i have encountered people who advocate the nouthetic method in mental health care and who also advocate it with regards to all other medical issues as well.... ...... we even had one here once and he and i went head to head on the whole issue of schizophrenia and what really causes it.... .. he was convinced it was all demon possession and unresolved sin issues.. .....
my counsellor is a christian as are both of the other 2 doctors i have that provide mental health care for me.... and also my sister who has a phd in psychology..... and they all reject the "nouthetic" method which ..in their opinions... is promoted by people largely uneducated or self taught... and who tend to reject proven medical research in order to cling to superstitions that the bible does not support.. but which "nouthetites" have misinterpreted... misquoted... and in some cases outright misrepresented to make it appear as if it does.....
the bible is without a doubt essential in mental health care but it should not be the only text studied or referred to by a mental health professional any more than it should be the only text studied by a surgeon or cardiologist.. ...but history has shown that the world is stocked full of people who would willingly put themselves under the knife of a surgeon or "healer" steeped in religious knowlge but who had no formal medical education.. so it;s a phenomenon that will always be out there... and will no doubt always have it;s supporters....
I think the first thing one needs is to acknowledge the difference between psychology and psychiatry. Schizophrenia definitely falls into the latter and should not be trifled with by anyone who is not properly trained.
My understanding is that John MacArthur is big into the nouthetic counseling and I would think they would have their heads on straight and not go the "everything is caused by sin and demons" narrative! I know his Church has been sued for malpractice due to someone who had received counseling.
When I was going through my divorce with my first wife, I sought counsel with a NANC trained elder at the Church I was a member of at the time. He was a nice guy, loved the Lord and he seemed well-meaning but woefully untrained. He kept insisting that I was sinning for getting a divorce even though it was my wife who wanted out and I was powerless to stop her!
All in all, based on my experiences, I believe nouthetic counseling is sufficient when strict bible-based counseling is appropriate but we need to remember that the scriptures are sufficient in all spiritual and doctrinal matters but it is not sufficient to tell you how to do things like a valve job on a small-block Chevy or perform open-heart surgery!
If someone came to me and said they were struggling with pedophilia or had a strong urge to shoot a man just to watch him die, I would quickly realize I am way over my head, tell them they need to repent and trust Christ, and then refer them to someone with far more training than I have - Hopefully a Christian psychologist who would not contradict scriptural principles?
I made a pact with God and with the elders of my Church that if God could somehow restore my marriage and get us back on solid ground, I would go through the NANC training and become certified myself. From what I can tell, such training is better suited for self-help and laymen but a professional counselor should be much better trained. You know the rest of the story though and I never felt obligated to follow through with my pact.
I have thought about a Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling which I believe should place you on a professional level for a Church or Chaplaincy but I hear there are also licensed professional Christian Counselors that have private practices and bill their customers in the same manner as a psychologist or other sort of counselor.
People really need to realize that when they open up their mouths to give counsel, they are messing with people's lives who are vulnerable and have placed their trust in you!
but thanks to all for the decent conversational talking points. I still may try to get a few thoughts out regarding the article that spawned the OP, time permitting. Until then, I think the consensus here is that there shouldn't be a hastiness of Christian counselors to exclude the possibility of biochemical or brain-injuries being cause of behavioral problems and that it may very well be necessary and most appropriate in those cases for medical/professional treatment options, not merely assumption of underlying spiritual issues.