Books on Christian Grief Counseling

From LoveToKnow Dying

Books on Christian grief counseling can prove to be an invaluable help to those who are seeking to cope with a loss.

Different Books on Christian Grief Counseling

There are many different facets to books on Christian grief counseling. For this reason, here are some authors one can turn to:

Phillip Culbertson

Phillip Culbertson takes a holistic approach to grief counseling with Caring For God’s People. Here, the reader is walked, step by step, through three different theories:

Family Systems
Narrative Counseling
Object Relations

In this way, the reader is given a wide lens with which they can view the role of counseling, and they are at liberty to choose the theory that rings most true to them. Another key objective of the Culbertson book is to comfort grief in all its forms, whether it is through the loss of a marriage (divorce) or the loss of a loved one (death). This multi-faceted view of grief means that this book retains its relevance through the ups and downs of life’s journey.

Blair G. Meeks

Sometimes the best way to help someone cope with a loss is to offer them words of wisdom. Unfortunately, few among us know just what to say to comfort those in distress. That’s why Blair G. Meek’s Standing in the Circle of Grief: Prayers and Liturgies for Death and Dying can be such a tremendous help. Whether in a private, or a public setting, this book can help you say the most comforting, and fitting, of words.

Phillip W. Williams

No one has a road map when it comes to grief and once one is confronted with it, it’s easy to feel as if you are lost in a vast ocean, tossed this way and that, nary a paddle nor a boat in sight. When a Loved One Dies by Phillip W. Williams seeks to remove some of that confusion and conflicting emotions from this process.

To be sure, there is no manual for coping with grief, but there are a set of universal emotions that occurs, and that’s what this book is designed to help one navigate. The entire book rest on biblical beliefs and the importance of prayer, but it is designed in such a way that one can use several of the passages so that they are relatable to a whole host of people, from a parent, to a friend, to a child.

Samuel L. Oliver

Grief comes in many forms and it doesn’t always arrive as an unexpected event. Sometimes, we know that someone is going to pass and that process, of waiting and preparing, can be an agonizing one.

If this is your particular situation, then reading What the Dying Teach Us by Samuel L. Oliver, can be very beneficial. This work strives to shed light on the lessons one can take away from those that are dying, and how to celebrate their spirit once they do pass.

June Hunt

Finding hope and comfort in times of grief is an enormous challenge. This is even true for those of strong Christian faith. In June Hunt’s Counseling Through Your Bible: A Handbook of Biblical Hope and Practical Help for Everyday Problems, seeks to fill this void. Not only does Ms. Hunt address grief and its many components, but she also discusses:

Difficult relationships
Anger, depression and guilt
Forgiveness and reconciliation

Richard Lewis Detrich and Nicola J. Steele

Authors Richard Lewis Detrich and Nicola J. Steele give us How to Recover from Grief. This book may be very helpful for those that do best with a plan of some sort, or need guidance and direction in order to comprehend their situation and what they are going through. The subject of grief is discussed at length, but there are also some practical steps that are offered to help one through this tumultuous process.