Core Elements of Biblical Counseling

Here are the seven core elements as proposed by Jay Adams:

1. God is at the center of counseling
2. Commitment to God has epistemological consequences
3. Sin, in all its dimensions is the primary problem counselors must deal with
4. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer
5. The biblical change process which counseling must aim at is progressive sanctification
6. The situational difficulties people face are not the random cause of problems in living.
7. Counseling is fundamentally a pastoral activity and must be church-based

I imagine that many who read this blog might think that this is an over-simplistic view of the problems man faces. However, I've worked with Setting Captives Free for too long not to believe in the truth of these elements.

The key, I think, is how we communicate the timeless truths of Scripture to those who need to hear them. I am firmly convinced that these elements are correct, though of course there are times of doubt. However, I also know that if these elements are not true I would have to throw out a lot of what I believe. That of course does not make anything true or false, but if I am really sure about other beliefs then that helps to cement what I believe about this.