The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors has chosen the 2025 biblical counseling book of the year. The winner was selected by a vote of ACBC’s certified counselors. These titles have served countless biblical counselors this year as we aim to present one another mature in Christ with the power of His all-sufficient Word,.
Winner:
Lies My Therapist Told Me: Why Christians Should Aim for More Than Just Treating Symptoms by Greg E. Gifford
Too many people are caught in a vicious cycle of visiting every doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist, and therapist in their area only to find frustrating labels and numbing medications at the end of each path. Rather than eradicating anxiety in the same way vaccines conquered smallpox, the mental health establishment has seen the number of diagnoses and prescriptions skyrocket on its watch.
How did we get here? And does Christianity have any answers for this mental health crisis?
In Lies My Therapist Told Me, Dr. Greg Gifford delivers the definitive Christian critique of secular psychiatry and psychology. He shows how mental health culture spreads beliefs that misinform our understanding of ourselves and our issues, and he debunks popular myths such as:
- We feel and act the way we do because the body keeps the scores of trauma
- Addiction is a disease
- If you improve your brain health, your mind will follow
- Medications can heal your mind
- Every abnormal or sinful behavior is caused by a mental disorder
These ideas, though common, are ultimately unhelpful because they are based on unbiblical assumptions. Gifford brings clarity where secular therapy has created confusion, and offers hope even for those struggling with the hard cases.
Second Place:
Trauma Redeemed: A Biblical Response to Medicalized Suffering by Julie Ganschow
In Trauma Redeemed, Dr. Julie Ganschow offers a compelling biblical framework for understanding and addressing catastrophic suffering, challenging the secular medicalization of trauma. As terms like PTSD dominate modern culture, this book calls biblical counselors and Christians to return to the sufficiency of Scripture for healing the soul. Exploring the roots of suffering in the fall of mankind, Ganschow redefines trauma as distress of the soul, providing a gospel-centered model of care that addresses the whole person—body, mind, and spirit. Through practical guidance, case studies like Sally’s journey of redemption, and “Consider and Apply” questions, readers discover how to minister to those who have endured abuse, violence, or loss. Emphasizing the church’s vital role in discipleship and healing, Trauma Redeemed equips pastors, counselors, and believers to point the hurting to true hope in Christ. Ideal for anyone seeking a transformative, Scripture-based approach to trauma recovery.
Third Place:
Do I Need Boundaries?: Seeking to Please God by Learning to Say No by Jim Newheiser
In Do I Need Boundaries? counselor Jim Newheiser offers practical advice for setting appropriate boundaries in our relationships and uses real-life scenarios to teach how to manage difficult situations. He highlights how our struggles to set boundaries are often due to having the wrong motives and offers a Christ-centered alternative to popular cultural solutions.
Fourth Place:
John Newton was an eighteenth-century Anglican minister who is best known as the writer of the hymn “Amazing Grace.” Yet he was also the leading pastoral counselor of his generation who kept up a prolific letter-writing ministry of pastoral care to dozens of people from all walks of life who wrote seeking his advice. But why was Newton’s counsel so popular? This work seeks to answer this question by exploring Newton’s unique theology of suffering, which formed an essential structure that informed and shaped his model of soul care. Influenced by this doctrine, Newton’s manner and methodology of pastoral care is explored, highlighting key principles of his strategy as he sought to care for others. Finally, two examples of Newton’s counsel are considered: his ministry to his wife during her chronic health issue and his care of the poet, William Cowper, through his decades of struggle with depression.
Fifth Place:
The New Eclecticism: A Comprehensive Appraisal of the Contemporary Paradigm of Trauma by Francine Tan
In light of recent findings in neuroscience and psychology, the buzzword “trauma,” along with its theories and therapies, has caused confusion among counselors in the biblical counseling movement. This dissertation aims to dispel confusion and debunk myths about trauma theories and pseudoscientific claims. From the historical development of the concept of trauma to present-day neuroscientific findings, this author provides a comprehensive appraisal of the concept, theories, and scientific research of trauma in order to demonstrate that they are not compatible with biblical counseling theory and practice.
