I am so thankful you have gotten the help you need and are sharing your journey with others. My experience has been similar. There are real physical and neurobiological effects (including trauma) that in my opinion Biblical counselling cannot get close to treating. A huge takeaway for me from therapy with a licensed professional has been the whole concept of "both/and," not "either/or." I've lived in fear so much of my life and I can now see how that was the outworking of so much bad theology, and it took a very real toll on my physical body. I believe God loves us and wants us to heal-- that will look different for everyone, and that's okay.
I completely agree—sadly many biblical counsellors have stepped outside of their abilities and have attempted to fix physical issues, which is beyond their qualifications, and have caused real damage because of it.
I'm so sorry you suffered so much under bad theology. Over the years, I've come to see that theology doesn't only have spiritual consequences; it also affects our physical and emotional well-being as well. Like you said, everyone's healing may look slightly different, and we can't expect to copy-and-paste a Bible passage to every person with the same struggle.
Thank you so much for writing this. I can relate to all the extremes because Inwent through similar. I thought everything was idolatry and all emotions were bad. Instead of being able to love my family, I was angry and anxious all the time and I believed that I had answers for everything. The good news is, my relationship with my children is good now, and much of the anxiety relating to God has calmed.
I see you have the Be Thou My Vision book. That helped me a lot in the height anxiety over pandemic stuff. 😅 Honestly, that kept my faith in tact.
I am very happy to see where you are now and dare I say...proud of you for being able to write this and publish this publicly. These are not easy things to speak about in the church.
Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words, Emily. I'm truly grateful. It's definitely not easy to write words like these, and very much out of my comfort zone!
I'm so sorry you went through such a similar battle and was burdened under the same false teachings. It took me so long to be okay with my emotions and not see every "negative" emotion as a problem to be smothered. I'm glad to hear that your anxiety has calmed and that your relationship with your children has healed.
I love Be Thou My Vision. Such a beautiful and helpful book. It's completely changed my morning routine and helped me have a more regular and less overwhelming time in God's Word.
Thank you for sharing your story and writing this.
“If I viewed the Bible as sufficient, I shouldn’t need secular counselling—according to biblical counselling, secular psychology will do more harm than good. For that reason I suffered in silence, believing that if I could just smash my idols, strengthen my trust, love myself less, and memorize enough Bible verses, I could fix it all. Scripture should be enough for me.”
You described what I’ve been wrestling with for years. I cried reading this and then I promptly made an appointment I’ve been putting off with the secular postpartum counselor several professionals have been recommending to me. Thank you.
Anna, that last line brings tears to my eyes. That is my hope for writing pieces like this; that I would equip people with the courage to go and receive the help they need rather than allowing false teachings about Scripture to keep them afraid of seeking help.
So, I’m a clinical psychologist (in Australia, requires a Masters degree), and have often wondered if I should do further theology training or biblical counselling. I love your reasoning here. I’m trained in trauma therapy and I love learning about what the body does to protect itself, how intricate and amazing God’s design is. And there are common principles that he has set in his creation, like facing fear helps reduce it, or acknowledging emotions and grief with someone else to sit with us helps us process. Mirror neurons are amazing! I could talk about this for hours, but this was a well considered and honest reflection that I think will be encouraging to others 🧡
If you were looking for more theological training, I would look to CCEF or SBTS; they offer a much more balanced view of faith and counselling while having solid theology behind them.
Thank you for your kind words about my piece, and it means a lot coming from you and your thorough background in this topic! I agree, it truly is amazing to see God's common grace at work through his creation and how general revelation allows even those who do not know him to discover such life-changing truths about the mind and body. It is not a lack of faith to acknowledge that, but a praise of God's goodness!
Aww thank you! Good to know! I’ve heard of CCEF but not the other one. Giving serious thought to a grad dip at trinity theological college in Perth one day. But not anytime soon as I just had my third baby a month ago 😂😂😂
What a heartfelt and honest reflection, Lara. I'm so glad I came across it tonight. I had actually been very interested in becoming a biblical counselor. During my research, I learned about many different programs. CCEF seems the most grace-filled to me, while still sticking with biblical truths. I've decided to go a different way though, and am pursuing my MSW to do private counseling.
