Ready to Restore, New Edition: An Introductory Guide to Biblical Counseling

by Jay E. Adams

This accessible introductory volume brings Jay Adams’s counseling expertise to ordinary Christians who want to counsel peers in need. Redesigned for its fortieth anniversary and celebrating more than 60,000 copies sold, this edition includes updated lists of critical resources.

Endorsements“Returns counseling to laymen and women who are well-schooled in biblical hermeneutics, theology, and discipleship. It has all the foundational ideas that make biblical counseling effective.”

—John D. Street, Chair of the Graduate Department of Biblical Counseling, The Master’s University and Seminary

“A very readable small book that will help you to cut your teeth on the basics of biblical counseling.”

—Lou Priolo, Pastor of Counseling, Christ Covenant, Atlanta

“The mainstay of many lay counseling training programs since it was first published.”

—Jim Berg, Professor of Biblical Counseling, Bob Jones University

“You will be hard-pressed to find a better brief introduction to the biblical rationale and fundamental methodologies of biblical counseling.”

—T. Dale Johnson Jr., Executive Director, Association of Certified Biblical Counselors

“The essence of the biblical counseling movement. A primary primer for the encouragement and training of lay folks who do the work of this important ministry.”

—Howard Eyrich, Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program, Birmingham Theological Seminary

“This volume contains excellent information on some of the fundamentals of truly biblical counseling.”

—Wayne Mack, Director, Association of Certified Biblical Counselors—Africa

Genres: Counselling

170 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 8, 2021

About the author

Jay Edward Adams is a Reformed Christian author. He has written over 100 books and these have been published in sixteen languages.
He received a Bachelor of Divinity from Reformed Episcopal Seminary, a Bachelor of Arts in Classics from Johns Hopkins University,a Masters in Sacred Theology from Temple University, and a PhD in Speech from the University of Missouri.
Adams' book Competent to Counsel launched the nouthetic counseling movement, a movement whose aim was to use strictly biblical counseling methods. He is the founder of the Intitute for Nothetic Studies.

Reviews

[Kaitlyn B.]

If I could give it less stars, I would

[William Ashworth]

A helpful introduction for those interested in nouthetic counseling or counseling in general who want a perspective most likely different from their own and radically different from secular counseling and psychology.

Adams argues that the Bible is sufficient for counseling any life struggle or problem a person might encounter. Thus, knowing the Bible and being able to apply it takes intense, nuanced study of the scriptures to do it well.

Making biblical suggestions and concrete action plans through homework is heavily emphasized as the way to make the biblical realities visible in the life of the counselee, and improves the chance that they might keep it always, even when the temptation to fall back into sinful patterns rears its head.

Though only for the sake of example, the section where Adams explores what the purpose and discipline of Christian meditation is the best articulation of the subject I have read to date. That alone is worth the price of admission.

[Samuel]

For anyone just jumping into the counseling world, this is a helpful primer that does not feel like a daunting read. Adams is quick to point out that this book is meant only to help lay the groundwork as you prepare to become a biblical counselor, but it does cover the general basics of counseling. The chapters are short, which helps with the feeling of accessibility.


I will say, though: P&R did a disservice to this book with the amount of typos and errors inside. I can’t tell you how many times I found a misspelled word or misplaced punctuation. I even found a few words that were spelled correctly but were one letter difference from the intended word. It took away from the book, honestly, and these were big mistakes that most people would notice. (Aka, not just grammar nerds analyzing every little detail could find a lot of the mistakes.)

[Traikon Johnson]

A helpful and practical introduction to biblical counseling. I appreciated Adams’s strong emphasis on Scripture, personal responsibility, and pursuing real change. His counseling framework is clear and useful, though at times his approach felt overly simplistic and could use more nuance regarding complex issues like suffering and psychological struggles. Overall, a worthwhile introduction that gave me a solid foundation while leaving me wanting to explore other perspectives.

[vince watson]

Very Thought provoking,

A fast pace guide to biblical counseling, but some grammatical error and odd usage of women versus men accusations to make some dated analogies.
Overall concept is on point to separate biblical counseling from clinical counseling!

[Joel]

Extraordinary, fantastic.

[Luke Rasmussen]

This introductory guide is so helpful. I found it both whet my appetite but also offered some very helpful insight to develop this skill.

[David J. Harris]

Mostly helpful