Psychopathology and Christian Counselling

This course equips students to integrate theology, psychology, and ethical practice in the ministry of Christian counselling. Within an evangelical worldview, it trains counsellors to walk alongside others toward healing in Christ with humility, discernment, and professional integrity. Students will explore the biblical foundations of counselling, recognize and understand categories of abnormal behaviour, and discern between spiritual and psychological causes of distress—especially within the African context, where spiritual interpretations of suffering are common. Through applied case studies, students will develop competence in evaluating complex situations that require both theological and psychological insight, demonstrating Spirit-led wisdom, ethical responsibility, and Christ-centred compassion in their counselling practice.

By the end of this course you should be able to:

• Evaluate the foundations of Christian counselling, the integration of theology and psychology, and the ethical scope of practice within an evangelical framework.
• Evaluate and recognise key categories of abnormal behaviour, identify symptoms that indicate possible diagnosable disorders, exercise spiritual discernment to avoid mislabelling conditions as demonological, and determine when referral to appropriate professionals is necessary.
• Evaluate spiritual conflicts in the African context, distinguish between demonic influence and mental illness, and apply biblical discernment to provide Christ-centred and responsible counselling.
• Evaluate and apply integrated counselling responses to complex cases, demonstrating biblical discernment, ethical responsibility, and professional competence. Responses to not include therapy or counselling. 

Textbook

The following textbook prescribed for this course is used in all the counselling courses and must be purchased.

Hint: the Kindle/eBook options are cheaper and available to be downloaded immediately however you are free to source them from other providers as you wish (Amazon, Google Books, Loot, Exclusive Books, Cum Books, Takealot, Christian Book Discounters, etc). Keep in mind that you will need the textbooks from the first module.

• Collins, Gary. 2019. Christian Counseling: A Comprehensive Guide, 3rd ed. Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (The 2007 hard copy of Collin’s text is also acceptable.)