Journal: Reformation and Revival
Volume: RAR 13:2 (Spring 2004)
Article: A Select Annotated Bibliography
Author: Philip G. Monroe

RAR 13:2 (Spring 2004) p. 185

A Select Annotated Bibliography

Philip G. Monroe

These books represent modern, helpful explorations of the parameters of Christian psychology, pastoral care as well as practical texts dealing with common problems people face today. Some authors are not Christian but write in a way that causes the reader to think differently about the topic.

Cushman, Philip. Constructing the Self, Constructing America: A Cultural History of Psychotherapy. Reading, Massachusettes: Addison-Wesley, 1995. Cushman has given us a fascinating look at how American culture has shaped our sense of the ideal self, our “illnesses,” and the healers we use to achieve our ideal self. He traces the American self from Puritan New England through the Eighties. Of most interest is his critique of post WW 2 America and how we moved from a service oriented society to a self-fulfillment society. Therapy, in his mind, promised deliverance from the empty unfulfilled self. However, most likely it only increased the search for the self-centered self. Though not in this book, Cushman has since argued that we are in the era of the “multiple self”—where we no longer look to find our true self but look to temporary and convenient presentations of the self that are most attractive and efficacious. If this is true, then people are likely to come to therapy not to find themselves but to make their chaotic life work. For those interested in a Christian perspective on this, they might want to explore Stan Grenz’, The Social God and the Relational Self. He also traces the demise of the modern self as well as

RAR 13:2 (Spring 2004) p. 186

argues for a Trinitarian understanding of the self.

Gottman, John. Why Marriages Succeed or Fail. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. A popular book written by a researcher at the University of Washington. He makes some very interesting observations after studying how husbands and wives communicate to each other over the course of 20 years of marriage. While not a Christian book, Gottman points out a number of common problems in marriages such as overly negative interpretations of one’s spouse, contempt, withdrawal, etc., in a fashion that is easy to understand. While extremely thin on what to do about these problems, Gottman illustrates these problems in a way that many couples can identify and target for change. Other books of interest in this genre: Fighting For Your Marriage by Markman, Stanley, and Blumberg.

Jones, Stanton L. and Eric L. Johnson, editors. Psychology & Christianity: 4 Views. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press. 2000. This book contains the most recent discussion of models of Christian counseling in one volume. Authors Gary...