A Word from Bob

If you are looking for 15 Resources for Counseling the Whole Person, then you have come to the right place. Since that original post, I have added additional materials about biblical counseling and the Bible, the sufficiency of Scripture, the body, the embodied-soul, research, science, and neuroscience. So, at least as of today, this post is now 55 Resources for Counseling the Whole Person. I suspect that it will keep growing…

3 Premises and 2 “Therefores” 

Premise #1: God designed us as complex body/soul beings—embodied-souls.

• Genesis 2:7: “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

Premise #2: God fearfully and wonderfully uniquely designed each of us.

• Psalm 139:13-16: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Premise #3: In the Creation/Cultural Mandate, God calls His image bearers to be “under-shepherds” (God is the Great Shepherd) and “under-scientists” stewarding His creation.

• Genesis 1:26-28: “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’” 

• Psalm 8:4-8: “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.”

Therefore #1: Biblical counselors—as under-shepherds—will develop and follow a “theological anthropology”—a rich and robust biblical understanding of embodied souls that leads to relevant and practical counseling that ministers to people comprehensively—as relational (spiritual, social, self-aware), rational, volitional, emotional, and physical beings—embodied-souls.

Therefore #2: Biblical counselors—as under-scientists—will use the lens of God’s sufficient Scriptures to carefully assess and evaluate neurological research regarding the brain/body connection and then will potentially discerningly implement interventions that specifically address our embodied nature.

Be Like the Bereans in Acts 17 

I suspect that most biblical counselors would agree with my 3 premises, and with my first “therefore.”

I imagine that some biblical counselors might get nervous about my second “therefore.” As a “movement,” we’ve been cautious—perhaps overly-cautious—when it comes to even considering neurological research findings.

I get it. I understand the cautions.

Because of that, I’ve crafted a number of resources to help us to be “good Bereans” (see Acts 17)—thinking Christians who search the Scriptures and then use God’s Word to evaluate any extra-biblical teaching—including research from the world of neuroscience.

Here’s a sampling of some of those resources, in no particular order:

Resource #1 (Free): Scripture and Soul: How to Study the Bible for Biblical Counseling 

I could simply “give you a fish” by giving you results of my biblical studies. Or, I could “teach you to fish” by equipping you to do your own first-hand exegesis of Scripture. That’s what this free 24-page PDF provides: a step-by-step process for developing a biblical theology for biblical counseling.  

Resource #2 (Free): 10 Questions About Biblical Counseling and Neuroscience: Becoming Soul-Physicians of Embodied-Souls

This post collates my thinking about embodied-souls into a preliminary proposal for what an in-depth book on this topic might look like. If you have time for just one post among this list of 55, then this post might be the one to start with…

Resource #3 (Free): Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: Becoming Soul Physicians of Embodied-Souls

This post is a shortened and updated post from 10 Questions About Biblical Counseling and Neuroscience: Becoming Soul-Physicians of Embodied-Souls. It provides a book proposal and table of contents for a biblical counseling book on the body and on biological interventions that biblical counselors could engage in as we serve as soul physicians for embodied souls.

Resource #4 (Free): Hebrew Anthropological Terms as a Foundation for a Biblical Counseling Model of Man 

This is my Th.M. Thesis (from way back in 1985)—available at the link above for free. As the title suggests, it explores Old Testament Hebrew terms and develops a four-fold understanding of the overlapping capacities of the soul:

• We are relational beings: Affections, longings, and desires
• We are rational beings: Beliefs, thoughts, ideas, and images
• We are volitional beings: Motivation, the will, choices, purposes
• We are emotional beings: Moods, feelings, and emotions

My thesis focused purposefully on our inner, immaterial nature—the capacities of the soul, and did not focus per se on our physicality. This thesis seeks to make a contribution to the process of developing a robust “theological anthropology”—a biblical understanding of people.

