CCEF Legacy Course

Theology & Secular Psychology

with David Powlison

an introduction from todd stryd

We’re excited to relaunch our legacy course with lectures from David Powlison! This self-paced course considers how the Christian faith can meaningfully engage with psychological thought and practices. Grow in your ability to love others well and speak timely, relevant, persuasive truth.

Course registration will open on September 24. You’ll receive 6-month access to all 13 modules, including hours of lectures and additional recommended readings.

A current edition of this course, with lectures from Todd Stryd, is offered solely through Westminster Theological Seminary in the Master of Arts in Counseling program.

“Seeing both the good and the bad in a theory is hugely important. It is easy to do just one or the other, but we must do both.”
—David Powlison

What to Expect

Please note: This audit-only legacy course is self-paced with no assignments, feedback, or grading. You will receive all content as it was delivered by Dr. David Powlison. Students are welcome to complete the reflection questions throughout the course for personal benefit and growth.

This course aims to develop your skills in both critical thinking and constructive communication regarding contemporary personality theories and psychotherapies. It is not a survey course. Rather, it is a course on how Christian faith meaningfully engages a body of thoughts and practices, and how ministry engages people who believe those thoughts and live those practices. The fruit is a growing ability to love others well in speaking timely, relevant, persuasive truth. Two intellectual strands run through the course:

First, we will aim to develop your "reinterpretive gaze" and "redemptive intention": the ability to constructively engage with what others see most clearly, care about most deeply, and do most skillfully. This is the skill goal of the course.
Second, we will locate the church’s current perplexities about counseling within our historical-cultural context. Understanding the background helps you to weigh the significance of these issues.

Lectures

Module 1: Introduction to Theology & Secular Psychology
Module 2: Developing Your Re-Interpretive Skills
Module 3: Pastoral Care in the History of the Church
Module 4: Re-Interpretive Skills
Module 5: Psychological Research
Module 6: Sigmund Freud
Module 7: Behavior & Cognitive-Behavior Therapies
Module 8: Psychotherapy
Module 9: Christian Psychology
Module 10: Engaging Secular Psychological Culture
Module 11: Engaging Evangelical Psychotherapy
Module 12: Engaging the Biblical Counseling Movement
Module 13: What Does the Future Hold for Biblical Counseling?

At a Glance

feedback type

Audit only

course cost

Regular price: $400
Sale price through Oct 31: $325

course length

6-month access
13 modules
13 lectures
34.5 hours total lecture time

Prerequisites

None

registration dates

Ongoing

Meet the Lecturing Faculty

David Powlison served as CCEF’s executive director (2014-2019), a faculty member, and senior editor of the Journal of Biblical Counseling. He held a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and an MDiv from Westminster Theological Seminary. David wrote extensively on biblical counseling and on the relationship between faith and psychology. His books Seeing with New Eyes and Speaking Truth in Love probe the implications of Scripture for how to understand people and how to counsel. The Biblical Counseling Movement: History and Context explores the background and development of CCEF’s mission. David is survived by his wife Nan, their three children and spouses, and seven grandchildren.

David's resources

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