Modern Psychopathologies

“Few volumes have served the Christian mental health community as reliably as Modern Psychopathologies, an enduring textbook and a trusted reference for practicing professionals. In this latest edition, the authors—three distinguished Christian scholars—once again offer a faithful and timely resource, carefully updated to reflect the most recent diagnostic criteria. As in previous editions, their 'Christian Appraisal' and 'Integrative Themes' sections stand out as thoughtful, wise, and helpful, ensuring this volume remains an important guide for both students and seasoned practitioners.”

Mark R. McMinn

“This volume is an important and unique contribution to the diagnostic literature. In it, the authors discuss the interface between the current understandings of psychopathology within the behavioral sciences and the long tradition of pastoral care for 'troubled persons' offered by the Christian church. They show a deep respect for both traditions while pointing out both the similarities and differences in the assumptions that undergird them. This third edition brings the volume up to date, taking account of the changes in the diagnostic system brought on by the publication of the DSM-5-TR.”

Randolph K. Sanders

“This revised edition of Modern Psychopathologies will be a very useful text for courses in diagnosis and psychopathology in Christian institutions as well as an excellent resource for Christian students enrolled in secular schools. I appreciate the care the authors have taken to place contemporary conceptualizations of psychopathology within the historical context of pastoral care and current church ministry, as well as to incorporate discussion of theological concepts such as the role of sin and suffering. Their organization of the material around DSM-5 categories will help students better understand this diagnostic system, while their critiques of DSM-5 will help enable students to understand both its benefits and limitations.”

Heather Davediuk Gingrich

“This third edition of Modern Psychopathologies is an update based on the DSM-5-TR, with appropriate critique of it, while maintaining distinctively Christian perspectives on pastoral care, sin, and psychopathology. It continues to be a substantial contribution to integration literature and a seminal text for courses on psychopathology, abnormal psychology, diagnosis and assessment, and integration. Highly recommended!”

Siang-Yang Tan

“This book provides Christians in the helping professions with a solid scaffolding for integrating Christian doctrine and practice with psychopathology. The authors deal masterfully with the thorny and complex problem of the relationship between sin and psychopathology as well as the related issue of responsibility. This book combines the best and most recent advances in the understanding of psychopathology with the richness of Christian thought on human suffering, helping to create a vision for a Christian response that moves beyond symptom reduction to flourishing. I highly recommend this book to pastors and therapists seeking to more thoughtfully address human brokenness in all its varieties.”

M. Elizabeth Lewis Hall

“The second edition of this seminal work includes helpful information regarding diagnostic changes, both large and small, in DSM-5. The authors remain committed to a holistic understanding of human suffering—an approach that seeks to stimulate conversations about the complicated connections among the spiritual, psychological, religious, and secular notions of human dysfunction. Especially helpful is their concluding chapter on responsible care in an imperfect system. Students of abnormal psychology and the art of diagnosis will benefit from this useful and readable text.”

James R. Beck

“Integrating faith with science is a significant undertaking in Christian higher education. As one who teaches Introduction to Psychopathology to beginning clinical psychology doctoral students in a faith-based program, I am consistently searchingfor tools to assist in the process of integration. I was summarily impressed with the first edition of this book, having used it for several years. I am excited to endorse this second edition, which brings the text up to date with current diagnosticorganization and nomenclature in the DSM-5. The authors make integration explicit, sharing connections between historical faith traditions, current faith practices and understanding, and the latest scientific evidence from psychopathology. They outline general frameworks for understanding psychopathology from scriptural, pastoral, and scientific lenses. They then move to nuanced exploration of specific groupings of disorders, maintaining this multiple-lens approach. This allows for the reader to consider pathology from various perspectives and begin the process of integration. I have not found a better tool for assisting students with integration around issues of psychopathology. I highly recommend this text.”

David M. Cimbora

“Finally! A comprehensive Christian perspective on abnormal psychology. This book is grounded, insightful, biblical, practical, accessible—and long overdue. Everyone interested in exploring psychopathology from a Christian worldview will relish reading this updated edition of the book.”

Les Parrott

“Books on psychopathology are a dime a dozen. However, no other volume takes into consideration the centuries-old tradition of the treatment of the mentally ill by priests and pastors as well as carefully thought-out applied theologies relating sin to human frailty. When these considerations are combined with a definitive survey of contemporary theory and research, we have a seminal volume that will be a standard for years to come. I cannot think of a volume that better balances tradition with practice.”

H. Newton Malony