“How does psychology work with Biblical counseling?”……Answer: Secular psychology, based primarily on the teachings of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Carl Rogers, has no place in biblical counseling. Nor does some of what is called "Christian counseling," because some of Christian counseling often has secular psychology, not the Bible, as its basis. This is not to say that someone who calls himself a Christian counselor is not also a biblical counselor, but too often Christian counselors are Christians who use secular psychology as their mode of operation. ……Psychology is an academic discipline involving the scientific study of mental processes and behavior and the application of that knowledge to the various spheres of human activity. Psychology is humanistic in nature. Humanism affirms the worth and dignity of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appealing to universal human qualities, particularly rationality. Humanism rejects faith not based on reason, the supernatural, and the Bible. Therefore, psychology is man’s way of trying to understand and repair the spiritual side of man without reference to, or recognition of, the spiritual. The Bible declares that mankind had a beginning different from any other created thing. Man was made in the image of God, and when God breathed into man the breath of life, he became a living soul (Genesis 1:26, 2:7). At its very core, the Bible deals with man's spirituality, beginning with his fall into sin and its consequences, particularly concerning man's relationship with God. It is the fall-sin-that separates us from God and requires a Redeemer to restore that relationship. ……Secular psychology, on the other hand, is based on the idea that man is basically good and the answer to his problems lies within himself. With the help of the psychotherapist-and sometimes the Christian counselor-the patient delves into the maze of his own mind and "works through" his emotions in order to discover the cause of his own difficulties. The Bible, however, paints a very different picture of man's condition. Man is "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1), and his heart is "deceitful and beyond all cure" (Jeremiah 17:9). He is the victim of "total depravity" (Romans 3:10-23). To delve into such a mind seeking mental health is an exercise in futility, very much like trying to find a rose growing at the bottom of a cesspool. ……Man was created innocent, but he disobeyed God; his sin changed the first man, Adam, and all who came after him, resulting in physical and spiritual death (Genesis 2:175:5Romans 5:12Ephesians 2:1). The answer to man’s spiritual problems is to be born again-to be made alive spiritually (John 3:3, 6-71 Peter 1:23). Man is born again by trusting in Jesus Christ. To trust in Jesus means to understand that He is God incarnate, God in human form (John 3:16John 1:1-3). It means to understand and believe that Jesus paid for our sins when He died on the cross and that God demonstrated His acceptance of Christ as a sacrifice by raising Jesus from the dead (Romans 4:24-25).……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 3:15-172 Peter 1:4). Biblical counseling is committed to letting God speak for Himself through His Word and to handling the Word of Truth rightly (2 Timothy 2:15). Biblical counseling follows the Bible and seeks to minister the love of the true and living God, love that deals with sin and produces obedience.……Psychotherapy and some forms of Christian counseling are 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 their needs are not met, people will be miserable, hateful, and immoral. Scripture teaches that it is God who changes our desires and that true happiness can only be found in the desire for God and godliness. People who crave self-esteem, love, and significance may be happy if they get it, but they will remain self-centered. On the other hand, people who desire God, godly wisdom, and God's glory will be satisfied, joyous, obedient, and profitable servants of God.……While secular psychotherapists attempt to help patients find the power to meet their own needs from within, most Christian counselors see Jesus Christ as the healer of the psyche. The patient is urged to realize how much he is loved by God, and the cross is presented as evidence of how valuable he/she is to God. The cross, therefore, exists to boost the patient's self-esteem and meet his need to be loved. But, in the Bible, Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God crucified in the place of sinners. The love of God actually demolishes self-esteem and makes unnecessary our incessant searching for it. God's love produces, instead, a great and grateful esteem for Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave His life for us-the Lamb of God who alone is worthy. The love of God does not satisfy our lust to be loved as we are; rather, God loves us despite who we are and teaches us to love God and neighbor (1 John 4:7-5:3). ……When an inherently sinful person engages a secular psychologist or Christian counselor in order to have his felt needs met or to attain happiness, self-esteem and fulfillment, he will inevitably come away from such counseling unfulfilled. Jesus said we must die to self and be born again. When we come to Him, it should be with the intention of putting off the old nature-not fixing it-and putting on the new nature, one that lives for Christ and seeks to serve Him out of love for what He has done. True biblical counselors seek to assist their clients to do just that, following the Bible and viewing counseling as a pastoral activity in which the goal is not self-esteem, but sanctification-growth in godliness and Christ-likeness.