| Jay E. Adams | |
| Birth Date: | 30 January 1929 |
| Birth Place: | Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Counselor, writer, founder of The Institute for Nouthetic Studies |
Jay Edward Adams (January 30, 1929 – November 14, 2020) was an American Presbyterian preacher and author who was known for his development in the mid and late 20th century of counseling based on Biblical scriptures. He published more than 100 books related to this topic, which have been translated into 16 languages.
After decades in practice, Adams wrote Competent to Counsel (1970), which was highly influential for biblical pastoral theology. He also founded The Institute for Nouethetic Studies, putting together a curriculum to support such work. It has trained practitioners and also served as a center of resources for this practice and related studies. His approach was evangelical and conservative.
According to an interview by Aaron Blumer, Adams' major influence on counseling was based on his book Competent to Counsel, published in 1970, when he was about 40 years old.[1] From its ideas, Adams further developed what is known as nouthetic counseling.[2] Over time, Adams became a popular advocate of "strictly biblical approaches" to counseling, described as having perspectives that have continued to influence evangelical Christianity in the early 21st century. [3]
In the late 20th century, John F. MacArthur said that Adams, through his book Competent to Counsel (1970), gave the Christian church "an indispensable corrective to several trends that are eating away at the Church's spiritual vitality".[4] Derek Tidball said that Adams made an "enormous contribution to the revival of biblical pastoral theology."[5] According to Ian F. Jones, Tim Clinton, and George Ohlschlager, "Jay Adams brought a biblical revolution to Christian and pastoral counseling in the 1970s, challenging a field that was racing toward rancor, even dissolution by its fascination with all manner of anti-Christian psycho-babble."[6] David Powlison said that Adams' writings provided "abundant resources for the development of counseling". These led to the establishment of various institutions based on his views.
Some non-evangelical psychologists have argued that nouthetic counseling[7] can do considerable harm to patients. Critics note that some of the recommended techniques are ineffective. Also, patients who are not helped by nouthetic counseling often consider themselves religious failures, adding to their problems.[8] [9] [10] Further criticism comes from The Baker Encyclopedia of Psychology and Counseling, which states that "Adams seems to be not fully knowledgeable regarding the theories he criticizes" and that "confrontation is also essential to the theory of Adams." However, it also states that this confrontation "is defined as caring confrontation."
Mark McMinn has said, however, that "Dr. Adams has received a great deal of unfair, uninformed criticism from the Christian counseling community. Although I do not share Dr. Adams' opinion on confronting sin in counseling, I do respect his pioneering work in biblical counseling."[11]
See main article: Jay E. Adams bibliography. Adams wrote more than 100 books, including:[13]