* The course is foundational * Basic categories of Christian counseling * Defining What It Means To Be A Christian * Agreeing to Disagree * Purpose * Three Key Principles * Counseling and Suffering * What Do We Need When We Suffer? * The Attitude of the Helping Relationship

TOWARDS DEVELOPING A THEOLOGY OF SUFFERING

* Why Do People Suffer? * Grace * What Is Grace? * Mercy * What Is Mercy? * Welcome To The Gray Zone * Finding Your Interpretive Lens * The Sovereignty of God * The Mystery of God * The Mystery of Suffering

DEFINING CHRISTIAN COUNSELING

* Sin and Suffering * Suffering and Personal Acts of Sin

WHAT AFFECTS OUR BEHAVIOR

* Factors Influencing Behavior * The Consequences of the Fall * Regeneration and the Self * A Theological Perspective on Christian Counseling * Homosexuality

SOURCES OF TRUTH IN CHRISTIAN COUNSELING

* General Principles About Truth * Models of Christian Counseling * All Truth Is God's Truth * Where Did Such Thinking Originate? * Main Criticisms of Integrationalists By Biblical Counseling School of Thought * General Responses of Integrationalists * Excerpts From the Biblical Counseling Foundation * Classifying Theories of Counseling: An Overview

HOW PEOPLE RESPOND TO SUFFERING

* People Avoid Pain and Conflict About Themselves, Relationships, and Experiences * Defense Mechanisms * Triangles: A Systematic Response To Pain * The Family As A System * The Family's Responses To Pain and Conflict: Boundaries * The Family's Responses To Pain and Conflict: Roles * The Family's Responses To Pain and Conflict: Rules * Some Characteristics Of Unhealthy Families * Identity * The Road To Resentment * Resentment * Things Left Unsaid

THE SEARCH FOR FULFILLED NEEDS

* Unmet Needs * What Needs Do We Have * The Impact of Unmet Needs * Intensified Deficits * The Fulfillment of Needs * Human Means In Meeting Needs: Families and Marriage * Marriage: The Hope For Fulfillment of Needs

THE COUNSELING RELATIONSHIP

* The Partial Fulfillment of Unmet Needs * Entering Into Suffering * Compassion * Truth and Fear * Skills For Building A Meaningful Counseling Relationship

CHRISTIAN COUNSELING: AN OVERVIEW

* The Goals of Counseling * Additional Fundamental Goals: The Dynamics of Change * The Stages of Counseling * Other Counseling Techniques To Consider * Liability and Other Issues * A Final Thought * Recommended Readings