The Popular Encyclopedia of Christian Counseling by Dr. Tim Clinton and Dr. Ron Hawkins

Seasoned counselors and professors Tim Clinton and Ron Hawkins provide a landmark reference that offers a capstone definition of the emerging profession and ministry of the Christian counselor. Appropriate for professional counselors, lay counselors, pastors, students, and teachers, it includes nearly 300 entries by nearly 100 top Christian counselors. At approximately 500 pages, this practical guide focuses on functional aspects of Christian counseling and explores such important topics as…



•Christian counseling as a profession, ministry, and lay ministry


•Spiritual and theological roots


•Social, emotional, and relational issues


•Skills and essentials in Christian helping


•Ethical and legal considerations


•Intake, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning


•Premarital counseling, family therapy, and substance abuse


Counselors will also find up-to-date information on solution-based brief therapy, cognitive therapy and biblical truth, and trauma and crisis intervention. An essential resource for maintaining a broad and up-to-date perspective on helping others.

My review:
I asked to review this book for a reason. I feel the average pastor is ill equipped to counsel their church members in a lot of areas. I know there are some issues that people should see a professional counselor about, but a book like this can be a great tool for not only professional counselors, but also pastors.

The book starts out with a section defining and describing Christian counseling. There is a lot of information on counseling methods and processes in Christian counseling.

There are sections on different types of disorders, and ways to treat them. It covers everything from self esteem issues, dealing with abortion, and sexual issues, to personality disorders.

The book comes in at 572 pages, including the index. A complete book of this type would need a lot more pages, but from my poring through the book, I feel this is an excellent tool and help for anyone doing any kind of Christian counseling. I would highly recommend it to anyone doing counseling on any level.

About the authors:

Ron Hawkins, EdD,  is a licensed professional counselor and serves on the executive board of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is professor of counseling as well as the vice-provost of distance learning and graduate studies at Liberty University and Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He is also the coauthor of Quick-Reference Guide to Biblical Counseling.

Tim Clinton, EdD, is president of the nearly 50,000-member American Association of Christian Counselors. He is professor of counseling and pastoral care at Liberty University and executive director of its Center for Counseling and Family Studies. Licensed as a professional counselor and marriage and family therapist, Tim has written or edited 13 books, including Turn Your Life Around



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The Popular Encyclopedia of Christian Counseling is available from Harvest House Publishing.
 
Thanks to Harvest House for the review copy.