Book review: Healing for the City, Counseling in the Urban Setting.

I have never posted a book review, but I just did one for school and liked the book, so here you go...

Although written fifteen years ago, Healing for the City: Counseling in the Urban Setting, speaks to issues faced daily by today's city dwellers. Ellison & Maynard (1992) speak with expertise and passion about the beauty and hardship of city life. Although countless approaches could have been taken, Ellison & Maynard divide their work into three sections, making the task of their readers more than manageable. Section one looks at city life itself and the nature of counseling in the city. Section two introduces the reader to the people who live in the city. And section three ends the book by highlighting 11 pressing problems facing city dwellers.
'Urban life is a dazzling conundrum of contrasts' (Ellison & Maynard, 1992, p. 13). These are perfect words to describe city life. The beauty of diversity, energy, growth, and change is daily mixed with the effects of stress, economic hardship, prejudice, and crime. With these urban challenges in mind, Ellison & Maynard give a clear explanation of the nature, purpose, and possible forms of counseling within the city. Their grasp of psychology and theology allows them to validate several counseling formats (i.e. informal, discipleship, formal) as well as juggle the church's responsibility to believers and non-believers alike. Ellison & Maynard frequently use the word 'contextualization' as they challenge readers to assess the effect of culture and worldviews upon clients. In closing out the first section, a surprising but relevant chapter on evil and spiritual warfare pushes the reader to consider the greater spiritual battle at hand.
In the section titled People of the City, Ellison & Maynard (1992) explore the cultures of urban Asians, Blacks, and Hispanics respectively. The simple use of the word 'Black' gives a clue as to the age of the book but fortunately does not change the relevance of its content. Each ethnic group is fairly represented and the authors are wise in cautioning readers not to take their words as absolute truth in every situation.
The final section, Pressing Problems, introduces specific issues frequently plaguing city dwellers, including addictive behaviors, domestic abuse, AIDS, and victimization to name a few. For each topic Ellison & Maynard (1992) share case studies, along with case conceptualization formats, and basic goals for the counselee in each situation. These are helpful to lay counselors and professional counselors as well. The authors recognize the presence of each pressing problem in more rural areas as well, but believe them to present unique challenges within the city.
Healing for the City: Counseling in the Urban Setting, is a book I would highly recommend. That said, I do have a couple of critiques. First, I would have liked to see chapters addressing non-hispanic white and refugee populations. Speaking as one who lives in a major U.S. city, minority is quickly becoming the new majority and this calls for new ways of interacting and believing from all sides. The decade in which the book was written would not change the fact that urban caucasians face their own set of struggles. Refugees come to cities in large numbers and bring with them their own mix of culture and pain. As christians, Ellison & Maynard (1992) probably hold to the belief that God created all men equal in his eyes, but I wish I knew why caucasians and refugees were not included. Secondly, the goals of counseling in section three could be taken as cookie cutter solutions if one is not actively engaging in the reading. We must be cautious to remember Ellison & Maynard are offering general guidelines to be wisely followed, discarded, or modified.
Overall I was pleasantly surprised at the scope of this book and Ellison & Maynard's (1992) understanding and wisdom. I work, live, and minister in Chicago and was challenged anew as to how I view my surroundings and the people in them. I would go so far as to say it should be a must read for anyone considering a journey into city life and ministry. It is rare to read a book that is applicable for serving believers and non-believers as well as appropriate for clergy, lay people, and professionals alike. But this is one of them!