[.uk] Christian Counseling 3rd Edition: Revised and Updated (ISBN 1418503290)

Truly a Comprehensive Guide:
Gary Collins does a fine job of writing a truly "Comprehensive Guide." Some readers may find Collins too much of an integrationist. In order to fully understand Collins view of integration, you may want to read his work The rebuilding of psychology: An Integration of Psychology and Christianity. This will help you truly grasp Collins view before you read through Christian Counseling. In a nutshell, Collins advocates that psychology can be rebuilt, but only from a Christian perspective. From that point, you can utilize discovers from secular psychologist. What makes this book "user friendly" is the organizational factor. As with many counseling books, you have to read them from cover-to-cover, but this book is designed so you can read any chapter without reading the entire book. This is an important factor for those that are trying to help people with a particular problem. Each chapter is laid out as follows (11)... 1. Case Example 2. Introduction 3. What the bible says 4. Survey of causes / effect 5. Counseling considerations 6. Suggested ways to prevent the problem Even if you do not agree with Collins rebuilding approach, you will certainly find a significant amount of information for helping others. This is definitely the type of book that you will pull off of your shelf more than once.

One of the most complete Christian Counseling Manuals Around:
This book has everything a Christian Counselor would want to know and need to learn in counseling clients with a blend of biblical principles and psychological training. It is an outstanding book, incorporating years of experiences and practical studies with methodology that has been proven by both the American Psychological Association and the American Association of Christian Counselors to benefit the client and counselor. I highly recommend Christian Counseling - 3rd Edition to anyone who is considering becoming a counselor as part of a church lay counseling ministry or a professional clinician working with those who deal with Christian/spiritual issues. It is a must read! Well worth the time and investment.

The manual of Christian Counseling:
This is an excellent thorough Christian counselor's guide. It should be required reading for all Christian counselor's. It is required in most Biblical counseling programs. Every Christian counselor and maybe even pastor's should have this in their reference library.

Required Reading for Every Counselor:
Gary Collins text on Christian Counseling is one of the most comprehensive resources available for counselors. As a seminary adjunct professor and lecturer at several Bible colleges this book has been required reading for the students. Gary Collins is an icon in Christian counseling with numerous books that speak to the issues that counselors need to hear. The book is divided into eight parts and addresss the church and counseling, personal issues,developmental issues, interpersonal-identity-and family issues, along with other issues such as addictions, mental disorders and spiritual concerns. Originally released in 1988 the topics and biblical principles are still relevant today. The text has also been revised, updated and expanded. "Christian Counseling: A Comprehensive Guide" is a much needed resource for clinicians, lay counselors, pastors and leaders.

A keeper!:
This is a must buy! This is a keeper. It is a necessary reference for all Christian libraries. I refer to it often.