“How does psychology work with biblical counseling?”……Secular psychology is based on the teachings of psychoanalysts such as Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Carl Rogers. Biblical, or NoutheticCounseling, (see study on Nouthetic Counseling) on the other hand, is based squarely on the revealed Word of God. Biblical counseling sees Scripture as sufficient to equip the child of God for every good work

2 Timothy 3:17

God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

Biblical counselors teach that man's basic problem is spiritual in nature; therefore, atheistic psychologists, who are spiritually dead themselves, have no real insight into the human condition.……On a related note, what is usually called "Christian counseling" is different from "biblical counseling" in that Christian counseling often uses secular psychology in addition to the Bible. This is not to say that a Christian counselor is not also a biblical counselor, but often Christian counselors are Christians who integrate secular psychology into their counseling. Biblical or nouthetic counselors reject secular psychology wholesale.……Most psychology is humanistic in nature. Secular humanism (se study on SH) promotes mankind as the highest standard of truth and morality and rejects faith, the supernatural, and the Bible. Therefore, secular psychology is man's attempt to understand and repair the spiritual side of man without reference to or recognition of the spiritual.……The Bible declares that mankind is a unique creation of God, made in the image of God

Genesis 1:26

Then God said, "Let us make human beings] in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground."

Genesis 2:7

Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nostrils, and the man became a living person.

The Bible expressly deals with man's spirituality, including his fall into sin, sin's consequences, and man's current relationship with God.……Secular psychology is based on the ideas that man is basically good and that the answer to his problems lies within himself. The Bible paints a very different picture of man's condition. Man is not "basically good"; he is "dead in trespasses and sins"

Ephesians 2:1

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. (and the unregenerate heart is "deceitful and beyond all cure")

Jeremiah 17:9

"The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.… Who really knows how bad it is?

Therefore, the biblical counselor takes a drastically different approach: rather than seeking solutions to spiritual problems within one's own mind, he seeks to confront sin, obtain wisdom from aboveand apply the Word of God to the situation.

James 3:17…But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.

Biblical counselors, as opposed to psychotherapists and some Christian counselors, see the Bible alone as the source of a comprehensive and detailed approach to counseling

2 Timothy 3:15-17

You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

2 Peter 1:4

And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires.

Biblical counseling is committed to letting God speak for Himself through His Word. Biblical counseling seeks to minister the love of the true and living God, a love that deals with sin and produces obedience.(See study on "love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth" 1 Corinthians 13:6)…Psychotherapy is needs-based. The needs for self-esteem, love and acceptance, and significance tend to dominate. If these needs are met, it is believed, people will be happy, kind, and moral; if these needs are unmet, people will be miserable, hateful, and immoral. Biblical counseling teaches that true satisfaction and happiness can only be found in a relationship with God and a pursuit of godliness. No amount of psychotherapy can make a selfish person unselfish, for example, but the obedient servant of God will be satisfied in his joyful, unselfish giving

2 Corinthians 9:7

You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. "For God loves a person who gives cheerfully."

So, how does psychology work with biblical counseling? In fine, it doesn't. Secular psychology starts and ends with man and his ideas. True biblical counseling points clients to Christ and the Word of God. Biblical counseling is a pastoral activity, a product of the spiritual gift exhortation or encouragement (See study of this gift), and its goal is not self-esteem but sanctification (See study on Sanctification)……Recommended Resource: Competent to Counsel by Jay Adams.