Resource #5 (Free): A Biblical Counseling Perspective on Neuroscience and the Soul 

The link above provides you with free access/download to the 20-page manuscript of my 2006 ETS (Evangelical Theological Society) paper/presentation. This paper suggests that the history of soul care, historical Christian theology, scriptural exegesis, modern neuroscience, and biblical psychology/biblical counseling all unite to teach holistic functionalism. That is, a human being is one whole being with a variety of complex functioning capacities—relational (spiritual, social, self-aware), rational, volitional, emotional, and physical—with an intricate, intimate psychophysical interactionism. Additionally, this paper considers what scriptural interpretation and scientific interpretation combine to say about the nature of human nature. Thus, it explores the supposed “Scripture/science problem” and recommends a path that emphasizes scriptural authority, sufficiency, and relevancy while also appreciating the catalytic role of scientific research.

Resource #6 (Free): Biblical Counseling and Scientific Research 

In this post, I use recent research on the serotonin-theory of depression to explore how biblical counselors typically use (or misuse) research (the “co-belligerent” use of research). Then I examine and suggest perhaps a more biblical way for us as biblical counselors to assess, evaluate, and potentially use neuroscience-related research.

Resource #7 (Free): Biblical Counseling and the “Co-Belligerent” Use of Research

This post is something of a follow-up or further development upon Biblical Counseling and Scientific Research. It further explains and illustrates the dangers of only using secular research that seems to agree with the researcher’s perspective (“co-belligerent” research).

Resource #8 (Free): 10 Biblical Counseling Concerns About “Bad Therapy”

This is another post that addresses the pitfalls and problems of biblical counselors using “co-belligerent” research—only quoting those who agree with you. Some biblical counselors have applauded Abigail Shrier’s book Bad Therapy because it criticizes some approaches to secular therapy and parenting. I outline ten biblical concerns about Shrier’s book, and describe the dangers of commending this book without also clearly highlighting the secular worldview of the book.

Resource #9 (Free): 400+ Resources on Biblical Counseling and Psychology-Related Research 

Obviously, I’m just one voice. So, I’ve collated resources from hundreds of others.

Why this collation? I’ve found that we often talk past each other in these complex discussions. One reason: we have no clear, agreed-upon definitions, descriptions, or examples of our terms.

• What do we mean by “scientific research”?
• What is “descriptive psychological research”?
• What are examples of “evidenced-based counseling intervention research”?
• What are examples of “neurological research findings”?

I’ve also found that in the biblical counseling world our default view is to take a critical approach toward anything that is extra-biblical—often before we even define it and before we even engage with it honestly, respectfully, and carefully.  Thus, the first major purpose of this collation:

I am providing 100s of first-hand, primary sources—examples of scientific research, descriptive psychological research, evidenced-based counseling intervention research, and neurological research findings—so you can define them accurately and assess them fairly.

So now if someone says, “I’m skeptical of “evidenced-based counseling intervention research,” then we could discuss together scores of particular examples and we could specifically identify potential areas of concern…and potential areas of positive contribution.

This document not only includes primary source examples of extra-biblical resources related to the care and cure of the soul. It also includes 100s of secondary sources—a broad spectrum of perspectives on the possible negative or positive relationship of extra-biblical sources to biblical counseling. Thus, a second major purpose of this collation:

You, the reader, can be a “wise Berean” (see Acts 17) who reads original/primary sources, reads a cross-section of secondary sources providing their perspective, and then you can become an informed and discerning reader drawing your own biblical conclusions—so you can assess everything through the lens of Scripture.

Resources #10, 11, 12, and 13 (Free): A Blog Mini-Series on Reformed Thinking on Common Grace 

This resource includes links (see below) to 4 posts I’ve crafted where I’ve simply collated quotes (in context) from several Reformed thinkers regarding “common grace” (the posts define “common grace”). In our biblical counseling world, we often tend to ignore the doctrine of common grace, or provide very limited definitions of common grace. These quotes challenge us to think through the relationship between common grace, the noetic effect of sin, and scientific research.

