Taking Scripture seriously includes studying the people God made
I respect the desire to keep Scripture central. I share it. Where I disagree is with the conclusion that psychological knowledge is therefore unnecessary for counseling.
Christians already depend on knowledge that is not supplied within the Bible itself. We study languages, history, and cultural context to understand what its authors meant. Even someone reading an English translation benefits from that work. Those resources do not replace Scripture's authority; they help us understand it.
We also study the world God made. We learn how to repair a car, develop medicine, and communicate effectively in situations Scripture does not describe in technical detail. Why should careful study of human emotions, development, and relationships become unnecessary when we enter the counseling room?
The disagreement is about what belongs in counseling
Nouthetic and biblical counselors are not all making identical claims. Jay Adams's description of nouthetic counseling locates its counsel in Scripture. The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors distinguishes medical care from counseling while arguing that secular psychology is unnecessary for counseling.
My objection is not that these counselors never go to a doctor or use knowledge from outside the Bible. It is the boundary itself. Why should we welcome learning about the body while treating careful learning about human development, emotions, and relationships as unnecessary to helping a person?
Saying that a concern is spiritual does not settle which observations might help us understand it. Our beliefs, bodies, histories, and relationships are involved in the same life.
What this changes in an actual conversation
Consider a parent who knows they should be patient but repeatedly loses their temper. Knowing the biblical instruction matters. So does understanding what happens before the reaction: exhaustion, overstimulation, fear, expectations, or experiences that have shaped how they interpret their child.
If a child's disagreement feels like disrespect, I want to know what respect means to that parent. Does it mean speaking without insults? Does it mean never questioning an instruction? Does being questioned make the parent feel inadequate or out of control? Those answers lead to different conversations.
We can take responsibility seriously while asking those questions. Understanding why someone reacts does not excuse the reaction. It may help them recognize what they have missed and practice a response that is both firm and loving.
The same applies to a woman who knows she should love her family but has become resentful of everyone needing her. Another instruction to serve may miss the fact that she has no room to rest, believes saying no is sinful, or expects people to notice needs she has never voiced. We need her actual story, not an answer chosen before she has told it.
Discernment is different from dismissal
Taking psychology seriously does not mean accepting every theory, trend, or interpretation. Psychological claims need examination. So do interpretations of Scripture and the assumptions we bring into both conversations. But discernment is different from dismissal.
I do not find the sharp separation between spiritual wisdom and psychological understanding convincing. We counsel whole people. Following Jesus should make us more willing to understand the people he created, not less interested in their complexity.
Scripture shapes my understanding of love, responsibility, forgiveness, worship, and hope. Studying people helps me ask better questions about what those things look like in a particular life. I do not see faithfulness in refusing useful knowledge merely because it was not presented in the form of a Bible passage.
What you can expect at New Pathways
Christian counseling here includes psychological understanding. We may discuss Scripture and prayer, and we may also examine childhood experiences, what happens in your body when you are overwhelmed, the meaning you give to disagreement, or how you have learned to respond to disappointment.
I will not ask you to choose between taking your faith seriously and taking your humanity seriously. If you want counseling that relies exclusively on biblical instruction and excludes psychology, my approach will not be the one you are looking for.
You can read more about Christian counseling in St. Louis or faith and spiritual formation. You do not have to share my Christian beliefs to work with me; this article explains the approach for people who want their faith included.