Helping the Helpers

OCD, ADHD, PTSD, Bipolar Disorder . . . these are not just diagnoses from the DSM; they are part of our everyday vocabulary and understanding of people. As Christians, how should we think about psychiatric diagnoses and their associated treatments? We can't afford to isolate ourselves and simply dismiss these categories as unbiblical. Nor can we afford to accept the entire secular psychiatric diagnostic and treatment enterprise at face value as though Christian Scripture is irrelevant for these complex mental struggles. Instead, we need a balanced, biblically (and scientifically!) informed approach that is neither too warmly embracing nor too coldly dismissive of psychiatric labels and the psychiatric medications that are often prescribed. Biblical counselor and retired physician, Michael R. Emlet, gives readers a helpful way forward on these important issues as he guides lay and professional helpers in the Christian church through the thicket of mental health diagnoses and treatments in a clear, thoughtful primer in which the Bible informs our understanding of psychiatric diagnoses and the medications that are often recommended based on those labels. This first book in the Helping the Helper series will give readers biblical, gospel-formed categories that will help them understand and minister to those who are struggling with mental health issues. Michael R. Emlet, MDiv, MD, practiced as a family physician for over ten years before becoming a counselor and faculty member at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF). He is the author of the minibooks Asperger Syndrome, Chronic Pain, Angry Children, and Help for the Caregiver, as well as the books CrossTalk: Where Life & Scripture Meet and Descriptions and Prescriptions: A Biblical Perspective on Psychiatric Diagnoses and Medications.

What makes counseling biblical? What does the biblical counseling process entail? What is the focus of each stage of the process? Lauren Whitman, an experienced CCEF counselor, addresses these questions and more in A Biblical Counseling Process, sharing a process from start to finish that will help guide counselors in reaching the hearts of their counselees and connecting them to Jesus, who brings hope and change. Although there is not a one-size-fits-all formula for biblical counseling, Whitman captures the scope of a counseling process and identifies two major tasks for the beginning, middle, and the end. Each chapter builds on the last to explain, describe, and illustrate these key tasks. Throughout the audiobook, listeners will follow a case study woven into the narrative, offering a clear example of how to apply the counseling process in real life. As part of CCEF's Helping the Helper series, A Biblical Counseling Process will equip counselors, pastors, and lay leaders to approach their counseling ministry intentionally so that their work faithfully points people to the Lord, considers who he is, his heart, and what he calls us to. Useful for new and seasoned counselors alike, this resource will equip helpers with a vision for what a progression of counseling looks like. Lauren Whitman, MA, is a staff counselor at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF), where she has served for a decade. She also serves as the developmental editor of the Journal of Biblical Counseling and is the author of A Painful Past: Healing and Moving Forward and A Biblical Counseling Process. Whitman, her husband, and their two children make their home in the Philadelphia area.