needed in contemporary deliberations on the nature of human function and dysfunction. The
absence of a clear Christian voice in part reflects the discipline’s general indifference toward faith-based
perspectives on psychopathology. However, some of the responsibility for this must be owned by the
church as a whole, and in particular by Christians in the field of psychology who have been reluctant to
stand up and be heard within the scientific community. . . . Perhaps the most significant challenge in the
work of psychopathology is regaining our lost voice.” (p. 434)
“Strikingly absent . . . in the field of psychopathology are voices stemming from a Christian worldview and
asking the nosological questions that emerge from it.” (p. 441)
"There is a great need for theory formulation, research and treatment planning that acknowledges the reality
of evil and sin and the impact of these on the developmental processes of childhood and adolescence. If this
work does not emerge from Christians in the field of mental health, it will not likely be done." (p. 372)
Mark Yarhouse, Richard Butman, and Barrett W. McRay. (2005). Modern Psychopathologies.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Christian psychology is sometimes characterized as a new movement within Christian counseling (Mark R.
McMinn and Clark D. Campbell. 2007. Integrative Psychotherapy, p. 24). However, as an effort to build a
psychology from within, rather than simply with, a Christian worldview, Christian psychology initiatives
predate focused Christian integrationism efforts by many decades. In 1912 Oswald Chambers’ wife
published verbatim notes from lectures Chambers gave in 1911 at the Bible Training College, London. The
book title: Biblical Psychology. Fifty years prior to Chambers's book, theologian Franz Delitzsch (1813-
1890) published A System of Biblical Psychology (1855, 1861)--before Sigmund Freud was born (1856).
"Christian counseling has perpetually searched for a comprehensive theory--a metaperspective that can help
integrate biblical wisdom, personality theory, developmental constructs, psychopathology, and spiritual
formation." (p. 51)
Tim Clinton, Archibald Hart, and George Ohlschlager. (2005). Caring for People God's Way.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
"Something more is needed if, after forty years of integration, Jones and Butman's (1991) call over fifteen
years ago for a second stage of integration work that produces 'new and different theories' has hardly been
attempted, let alone realized." (p. 103)
Eric L. Johnson. (2007). Foundations for Soul Care: A Christian Psychology Proposal.
________________________________________________________________________________________
years ago for a second stage of integration work that produces 'new and different theories' has hardly been
attempted, let alone realized." (p. 103)
Eric L. Johnson. (2007). Foundations for Soul Care: A Christian Psychology Proposal.
________________________________________________________________________________________