TRUTH IN LOVE BIBLICAL COUNSELING
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Philosophy of Biblical Counseling

"And we urge you, brothers and  sisters, admonish the rebellious, comfort the discouraged, strengthen the weak, be patient toward all."  1 Thessalonians 5:14 

The Truth in Love Family of Ministries has adopted as their Philosophy of Biblical Counseling, Dr. David Powlison's, "Affirmations & Denials: A Proposed Definition of Biblical Counseling" (The Journal of Biblical Counseling • Volume 19 • Number 1 • Fall 2000). The document is downloadable just below the introductory paragraphs that follow):                                             
                                                                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The modem Christian has access to more knowledge, better material blessings, more disposable time, and more professional help than his predecessors. Yet frequently he is self-indulgent in his focus, confused in his concepts of life, and racked with inner pain.

The large number of books about personal wholeness in Christian bookstores should convince the observer that attempts are being made to solve these problems. But on closer inspection, he will find a lack of consensus. If he knows some theology he will also discern a non­theistic theory and practice, designed to correct human maladjustment, spliced into Biblical concepts. The result is a mixture of conflicting and often erroneous concepts. Jehovah is wedded to a golden calf.

The language in these books is often that of secular psychology and a culture that gauges life by the degree of pleasure and fulfillment it produces. In counseling, this expectation translates into the goal of helping clients or counselees feel good.

Psychology and counseling, at their core, deal with the nature of man. What a practitioner does is inextricably bound to his system of assumptions. Counseling theory and practice are by nature deeply theological. It is impossible to help people without implementing theological beliefs.

Thus, The Biblical Counselor faces two demands.

First, he must begin with the Word of God and a consistent grammatical, historical, and theological interpretation of it. He must not move from the study of man and his social context back to the Bible. A systematic understanding of the Word of God is his standard, not man and his social context.


Second, his methodology must be consistent with a theological interpretation of man and man's social context. He cannot choose, or allow his counselee to choose, goals-or methods to achieve those goals-that violate Biblical principles.
Affirmations and Denials, a la David Powlison.pdf
File Size: 165 kb
File Type: pdf
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IABC Affirmations and Denials pamphlet.pdf
File Size: 5046 kb
File Type: pdf
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  • Home
  • Biblical Counseling & Soul-Care
    • What Is It?
    • Counseling List
    • Counseling FAQ's
    • Statement of Practice
    • Philosophy of Biblical Counseling
    • Philosophy of Care
    • Counseling Team Approach
    • Privacy and Confidentiality
    • Training as a Biblical Counselor
  • Counseling Team
    • Portland/Vancouver Counseling Team
    • King County, WA Counseling Team
    • Southern California Counseling Team
    • Texas Counseling Team
    • East Coast Counseling Team
    • Canada Counseling Team
  • Unbound
    • Unbound Basics
    • Unbound Team
    • Unbound Training >
      • Unbound Leadership Training
      • Unbound Training Center Certification >
        • Application - Certified Unbound Training Center
    • Unbound Audiobook Resources
    • How & Why It Works
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Helpful Articles >
      • About Abuse and Oppression
      • Addiction
      • Domestic Oppression
      • Depression
      • Defeating Impurity & Pornography
      • Feeling Worthless
      • Forgiveness
      • Shame: Stop Shoulding Yourself
      • Steps to Healing
    • Videos >
      • Rethinking Depression
      • Chemical Imbalance Delusion
      • Domestic Oppression Workshop
      • Toward a Biblical Understanding of Self-Harm
      • Washing With the Word
      • PTSD & CPTSD
      • Biblical Paradigm for Marriage
      • When a Love One Says "I'm Gay"
      • Gender Matters - Created Male & Female
      • Transgenderism
      • My Child's Been Molested
      • After a Leader's Moral Failure
    • Behind the Veil: Domestic Oppression
    • Counselor Resources
    • Restored Hope Network
    • Free eBook
    • Freedom is Possible
    • Statement on Marriage, Human Sexuality, and Gender
    • Statement on EMDR
    • ETS Paper - Homosexuality & The Church: A Biblical Paradigm for Ministry
  • Contact Us