CBT and christianity : strategies and resources for reconciling faith in therapy

Content: List of Figures xii    List of Boxes xiii    List of Tables xiv    About the Author xvi    Author   s Preface xvii    Part 1 Rationale for the Use of the Teachings of Jesus in CBT 1    1 Introduction 3    Topics in Chapter 1 3    A historical view of spirituality, religion and psychotherapy 3    The development and dominance of cognitive therapy as a psychotherapy 4    The importance of Christianity in the West 6    The appreciation of the role of non  ]specific factors in psychotherapy 6    Interest in the Buddhist technique of    mindfulness    7    Findings relating religious adherence to positive mental and physical health 8    The growing respect for cultural and individual differences 9    The decline of logical positivism and the rise of postmodernism and social constructionist theory 9    The question of a logical connection between cognitive therapy and the teachings of Jesus 10    A general outline of the book 11    2 Introduction to Cognitive Therapy 12    Topics in Chapter 2 12    General aspects of psychotherapy 12    The basis of cognitive therapy 13    Beck   s cognitive therapy 14    Rational emotive (behaviour) therapy 16    Schema therapy 21    Similarities amongst the three main schools of cognitive therapy 26    3 The Context of the Teachings of Jesus 27    Topics in Chapter 3 27    Why we should consider the teachings of Jesus 28    The records of Jesus the person 29    The location of the teachings of Jesus 30    The approach taken in this book towards the teachings of Jesus 31    The historical context of the New Testament 32    The social context of the New Testament 40    Stages in the early dissemination of the teachings of Jesus 47    Jesus    own context 56    The written Gospels 56    Conclusion 59    4 What Did Jesus Teach: A Biblical Scholarship Approach 60    Topics in Chapter 4 60    The purpose of the chapter 60    Problems with direct use of the Gospels 61    Summary of factors influencing the content of the Gospels 65    The historical Jesus and the Jesus of faith (and the inerrancy of scripture) 66    Biblical scholarship: Tracking the words and deeds of Jesus 68    Conclusions about Jesus    life, circumstances and characteristic behaviour 73    Jesus    teachings as conveyed in words 75    The proverbial sayings (apophthegms/aphorisms) 79    Other kinds of sayings 82    Conclusion 82    5 Comparison of Jesus    Teaching with Cognitive Therapy: Part I: Logic 84    Topics in Chapter 5 84    Content and process of thinking 84    The nature of logic 85    Logic in cognitive therapy 88    Logic in the teaching of Jesus 89    A method for comparing cognitive therapy with the teachings of Jesus 89    Jesus    references to the use of logic 90    Conclusions 124    Comparison of Jesus    logic with cognitive therapy 125    6 Comparison of Jesus    Teaching with Cognitive Therapy: Part II: Content 127    Topics in Chapter 6 127    The content of cognitive therapy 127    The content of Jesus    deeds 132    The content of Jesus    teachings as reported by experts 135    The implicational content in Jesus    teachings 147    Relationship of themes identified in the teachings of Jesus to cognitive therapy 169    Part 2 Approach to Using the Teachings of Jesus in CBT with Christians 177    7 A Schema  ]Centred Model of Psychological Dysfunction 179    Topics in Chapter 7 179    A schema  ]centred model of psychological dysfunction 179    Assessment 189    Assessment as therapy 194    Choosing the intervention 196    Using the results of assessment in conjunction with the rest of this book 198    8 New Life in Cognitive Therapy 200    Topics in Chapter 8 200    Reasons for seeking therapy 200    Ways of doing therapy 201    The need to address Christian issues in therapy 202    Preliminary considerations for doing cognitive therapy with Christians 203    Use of the scriptures in cognitive therapy 204    Ways of using scripture in cognitive therapy 206    Making choices 207    Commitment 209    Is it appropriate for a Christian to use logic? 212    Using logic like Jesus 216    Jesus    view of logical errors 218    Values 223    Conclusion 224    9 Introduction to Content Interventions 226    Topics in Chapter 9 226    Overview of content intervention 226    Working with propositional content 227    Working with implicational content 234    Part 3 Resources for Using the Teachings of Jesus in CBT with Christians 239    10 Jesus and the Value of People 241    Topics in Chapter 10 241    Teachings relevant to the value of people 241    Social inclusion 242    Implicational work 247    Interpersonal considerations 250    The value of people 257    Loving 264    Conclusions 270    11 Relationship to God, the World and the Future 271    Topics in Chapter 11 271    God, the world and the future 271    Acceptance and trust versus fear and anxiety 272    Knowing the future 281    Spiritual versus material concerns 283    The relationship of Jesus    teachings to the Jewish Law: Principle versus literal/old versus new 289    The inconsequential becomes greatly valuable 295    12 The Christian   s Behaviour 297    Topics in Chapter 12 297    The relevance of Jesus    teaching to the Christian   s behaviour 297    Commitment, allegiance, readiness 298    What is important versus what is not important 304    Assumption of status 311    Asking for desires/praying 312    Prophecy, signs, logic 314    The relationships amongst intention, fantasy, action and responsibility 321    Conclusions 339    13 Following Jesus: The Ongoing Dialectic 341    Topics in Chapter 13 341    Dialectics in clinical psychology 341    Consistency between cognitive therapy and the teaching of Jesus 342    Assessment for treatment 343    Commitment to therapy 344    Using logic like Jesus 345    Values 346    Content interventions 347    Tensions in the content of Jesus    teaching 350    Resolution 351    Appendix 1: Life History Questionnaire 352    Appendix 2: Christian Values Rating Scale 357    Appendix 3: Some Useful Sets of Commentaries 358    References 360    Index 366