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I agree that Christian psychotherapy “uses all psychothe-
rapeutic techniques that are compatible with Scripture,”
as well as the development of one’s personal relationship
with God. However, Christian psychotherapy has many
additional, distinctive psychotherapeutic techniques,
including the internalization of one’s identity in Christ,
reliance upon the Holy Spirit in one’s actions, a belief in
eternal bless as the end of life, and the attainment of me-
aning in life (and even in suffering) through participation
in the glory of God.
One of my favorite of Romuald’s wonderful observations
in this article is the following: “The objective of Christian
counseling is not to equip the person with better control
over his life, but to help him surrender all control to God
(which is a central point of therapy based on religion).” Eric L. Johnson, USA, Ph.D.,
Thanks, Romuald, for sharing your radical Christian un- Lawrence and Charlotte
derstanding of psychology. Hoover Professor of Pastoral
Care, Southern Baptist Theo-
logical Seminary; Director,
Society for Christian Psycho-
References logy
Slife, B. D., & Reber, J. S. (2009). Is there a pervasive bias
against theism in psychology? Journal of Theoretical and
Philosophical Psychology, 29 (2), 1-15.
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