Counseling Women: Biblical Wisdom for Life's Battles

by Kristin L. Kellen

Counseling Women, by professor and counselor Kristin Kellen, is a biblically grounded resource addressing common struggles that women face. Chapters examine issues such as depression, anxiety, infertility, trauma, abuse, disordered eating, and much more. Undergirded by a strong theological foundation, Kellen interweaves many practices of mainstream therapy alongside Scripture's teachings to provide a wise and balanced approach. Accessible and deeply practical, Counseling Women will be useful for counselors in various settings and for students in training programs. 
 

Genres: Counselling, Christian

287 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2022

About the author

Kristin Kellen (MA, PhD) is an Assistant Professor of Biblical Counseling at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS). Her focus is counseling children, teens, and their families. Kristin is the co-author of her forthcoming book The Gospel for Disordered Lives.

Reviews

[Tisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read!

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kristin L. Kellen is a counselor and an assistant professor of counseling at a seminary, and she wrote this book for both lay and professional Christian counselors. It is academic but very readable, and is accessible to people with varying levels of familiarity with the subject. Over the first six chapters, she provides a rationale for Christian counseling and insight into women's different life stages and contexts. Then, throughout the rest of the book, she shares brief overviews and advice for different common problems, such as depression, eating disorders, trauma, pornography, and marriage and parenting issues. She emphasizes that none of this material is exhaustive, and shares some recommended resource lists at the end of each chapter.

I appreciated Kellen's repeated admonitions for counselors to engage with specific women's experiences, feelings, and contexts, instead of presuming what their problems are or stereotyping them. Near the beginning, she mentions that even though she believes that counseling men and counseling women isn't much different, a book like this can address specific life issues that women experience because of common roles and life experiences that they have. The avoidance of gender stereotypes was refreshing, and I found the book well-written, well-organized, and thoughtful overall.

Whenever I had critiques, I would remind myself of Kellen's time and space constraints, but I have some strong reservations about the anxiety chapter. She writes about fear and anxiety as psychological, physical, and spiritual issues, but even though her advice is holistic and helpful for people dealing with general what-ifs and fretting, it falls short for someone dealing with an anxiety disorder. Kellen briefly mentions that anti-anxiety medication can be helpful in some cases, and she mentions the use of strategies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, but she does not list or describe common anxiety disorders. I wish that she had addressed this topic more fully, especially since well-meaning Christian counselors often harm people with anxiety disorders, downplaying their experiences to typical worrying and wrongly attributing their mental health struggle to spiritual weakness. This chapter is a missed opportunity to correct readers' possible blind spots.

Overall, Counseling Women: Biblical Wisdom for Life's Battles is a high-quality resource for Christian therapists, pastors, and lay counselors who want to better equip themselves to help women with a variety of different life issues. This book is appropriate for both classroom use and personal reading, and Kellen's clear, concise writing is accessible to a broad audience. She avoids unexplained jargon or overly technical language, and includes helpful real-world examples. As Kellen repeatedly reminds us herself, this book is not supposed to be an authoritative or exhaustive resource, but it is a solid introduction to a wide range of life issues and counseling strategies.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Shirley Brosius · Rating 5 out of 5]

If your prayer life is not what you want it to be (and whose is?), this book is for you. Author Paul Miller and his wife Jill parent six children. One of them struggles with serious developmental issues and uses a voice machine to communicate. But in spite of (or maybe because of) family challenges, their prayer life has remained strong and steady.

I liked the short chapters that told of the Millers’ experiences in prayer and lead to suggestions for praying. Paul includes two chapters on laments to pray when prayers go unanswered. An Appendix includes details for making prayer cards, a system Paul developed and recommends.

Regardless of your time constraints, personality, or life situations, if you want to get to know your heavenly Father better and want Him to know what your heart desires, read this book. It has made me more aware of the need for and opportunities for prayer in my everyday life. I highly recommend A Praying Life and plan to work through it with my small group.

[Dena McGoldrick Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will keep this book close by as a resource. Dr Kellen is uniquely qualified to address many of the challenging needs that women face today and how we can biblically counsel them and still maintain that there are limits. I was encouraged by this book and reminded that we have much to offer others through the Scriptures, without negating the fact that there may be a need for professional help. I appreciated the lens that this book was authored that God is our creator and that His Word addresses much of our need. There is no need for having to choose between Biblical counseling or professional counseling. In many cases, there is a time and place for both.

[Jake Auton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid book that truly expanded my understanding of genuine biblical counseling. Kellen provided a multitude of practical steps to take with really challenging problems that any mentor/counselor/pastor may face. While Kellen highlighted several difficult topics that may particularly impact women and using specific stories and pronouns, at times I failed to see how the advice given and the topics discussed specifically guided counselors to minister to one gender over the other. Overall, this book was incredibly insightful and will definitely be referenced in the years to come as I continue to serve in ministry as long as the Lord wills it.

[Andi Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, the abuse and marriage issues chapter as well as others (depression, anxiety) were great. But this book falls short biblically in the area of same sex attraction and gender issues. That chapter was weak theologically and did not provide a clear or honest path to right counseling for those who struggle in this area.

[Melody Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciated the good foundation this book provides for counseling women biblically on a number of issues. I will keep it close by as a reference and resource for years to come! Her recommended resources at the end of each chapter is also helpful if the reader is interested in learning more about a particular subject.

[Emily Kerr]

This is honestly one of the best books on counseling women that I have ever read. While being thorough on how a Christian counselor can help an individual, the author sets clear boundaries for areas in which the Holy Spirit, medical professionals, and others can assist in a better way. I really enjoyed it, and I highly recommend it for any Christian who is involved in counseling others!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very high level, but easy to read, albeit a bit academic. The list of additional resources at the end of each chapter is so helpful for digging deeper into a particular topic. Some things I may not agree with, but I was greatly helped by it. An extremely helpful resource that I’d recommend to anyone looking to grow in counseling women.

[Alan Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Counseling Women is an excellent resource to Christian counselors pastors, lay women and men, and many more. It provides a helpful base for counseling women in the first, and walks through many issues common in counseling women specifically in the second half. I highly recommend this book.

[Deb Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5/5)
Introductory info on frequent counseling issues that women face.

[Caleb Pineda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful introduction to counseling. Not a ton that is specific to women, mostly just a good intro to counseling in general.

[Brady Boatwright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not a woman, but Dr Kellen's words are wise and very helpful for someone going into ministry that will no doubt have to counsel women in some capacity. Was grateful for this required reading