Clinical Theology

Frank Lake's outstanding treatise about pastoral counselling and psychology is an interdisciplinary project. It combines both pastoral psychology and contemporary psychology/psychoanalysis. Lake's "spiritual research" commences from the christian faith and outlines its importance for the nowadays man and his life within society,in view to broaden a modern understanding of the pastoral ideas of christianity. Lake does not simply work upon the authors' writings of the New Testament, but elaborates them in order to fulfil his in-depth-of-the-topic investigation: that pastoral counselling is line-to-line connected to psychology/psy-choanalysis, for inherits the foundations unto a fruitful scrutinization of the needs and expectations of the modern man, with the perspective to guide him towards psychospiritual elevation and self-realisation.

Frank Lake's book is unique. It presents a Christian alternative to Freudian psychoanalysis. Instead of relating psychiatric problems to the sex drive, he relates them to early problems in the mother child relationship, and to trauma produced by those problems. He shows how our relationship with God can replace what was lacking in the Mother child relationship. The book is out of print in the United States, but is still in print in Great Britain. It's worth the trouble of ordering from Britain.