Trained to guide

Rarely has a book for pastors, Christian workers, and laypeople received such widespread attention and intensive reading as "Competent to Counsel." It has earned its place as a classic in the field of Christian counseling.

The new and encouraging approach to counseling advocated in "Competent to Counsel," firmly established as nouthetic counseling (from the Greek word nouteteo, to admonish, warn, instruct), evidently proved to be a counseling method sought by many who may have suspected that secular counseling techniques were not only antithetical to biblical truth but also astonishingly sterile and ineffective. Dr. Jay Adams' thoroughly biblical approach offers a welcome escape from the worn-out grooves of secular psychiatry.

"Competent to Counsel" has formed the basis from which numerous other publications by Adams have emerged. To understand why his books are eagerly read by so many Christians, and why thousands of Christians have found nouthetic counseling to be so satisfying, one must return to "Competent to Counsel." In it, Adams denounces the nature of Freudian and Rogerian techniques and outlines what he calls nouthetic counseling. It should be noted that he promptly insists that all Christians can become competent counselors, well-qualified to counsel.