Its viewpoint was originally articulated by American author and preacher Jay E. Adams, in Competent to Counsel (1970) and further books.
Critics believe that it fails to deal adequately with emotion, grief, and suffering, and that it lacks understanding of complex human motivations.
Clinton and Ohlschlager express their belief that "shrill criticism and rancorous debate" are ill-suited to the mission of uplifting Christ as the model for counseling.
Three different views as to the origin of mental illness emphasize respectively: Furthermore, "[i]n the counseling field, many nouthetic counselors have said that Satan and his demons were bound, bruised, curtailed and restrained at the time of Christ's death and resurrection.
"[21] On page 800, the Baker Encyclopedia of Psychology and Counseling describes nouthetic counselors as "zealous to return God and the Bible to positions of authority in the hearts and lives of people", and criticises them as "failing to see the validity in alternative approaches".
[22] Donn Arms, a nouthetic counselor and associate of Jay E. Adams, wrote a response to the Encyclopedia's criticism.
In addition to techniques which critics consider ineffective, patients who are not helped by nouthetic counseling often consider themselves to be "unfaithful" or religious failures.