A classic in the field of Christian counseling, Competent to Counsel has helped thousands of pastors, students, laypersons, and Christian counselors develop both a general approach to Christian counseling and a specific response to particular problems. Using biblically directed discussion, nouthetic counseling works by means of the Holy Spirit to bring about change in the personality and behavior of the counselee.

As Dr. Jay Adams points out in his introduction, "I have been engrossed in the project of developing biblical counseling and have uncovered what I consider to be a number of important scriptural principles.... There have been dramatic results.... Not only have people's immediate problems been resolved, but there have also been solutions to all sorts of long-term problems as well." Since its first publication in 1970, this book has gone through more than 30 printings. It establishes the basis for and an introduction to a counseling approach that is being used in pastors' studies, in counseling centers, and across dining room tables throughout the country and around the world.