Biblical Stories for Psychotherapy and Counseling: A Sourcebook

Biblical Stories for Psychotherapy and Counselling: A Sourcebook organizes the age-old wisdom of the Bible, with episodes that can shed light on specific psychological issues. From the familiar to the obscure, these stories can help us better understand self-esteem, loyalty and obligations, decision making, temptation, anger, morality, various disorders, family dynamics, support systems, developmental issues, recovery issues, aging, suicidal behaviour, and more. As brilliant and as penetrating as Freud’s insights are, they are limited in the sense that Freud relied heavily on Greek myth and literature for his models and ideas. The Greeks could never really shake the sense of doom, the foreboding and the fatalism that led so many great figures in Greek literature and in real life Greek history to depression and, in a surprising number of cases, to suicide. In contrast, the focus of the Bible is far more optimistic; depression can be successfully dealt with, and suicide is a sad error that should be; and usually can be avoided. It encourages people to hope and teaches that day-to-day human effort has a purpose and meaning. The Bible offers the hope of filling every moment of human life with greater meaning and feeling. This book should offer students and practitioners involved in pastoral or spiritual care an useful tool and resource material.