Sam Williams recently posted on The Gospel Coalition blog engaging the question: "Would there be value for biblical counselors to pursue PhD work outside Christian institutions, and what challenges would they face?" He answers, "There are two good answers to the question above: no and yes." Williams warns against putting oneself in such a context while lacking critical biblical and theological knowledge.

The person who asked this question didn’t want to be a bother, “you can just answer ‘yes’ or ‘no.’”

That’s easy.

Yes. Mania is a physical problem.

And, since the question is by no means a bother but important, there is a little more we can say.

QUESTION: I just graduated with a BA in Psychology. We were taught that people with paranoid schizophrenia must first be medicated to break past the delusions, odd speech patterns, etc., before they can talk with a counselor. Do you think what I was taught is true?

One beauty of a Christian approach to people, including extremely disturbed people, is that you can always talk with anyone. No guarantees that they’ll listen, of course—just as there are no guarantees that “normal, undisturbed” people (who also have madness in their hearts: Ecclesiastes 9:3) will listen.

CCEF has always had an eye for future generations. We are in the business of
applying Scripture to everyday life, and since there is certainly no end to its
applications, we hope to be an institution with longevity. Christian institutions,
however, do not always last. There are various reasons for this of course—and
not all of them are bad. For some, the work is completed or taken over by new
institutions. For others, fiscal struggles or mismanagement interrupt what might
have been a fruitful ministry. But of greatest concern are institutions that fail

“Dr P.” had a vision problem. He could see 20/20, but somehow he lost his ability to read music—a significant problem for a music teacher. It gets worse. He also stopped being able to recognize people, at least when he could not hear their voices or see distinctive facial features. Abstracts weren’t a problem—he identified squares, circles, even a dodecahedron. He could see. But there he was trying to have conversations with fire hydrants, and genuinely mistaking his wife for a hat.

The church is growing increasingly wise in its contemporary setting to articulate and practice a properly biblical and modern ministry. Scripture directs us from within its pages in its unique and comprehensive vision of ministry and change. It simultaneously directs us in processing the insights within culture, literature, and the psychologies that have been provided to us from beyond its pages.

From the moment our alarm goes off in the morning, we are counseling ourselves. We are listening to other counselors, too, and our hearts are pushed and pulled in different directions with everything that we hear and choose to do and say. David Powlison, in his class Dynamics of Biblical Change, tells us a story of the different counselors that bid for his heart and attention one winter morning.