Course Description

A biblical view of human beings begins with an understanding that we are both body AND spirit. From this reality flows a nuanced pastoral approach to suffering and sin in a person’s life that takes seriously both the physical and spiritual aspects of the struggle at hand. In this class you will look at issues such as traumatic brain injury, chronic pain, OCD, bipolar disorder, and other problems that require discernment of physical and spiritual components of the struggle. You will also gain an understanding of the role of psychoactive medications and psychiatry in caring for others. Through lectures, group discussion, and case studies you’ll learn how to wisely help those who struggle with problems in which both attention to physical and spiritual aspects are paramount.

About the Professor

Mike Emlet is a faculty member at CCEF where he has served for more than fifteen years. He holds an MD from the University of Pennsylvania and an MDiv degree from Westminster Theological Seminary. He worked as a family physician for twelve years before joining CCEF. Mike has counseled for many years and is the author of CrossTalk: Where Life and Scripture Meet, which explores the use of Scripture in counseling. Mike is married to Jody, and they have two children. He is active in his urban church and enjoys gardening, camping, and creating wheel-thrown pottery.

Details

Counseling & Physiology is a 3-credit course. The credit cost of the course is $650.00. Taken for audit it is $325.00. Counseling & Physiology is offered every other semester on a rotating basis between spring, summer and fall.

Course Outline

• Week 1: Course Introduction
• Week 2: Biblical Anthropology and its Counseling Implications
• Week 3: Chronic Pain
• Week 4: Case Discussion: Asperger Syndrome
• Week 5: Psychopharmacology I
• Week 6: Psychopharmacology II
• Week 7: Biblical Perspectives on Psychiatry
• Week 8: Biblical Perspectives on Psychiatry (continued)
• Week 9: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Case Discussion
• Week 10: Bipolar Disorder
• Week 11: Neurophysiology of Addiction and its Counseling Implications
• Week 12: Criteria for Medical Referral and Student questions/cases

Required Textbooks

Students must purchase separately, any other required reading is provided with course access.

• DSM-5 by the American Psychiatric Association (pp. 47-59, 123-188, and 235-264 )**
• Asperger Syndrome (booklet) by Michael R. Emlet
• Darkness Is My Only Companion: A Christian Response to Mental Health Illness, revised ed. by Kathryn Green-McCreight
• Same Lake, Different Boat: Coming Alongside People Touched by Disability, by Stephanie O. Hubach
• Collected Writings of John Murray. Vol. 2, Systematic Theology, John Murray, pp. 3-34 (✝See information below about a discount for this book.)
• Rejoicing in Lament: Wrestling with Incurable Cancer & Life in Christ by Todd J. Billings*
• Where is the Mango Princess? by Cathy Crimmins*
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon*
• Second Forgetting: Remembering the Power Of the Gospel During Alzheimer’s Disease by Benjamin Mast*

*You have a choice between these four books (Crimmins, Haddon, Billings, or Mast); you are required to read only one of these.
**(We do not require you to purchase this text, due to high cost. Instead, please make every effort to secure this reading from the public library or borrow a copy from a friend.).
✝Banner of Truth, the publisher of Collected Writings of John Murray, Vol. 2, provides CCEF students a discount on this volume. If you are interested in this discount, please contact Student Services for information after you have registered.