1. A Christian Approach to Psychology and Counseling -- 15 The Rapid Growth of Psychology 15 Tensions Between Psychology and Christianity 16 Human Beings in Holistic Perspective 19 Christian Contributions to Psychology and Counseling 20 What this Book Tries to Do 22

PART ONE The Meaning of Wholeness

2. Human Nature and Human Motivation -- 27
Theories of Motivation 28
Some Biological Drives 31

3. Our Nervous System and How it Works -- 37
Peripheral Nervous System 37
Central Nervous System 39
How the Nervous System Functions 42

4. How We Learn -- 47
Classical Conditioning 48 Instrumental or Operant Conditioning 53 Summary 59

5. Remembering, Communicating, and Thinking -- 61
Information Processing 61 Language and Communication 66 Thinking 67

6. Sensation and Perception -- 75
Vision 76 Hearing 78 Other Senses 79
How Perceptions Arise from Sensations 81

7. Mental Health -- 85
Definition 85 Characteristics 86 Mental Health Problems 88

PART TWO Becoming a Whole Person

8. Infants and Toddlers -- 93
Prenatal Development 93
Birth and the Newborn 94
Infancy: The First Fifteen Months 96
The Toddler Stage: Fifteen to Thirty-six Months 103

9. Preschool and Elementary Years -- 109
The Preschool Years: Ages Three to Six 109
Elementary School Years: Ages Six to Twelve 115
The Toddler Stage: Fifteen to Thirty-six Months 103

10. Adolescence -- 123
Coping with the Adolescent Years 124
Encouragement for Christian Parents 132

11. Spiritual Development -- 135
Opportunities for Parental Influence 136

12. Developing a Healthy Self-Concept -- 145
Parental Value Systems 145
Effect of Parental Love on Self-Concept 150
Helping Children Love Themselves 153

PART THREE When Something Goes Wrong

13. Basic Causes of Psychological Problems -- 161
Genetic Factors 162
Early Environment Factors 164
Precipitating Stresses 165

14. Mental Disorders Related to Physical Problems -- 169
Mental Retardation 169
Organic Mental Disorders or Brain Syndromes 171 Psychiatric Symptoms Originating from Physical Problems 172

15. Categories of Mental Problems -- 177
The Specific Categories of DSM III 179

16. Some Personality Disorders -- 201
Cyclothymic Disorder 201 Explosive Disorder 203 Passive-Aggressive Disorders 204 Compulsive Disorder 207

17. More Personality Disorders -- 215
Histrionic Disorder 215
Antisocial Disorder 221
Introverted Disorder 224
Paranoid Disorder 225
Schizotypal Disorder 228
Narcissistic Disorder 228
Borderline Disorder 228
Avoidant Disorder 229
Dependent Disorder 229

18. The Mechanisms of Defense -- 231
A Christian Interpretation of Defense Mechanisms 231 Unconscious Defense Mechanisms Frequently Seen in Counseling 235 Christian Alternatives to Defense Mechanisms 246

19. Anxiety -- 251
Symptoms of Anxiety 251 Causes of Anxiety 252 Treatment of Anxiety 253

20. Depression: Symptoms and Causes -- 257
Symptoms of Depression 258
Categories of Depression 260
Causes of Depression 261
Some Case Histories 268

21. Depression: Treatment -- 273
Steps to Overcome Depression 273
r'urther Advice for Overcoming Depression 277
Professional Treatment of Depression 282

PART FOUR Helping People Become Whole

22. The Christian Counselor -- 291
The Uniqueness of Christian Counseling 292 Training for Christian Counseling 293 The Counselor God Uses 295

23. Secular Alternatives to Christian Counseling -- 299
Classical Psychoanalysis (Sigmund Freud) 299 Interpersonal School of Adler (Alfred Adler, Harry Stack Sullivan,
Karen Homey, Erich Fromm) 301 Reality Therapy (William Glasser) 301 transactional Analysis (Eric Berne,
Thomas A. Harris) 302 Behavior Modification (Ivan Pavlov, B. F. Skinner, Joseph Wolpe) 303 Rational-emotive Therapy (Albert Ellis) 303 ( lient-centered Therapy (Carl Rogers) 304 Analytical Psychotherapy (Carl Jung) 304 ( iestalt Therapy (Frederick Peris) 305 Conclusions 305

24. Basic Principles of Christian Counseling -- 307
Listening 308
Helping People Gain Insight 308 Formulating a Plan 311

25. Psychological Evaluation in Christian Counseling -- 313
The Evaluative Workup 313 Psychological Testing 316

26. Group Counseling -- 323
The Role of Small Groups 323 Advantages of Group Treatment 325 Effective Group Leadership 326 Stages of Group Function 328 Dynamics of Change in Groups 329

27. The Limits of Counseling -- 333
When and How to Refer 334
What a Psychiatrist Can Do that a Counselor Cannot 335

28. The Spiritual Basis of Emotional Problems -- 345
Overcoming Emotional Pain 345 Solving Spiritual Problems 349

PART FIVE Helping Families Grow

29. Marriage and Premarriage Counseling -- 361
Functions of a Healthy Family 362 Systems of Marital Classification 363 Marriage Counseling 363 Premarriage Counseling 366

30. Roles of Husband and Wife -- 369
The Husbands Responsibilities 369 The Wife’s Responsibilities 372
Responsibilities as Parents 373

31. Five Characteristics of Healthy Families -- 377
Love 377 Discipline 380 Consistency 381 Example 382 Authority 382

32. Personality Types in Marriage -- 385
Some Frequent Combinations 385 Making a Go of Marriage 389

APPENDIX Experimental Design and Statistics -- 393

Glossary -- 397

Bibliography -- 407

Index -- 427