• 7 Reformed Theologians on “Common Grace”
• Herman Bavinck on “Common Grace,” Part 1
• Herman Bavinck on “Common Grace,” Part 2
• John Calvin on “Common Grace”

Resources 14 and 15 (Free): Two Posts on Heath Lambert’s Book Biblical Counseling and Common Grace: 

• Biblical Counseling and Common Grace: A Review by Dr. Nate Brooks: The London Lyceum published Dr. Nate Brooks’s review of Heath Lambert’s book Biblical Counseling and Common Grace. You can read Dr. Brooks’s full review here: Biblical Counseling and Common Grace: A Review by Nate Brooks. You can learn about Heath’s book here.
• 2 (Very Different) Reviews of Heath Lambert’s Book, Biblical Counseling and Common Grace: In this brief post, I share a link to Dr. Nate Brooks’s review of Heath’s book, and I share a link to Francine’s Tan’s review of Heath’s book. I then share 26 Prompting Discussion Questions to extend the conversation about Heath’s book.

Resources #16 and 17 (Free): 112 Biblical Passages on Being Embodied-Souls, Part 1. Part 2.

As the titles suggests, in these two posts I collate over 100 biblical passages that can be used as a foundation for developing a biblical theology of embodied-souls. I also provide a free eighteen-page PDF of all 112 passages. 

Resource #18 (Free): Ponderings About Being a _____-Informed Biblical Counselor

This post started as an 18-tweet thread on Twitter, that I then crafted into a blog post that develops biblical parameters for biblical counselors using extra-biblical research. 

Resource #19 (Free): Biblical Counseling, Neuroscience, and Descriptive Research Psychology

I derived this post from chapter 2 of Gospel-Centered Counseling: How Christ Changes Lives. It addresses where biblical counselors stand on issues like neuroscience, descriptive research, and psychotropic medications.

Resource #20 (Free): What Does Biblical Counseling Believe About Extra-Biblical Literature?

Again, I derived this post from chapter 2 of Gospel-Centered Counseling: How Christ Changes Lives. This post highlights the vital question of world-view behind any approach to counseling.

Resource #21 (Free): Anxiety and Our Physical Bodies: God’s Care for Embodied-Souls

I derived this post from my book, Anxiety. It is important to recognize that every emotion involves a complex interaction between body/brain and soul/mind. It is dangerous to assume that all emotional struggles can be directly changed by strictly “spiritual means.” We must remain sensitive to physical factors and organic issues that affect people’s lives. It is wrong to place extra burdens on those who suffer emotionally by suggesting that all they need to do is surrender to God to make all their struggles go away. 

Resource #22 (Free): 4 Reasons Why I Write About Embodied-Souls

Recently, someone thanked me for my posts on embodied-souls, and then asked if I would share what motivates my interest in this topic. In this post, I share 4 Reasons Why I Write About Embodied-Souls. 

Resource #23 (Free): Jay Adams, Nouthetic Counseling, and Neuroscience

Did you know that in Jay Adams’s first book, Competent to Counsel, he discussed neuroscience and nouthetic counseling? Adams said that “The Nervous System Corresponds to the Nouthetic Approach.” This blog post quotes Adams and ponders implications of his views on neuroscience and nouthetic counseling for our views of neuroscience and biblical counseling.

Resource #24 (Free): Meet the Man Who Influenced the Early Nouthetic Counseling Movement: O. Hobart Mowrer

If the modern biblical counseling movement is to think through if and how we might use extra-biblical resources, then it makes sense to ponder how Jay Adams engaged with secular psychology. In this post, I introduce you to O. Hobart Mowrer, a secular psychologist who Jay read and then spent six weeks studying under. 

Resource #25 (Free): 6 Words Describing What Jay Adams and Nouthetic Counseling Do with Secular Psychology

If we are going to discuss how biblical counselors engage with topics like the body, the embodied-soul, descriptive research, etc., then it will help to see how Jay Adams, John Bettler and David Powlison engaged with these topics at the 25^th anniversary of the launch of the modern nouthetic counseling movement. 

