During the 20th century, when psychology took off as a social science, pastors from many evangelical denominations began referring more of their struggling parishioners to psychologists and secular counselors outside the church. This trend disturbed Jay Adams, an evangelical pastor with a conservative interpretation of the Bible. In the 1970s, Adams wrote a book, "Competent to Counsel," which launched a reactionary movement intended to restore biblical counseling as the correct therapy for Christians dealing with relational problems. Strictly rejecting psychology as a legitimate aid to counseling, he has written numerous texts and founded several organizations that aim to teach Christians how to apply biblical concepts to life's challenges.
Counselor training programs may be taught by pastors, professors or other church leaders, depending on the level of certification offered. In these programs, students typically learn biblical concepts related to the formation of good habits; mental perspectives that are focused on God, not self; and the use of homework in counseling sessions to accelerate life changes. They are usually expected to gain a solid foundation in evangelical theological studies, since biblical counseling is based on a conservative interpretation of practical or applied theology.
The National Association of Nouthetic Counselors is the flagship organization offering certification for biblical counselors, through training seminars offered in different locations around the country each year. The Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation offers similar training at its campus in Philadelphia, and it has added a distance learning option as well. Many churches now have training programs as part of their discipleship programs, notably Faith Baptist Church in West Lafayette, Indiana, and Grace Community Church outside Los Angeles.
For those seeking an advanced academic degree, The Masters College near Los Angeles, Westminster Seminary in Philadephia and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, are among the accredited institutions offering a Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling. These programs typically require two to three years of study, with some courses available as short summer modules.
By 2010, several organizations had produced DVDs to make home study possible. Adams launched a new ministry that produced a 180-hour DVD curriculum called the Institute for Nouthetic Studies. Faith Baptist Church offers a 30-hour curriculum taped from its yearly training conferences. Twelve Stones Ministries in Morgantown, Indiana, sells an 18-session DVD series called "Biblical Soul Care for the Local Church." Like the church-based trainings, these are not accredited programs, but they provide a basic biblical counseling education for those not seeking a post-graduate degree.
P&R Publishers and CCEF both publish books intended to help pastors and church members understand the philosophy and application of biblical counseling. Recent titles such as "Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands" by Paul Tripp and "Seeing with New Eyes" by David Powlison have added new perspectives to the dozens of foundational books by Adams.