The emerging professional specialty of Christian counseling is examined i n light of its development, theoretical underpinning, training, and roles. Also examined are the various approaches to Christian counseling. Finally, a rationalefor classifying Christian counseling as a separate specialty is presented.
Members of Christian faiths often come to counsehg with unique perspectives and issues that are either religously based or stem from a distrust of secular counseling (Keating & Fretz, 1990). C h s t i a n clients often believe that secular counselors are &prepared to handle issues of relevance to them . Therefore, many Christians prefer to work with therapists who are Christians themselves and practice from a Christian rather than secular orientation. These clients perceive that a Chnstian counselor will be more understanding of their belief system and more accepting of them as inlviduals. As a result, a branch of professional counsehg known as Chnstian counseling has emerged.
Carr (1975) noted that Christian counsehg has developed, first, as a reaction to the major social changes that occurred in the 1960s and, second, as result of the major religious revival currently mushrooming in the United States. A tlurd and central reason for this growth is the major deterioration of the nuclear family over the last few years. These changes have made lasting marriages, healthy chdd rearing, and the ablllty to maintain lifelong bonds more difficult than ever (Carlson & Lewis, 1991). Such values are held in h g h esteem in Christian churches (&wan, 1984).
T h s relatively young field of Christian counseling began developing in the 1950s with the founding of the National Catholic Guidance Conference (now the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religous Values Issues in Counseling ), a division of the American Counsehng Association (ACA; Bartlett, Lee, & Doyle, 1985). Th~s division has expanded beyond its Roman Catholic roots to concern itself with all expressions of spirituality. A branch of the American Psychological Association (APA) has also been formed to deal with religous issues.
During the late 1980s, two hdependent organizations were formed that sought to bring about a marriage of traltional psychology and basic Christian values. These are the Association of Christian Therapists, a predominantly Roman Catholic organization, and the American Association of Richard B. Carter is an assistant professor of counselor education. The author thanks Laveda D. Carter, who provided much of the impetus for earlier drafts of this article. Correspondence regarding this article should be sent to