Biblical Counseling

Definition and Meaning

Biblical counseling is an approach to counseling that treats the Bible as the primary basis and sufficient standard for addressing people's struggles and problems. Broadly, the term refers to any counseling grounded in Scripture. More narrowly, it refers to the movement proposed by Jay E. Adams, who taught practical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in the United States, in his 1970 book Competent to Counsel. The term "nouthetic" derives from the Greek verb noutheteō (νουθετέω), meaning "to admonish" or "to warn"; in Korean it is rendered as "admonitory counseling."

The movement emphasizes three things:

• The sufficiency of Scripture: Scripture alone is regarded as sufficient for dealing with the problems of life.
• Sin and sanctification: Many problems are addressed from the standpoint of sin and sanctification (the process by which a Christian grows progressively in holiness).
• Counseling as a ministry of the church: Counseling is understood as the work of the church and of pastoral ministry.

Adams distinguished problems of physical origin, such as brain damage, which he held should be referred to physicians.

Biblical and Historical Background

The following passages are frequently cited in support of this approach:

• "warning every man" in Colossians 1:28
• "able also to admonish one another" in Romans 15:14
• Colossians 3:16
• 2 Timothy 3:16–17, which states that Scripture makes a person "perfect"

In the mid-twentieth century, counseling in American churches was heavily influenced by psychological theories such as psychoanalysis and client-centered therapy. Biblical counseling emerged in opposition to this trend. Adams and others founded the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF) in 1968, and an association of counselors, the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC), was formed in 1976. The organization is reported to have changed its name to the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) in 2013. Later, David Powlison and others refined the theory, giving deeper attention to the motives of the heart and to suffering rather than to behavioral correction.

The approach has also been the subject of debate:

• Criticism from the integration model: Proponents of the "integration" model, which seeks to incorporate the findings of psychological research within a Christian worldview, criticize biblical counseling for neglecting the medical aspects of mental illness and for risking the reduction of problems to sin.
• Response from biblical counselors: Biblical counselors hold that psychological theories also rest on underlying assumptions about human nature and are therefore not neutral. They also respond that their approach does not exclude medical treatment.

Practice in the Korean Church

In Korea, biblical counseling was introduced through translations of related books. It has drawn interest mainly in denominations and seminaries of a Reformed orientation. Meanwhile, the pastoral theology and Christian counseling programs of many graduate schools of theology often take an integrative approach that also draws on psychology. In Pentecostal and charismatic circles, there is also a tendency to combine counseling with prayer ministry and inner healing.

In church settings, biblical counseling generally takes place in contexts such as the following:

• pastoral visitation by ministers
• admonition within discipleship training and small groups
• counseling training programs offered by churches or organizations

Even within the same denomination, opinions vary on how far psychology should be accepted.