William Backus - Telling the Truth to Troubled People

Telling the Truth to Troubled People
Copyright 1985
William Backus

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written permission of the publisher and copyright owners.

Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com

Bethany House Publishers is a Division of
Baker Book House Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
www.bakerbookhouse.com

Ebook edition created 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-0-8712-3811-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Books by Dr. Backus

Finding the Freedom of Self-Control
The Good News About Worry
The Healing Power of a Christian Mind
The Hidden Rift With God
Learning to Tell Myself the Truth
Telling Each Other the Truth
Telling the Truth to Troubled People
Telling Yourself the Truth (with Marie Chapian)
What Your Counselor Never Told You

Contents

Introduction

What do you plan to offer readers that they cant find in the excellent books on Christian counseling already available? Carol Johnson, Managing Editor of Bethany House, asked me when I proposed doing this book. Carol, concerned about good stewardshipof time, finances, creativity and marketing skills which go into a successful publishing venturewas suggesting, gently, that there are already books, good books, now on the market for Christian counselors. So why should another one be published?

The recent renewal in the Church has been accompanied by a great interest in reaching out to people who have problems. A veritable geyser of counselors, Bible study and prayer group leaders, and spiritual ministers, all willing and eager, have found themselves in a unique position to offer spiritual counsel to the walking wounded who fill the pews of our churches. As my editor pointed out, a torrent of books pertinent to counseling has poured out of Christian publishing houses. And many of these works do have lasting value.

Particularly worthwhile are writings by Dr. Gary Collins, Dr. James Dobson, and Dr. Larry Crabb. Dr. Crabbs work has recently attracted my attention anew, especially for its success at formulating a specifically Christian psychology based on a Christian view of man, mans fundamental problem, and the transcendent Source of resolution for that problem in Gods revelation. In my view, Crabb has done remarkably well at avoiding the pitfall of offering psychological theories and garnishing them with Christian-sounding phrases.

So why do I think there is room for one more book on counseling? The present volume has several features not commonly found in the existing literature. They are, I believe, becoming important for Christian counselor training.

1. Integration . It is becoming increasingly obligatory for Christians offering counseling to troubled people to acquaint themselves with what is known of clinical conditions, their diagnoses, courses, and treatments. Many Christian counselors have rejected this knowledge, assuming that clinical psychology is nothing but worldly values surreptitiously palmed off on unsuspecting patients. Although values form an important part of psychotherapy, and the values of secular clinicians are at odds with those of Christians, there is nevertheless an increasingly large body of empirical knowledge which makes a difference in treatment. Specific treatments exist for specific conditions, and it is incumbent upon workers in this field to know which is which.

The time is past when the church can tolerate pious but opinionated counselors who insist on exorcizing demons out of people who actually need lithium. This book is a beginning. It attempts to teach counselors something of diagnosis and specific treatments, although it cannot possibly exhaust the subject. All this is integrated with and governed by Christian understanding and values.

2. Specific instructions . Many of the volumes now available for Christian counselor training concentrate on developing an understanding of how the human condition gives rise to problems, the relationship between past and present in human emotional disorders, and the power of God to heal and alleviate misery. I have tried to offer the reader understanding too, but in a context of very specific instruction in methods. Formats for sessions, how-to-do-it dialogue samples (as well as how- not -to-do-it samples), and concrete directions for performing certain counseling operations are presented. It is possible for those who sense Gods calling to a counseling ministry to learn from this book a definitive set of procedures as to what they are going to do in the counseling session.

3. An eclectic counseling method which is based on truth therapy is offered . Although the current popularity of cognitive psychology attests its effectiveness as an explanatory device as well as a powerful change method, Christian authors have been slow to see that it offers a unique opportunity for integration with scriptural reality. The basic tenet of cognitive psychology is that what people believe and tell themselves determines their behavior and their feelings about life.

This very point happens to be the axis on which Christianity turns: belief, faith, is the key to everything! An earlier book authored by Marie Chapian and myself has offered self-training in changing ones own harmful misbeliefs (see Telling Yourself the Truth , Bethany House Publishers, 1980). Our second book was released in the spring of 1984, also from Bethany. Entitled Why Do I Do What I Dont Want to Do? , it teaches the reader to apply truth therapy to the work of overcoming sin. Since the present volume is meant to train counselors in the use of truth therapy, I suggest readers acquaint themselves with both earlier books. They are in no sense prerequisites for the use of this manual, but they will be helpful in showing how misbelief therapy works in a self-help setting. The present volume offers training in methods for applying this misbelief therapy in Christian counseling.

4. Questions for review . The reader will find review exercises at the end of each chapter. Although it has been clearly demonstrated that effective learning is aided by practice in recall, many training resources have been published offering no opportunity for the reader to recall what has been read.

Conscientious review at the end of each chapter using the materials and questions provided will increase the value of this book to the reader who wishes to be a student of Christian counseling and is essential for the reader who wishes to actually apply the skills offered in this book for helping others. The formation of groups and classes for the study of counseling methods is strongly encouraged, and for these groups the discussion questions offer a ready resource.

CHURCH COUNSELING CENTERS

The current spiritual renewal of the Christian Church has seen many innovations. One of the most exciting is the interest in lay Christian counseling which has emerged. The New Testament pictures the Body of Christ as a ministering fellowship, meeting human need with the wisdom of God. What more is necessary to mandate the establishment of lay counseling centers in churches?