Transformative Encounters: The Intervention of God in Christian Counseling and Pastoral Care

What would it mean for Christian counseling and pastoral care to take seriously the idea that God intervenes in the world? What would it look like for therapists and pastors to see themselves as opening the door to a miraculous divine encounter? How would counseling change if the intervention of God was not merely a theoretical idea but a lived experience? In this volume more than twenty of the best pastoral counselors, clinicians, and counselor educators introduce us to the models that they use to integrate the Scriptures and the work of the Holy Spirit into their daily practice. They share with us what Christ-infused counseling looks like. Divided into three sections: Transformative Encounters Done in Church, Transformative Paradigms for Church or Clinic, and Transformative Interventions for Clinical Practice, it is a perfect mix for any student or counselor who wants to review counseling practices that bring about lasting psycho-spiritual change in the here and now. Some of the topics discussed in the book include:

• Inner healing
• Prayer ministry
• Deliverance
• Christian holism
• Contemplative prayer
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy
• Emotion-focused therapy
• Group therapy
• Forgiveness
• Visualization and EMDR
• Addiction
• Life coaching

This book seeks to inform students, pastoral counselors, clinicians, and counselor educations of the variety of methodologies that are available to those seeking this kind of God-encountering, Christ-centered ministry of miraculous change.

David W. Appleby (Ph.D., University of Delaware; Ph.D., University of Northern Colorado) is a minister, counselor and trainer working in the overlapping fields of family counseling, psychology and deliverance ministry. He is the founder and president of Spiritual Interventions Inc., a nonprofit organization that promotes spiritual interventions in Christian counseling practice. He also teaches courses in psychology and professional and pastoral counseling at the Center for Counseling and Family Studies at Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia.

George Ohlschlager (J.D., M.S.W., University of Iowa) is a psychotherapist, ethicist and writer. He is a certified Christian counselor with the International Board of Christian Counselors and a certified professional Christian counselor and Christian mediator with the American Association of Christian Counselors. Among Ohlschlager's many books and publications are Caring for People God's Way (coeditor with Timothy Clinton and Archibald D. Hart, 2009) and Competent Christian Counseling, Volume One (coauthor with Timothy Clinton, 2002).