Resource #26 (Free): How Biblical Counselors Could Engage Matthew LaPine’s the Logic of the Body

Matthew LaPine takes an exegetical, lexical, and church history view of the teaching of the Bible on the body and emotions. His approach differs from some traditional biblical counseling perspectives on the relationship between the body and our feelings. This post exams how biblical counselors could engage in a fair and balanced assessment with his book (and with other books not written by self-described biblical counselors). 

Resources #27, 28, 29, 30, 31, and 32 (Free): Biblical Principles for Engaging with Fellow Biblical Counselors and Non-Biblical Counselors

The topics I address throughout this resource list are controversial areas of discussion within the modern biblical counseling world. When we disagree with other self-described biblical counselors, how could we handle those differences biblically? Here are three related posts on this important topic:

• 5 Biblical Counseling Principles for Addressing Disagreements Among Biblical Counselors
• 6 Types of Biblical Self-Examination Questions to Ask Before Criticizing Fellow Biblical Counselors
• Are We Reasonable or Unreasonable in Our Interactions in the Biblical Counseling Movement?

Of course, I’m not the first, nor the only, or even the primary person asking biblical counselors to consider how we engage with other counseling systems. Long before me, Jay Adams’s colleague and good friend, John Bettler, confronted nouthetic confrontation about how nouthetic counselors confront others. In the first post below, I outline Bettler’s three concerns. In the second post below, I collate sixteen questions we can ask ourselves as we engage with those who differ from us. In the third post, Nate Brooks affirms David Powlison’s model of humility and charity in biblical counseling interactions.

• 3 Nouthetic Cautions about Nouthetic Critiques of Others: From John Bettler
• 16 Self-Assessment Questions to Ask Ourselves as We Evaluate Other Counseling Models
• Humility and Charity in Biblical Counseling: A Guest Post by Nate Brooks on David Powlison and Eric Johnson

Resources #33, 34, 35, and 36 (Free): Sufficiency of Scripture and Biblical Counseling

All of the topics outlined in this post relate back to the sufficiency of the Bible for biblical counseling. What does that mean? What does it look like? What are the implications of sufficiency for how we engage with science and research? The following posts provide foundational teachings on the sufficiency of Scripture for biblical counseling.

• What Makes Biblical Counseling Truly Biblical, Part 1
• What Makes Biblical Counseling Truly Biblical, Part 2
• What Makes Biblical Counseling Truly Biblical, Part 3
• What Makes Biblical Counseling Truly Biblical, Part 4 (Coming Soon) 

Resources #37 and 38 (Free): Biblical Counseling Convictions About Embodied-Souls

I have been describing my approach to biblical counseling as seeking to be a gospel-centered, theologically-saturated, relationship-focused, church history-informed, research-aware soul physician of embodied-souls. I present these convictions in two related posts—one longer and one abbreviated.

• 6 Biblical Counseling Convictions
• 6 Biblical Counseling Convictions: Shortened Version 

Resource #39 (Free): Your Body, Your Suffering, and Your Pain Matter to God: Biblical Counseling and Your Body

This post unites themes from all the resources collated in this document. It especially highlights the practical implications for counselors and counselees related to a biblical understanding of the body for biblical counseling. 

Resources #40 and 41 (Free): Two Chapters from Consider Your Counsel

These two posts eventually became chapters in my book Consider Your Counsel: Addressing Ten Mistakes in Our Biblical Counseling.

• 10 Common Mistakes in Our Biblical Counseling, #6: We Tend To View People One-Dimensionally
• 10 Common Mistakes in Our Biblical Counseling, #8: We Minimize the Complexity of the Soul-Body Interconnection 

Resource #42 (Free): 60 Christian Books on the Body and Soul (Embodied-Soul)

This collation of resources focuses not on articles or blog posts, and not on secular resources, but on Christian books about how God designed us body and soul (embodied-soul).

Resource #43 (Free): A Highly Recommended Journal of Biblical Counseling Article on Common Grace, Deep Breathing, and Biblical Counseling 

In this article, biblical counselor Todd Stryd develops a practical theological foundation for how biblical counselors use “biological interventions” such as deep breathing exercises as one part of a comprehensive, whole-person approach to being soul physicians of embodied-souls.

Resource #44 (Free): I’m Never More Christ-Dependent Than When I’m Doing Deep Breathing Exercises 

This is my most personal post in this collation. As the title suggests, I share about the comprehensive, whole-person, embodied-soul approach I personally take in addressing issues with anxiety, fear, and phobias. The post also provides scriptural support for physical interventions as a part of a comprehensive biblical counseling model.

Resource #45 (Free): Of Spirituality and Ice Cubes: A Psalm and a Palm 

This is a shortened version of my very personal post, I’m Never More Christ-Dependent Than When I’m Doing Deep Breathing Exercises. 

Resource #46 (Free): 6 Lessons from a Depressed Puritan Pastor 

I love church history. I believe there is much that we can learn about modern soul care from the great cloud of Christian witnesses who have gone before us. In this post, we learn biblical counseling lessons from Puritan pastor, Timothy Rogers—who endured two long bouts of severe depression, and then ministered to others with similar suffering.

Resource #47 (Free): Spurgeon’s Depression…And His Body/Brain/Embodied-Soul

Some today falsely proclaim an emotional health and wealth gospel, suggesting that “spiritual people” don’t get overwhelmed by emotions, depression, and anxiety. Spurgeon would like to have a word with those folks. This post gives voice to Spurgeon’s own thinking and teaching about his struggles with depression and anxiety—highlighting his belief that these emotional issues are often tied to biological issues.

Resource #48 (Free): 10 Resources Addressing the Question: “Are Anxiety and Fear Sin?” 

This is a vital question, and one that relates very clearly to the issue of God’s design for us as embodied-souls. This post shares a spectrum of biblical answers to this important question. 

Resource # 49 (Free): Neurodiversity and Our Embodied-Souls: Ministry Insights and Applications

“Neurodivergent” is a modern label used to describe individuals whose brains function differently from the majority of people. The label includes a variety of diagnoses, such as autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Down syndrome, dyscalculia, dyslexia, dysgraphia, and more (Cleveland Clinic, 2022). “Neurotypical” describes those with conventional brain development whose behavior follows societal “norms” in relation to social interaction, learning, and perception. This post explores the relationship of neurodiversity to the biblical teaching on our being embodied-souls.

Resources #50-55: 6 Books Addressing Neuroscience, Embodied-Souls, and Biblical Counseling 

The first 49 resources are all free. These final 6 resources are not. However, the links below do take you to free resources related to each book. I’ll indicate below what specific chapters or sections of each book/booklet address a “biblical anatomy of the embodied-soul.”

• Soul Physicians: A Theology of Soul Care: Especially see chapter 8-13, 15-17, 21-24, and 28-29 for teaching on biblical counseling for embodied souls.
• Gospel-Centered Counseling: How Christ Changes Lives: Especially see chapters 6-7, 9-10, 12, and 14 for teaching on biblical counseling for embodied souls.
• Consider Your Counsel: Addressing Ten Mistakes in Our Biblical Counseling: Especially see chapters 6, 7, and 8 for teaching on biblical counseling for embodied souls.
• Anxiety: Anatomy and Cure: The entire booklet explores how to provide biblical counseling for those struggling with anxiety—using a comprehensive understanding of people as embodied souls.
• Scripture and Counseling: God’s Word for Life in a Broken World(Co-Editor): Especially see chapters 2-5, 8, and 9-11 for exploring how the sufficiency of Scripture relates to our being embodied souls.
• Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling: Changing Lives with God’s Changeless Truth(Co-Editor): 6, 7, 8, 27, and 28 for exploring how the sufficiency of Scripture relates to our being embodied souls.