You very eloquently put into words how I'd like to respond to some in the church who have (or I'm sure will) question my decision to pursue the "secular path." Thank you for your bravery and sharing your thoughts and ideas in such a well-organized way.
I agree that CCEF seems like a much more solid place to receive both theological and counselling training for lay people. I've benefitted from many of the resources they have created over the years! And yes, definitely feel no shame whatsoever for choosing the "secular path" for your training! You can be such a light in the secular world as you bring both God's goodness and grace along with clinical knowledge to the counseling room.
Thank you, Lara. I hope that's the case. I know God will lead me to counsel whoever can benefit most from it--whether they're Christian or not. I love how He leads us!
I am so thankful you have gotten the help you need and are sharing your journey with others. My experience has been similar. There are real physical and neurobiological effects (including trauma) that in my opinion Biblical counselling cannot get close to treating. A huge takeaway for me from therapy with a licensed professional has been the whole concept of "both/and," not "either/or." I've lived in fear so much of my life and I can now see how that was the outworking of so much bad theology, and it took a very real toll on my physical body. I believe God loves us and wants us to heal-- that will look different for everyone, and that's okay.
I completely agree—sadly many biblical counsellors have stepped outside of their abilities and have attempted to fix physical issues, which is beyond their qualifications, and have caused real damage because of it.
I'm so sorry you suffered so much under bad theology. Over the years, I've come to see that theology doesn't only have spiritual consequences; it also affects our physical and emotional well-being as well. Like you said, everyone's healing may look slightly different, and we can't expect to copy-and-paste a Bible passage to every person with the same struggle.
Thank you so much for writing this. I can relate to all the extremes because Inwent through similar. I thought everything was idolatry and all emotions were bad. Instead of being able to love my family, I was angry and anxious all the time and I believed that I had answers for everything. The good news is, my relationship with my children is good now, and much of the anxiety relating to God has calmed.
I see you have the Be Thou My Vision book. That helped me a lot in the height anxiety over pandemic stuff. 😅 Honestly, that kept my faith in tact.
I am very happy to see where you are now and dare I say...proud of you for being able to write this and publish this publicly. These are not easy things to speak about in the church.
Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words, Emily. I'm truly grateful. It's definitely not easy to write words like these, and very much out of my comfort zone!
I'm so sorry you went through such a similar battle and was burdened under the same false teachings. It took me so long to be okay with my emotions and not see every "negative" emotion as a problem to be smothered. I'm glad to hear that your anxiety has calmed and that your relationship with your children has healed.
I love Be Thou My Vision. Such a beautiful and helpful book. It's completely changed my morning routine and helped me have a more regular and less overwhelming time in God's Word.
Thank you for sharing your story and writing this.
“If I viewed the Bible as sufficient, I shouldn’t need secular counselling—according to biblical counselling, secular psychology will do more harm than good. For that reason I suffered in silence, believing that if I could just smash my idols, strengthen my trust, love myself less, and memorize enough Bible verses, I could fix it all. Scripture should be enough for me.”
You described what I’ve been wrestling with for years. I cried reading this and then I promptly made an appointment I’ve been putting off with the secular postpartum counselor several professionals have been recommending to me. Thank you.
Anna, that last line brings tears to my eyes. That is my hope for writing pieces like this; that I would equip people with the courage to go and receive the help they need rather than allowing false teachings about Scripture to keep them afraid of seeking help.
So, I’m a clinical psychologist (in Australia, requires a Masters degree), and have often wondered if I should do further theology training or biblical counselling. I love your reasoning here. I’m trained in trauma therapy and I love learning about what the body does to protect itself, how intricate and amazing God’s design is. And there are common principles that he has set in his creation, like facing fear helps reduce it, or acknowledging emotions and grief with someone else to sit with us helps us process. Mirror neurons are amazing! I could talk about this for hours, but this was a well considered and honest reflection that I think will be encouraging to others 🧡
If you were looking for more theological training, I would look to CCEF or SBTS; they offer a much more balanced view of faith and counselling while having solid theology behind them.
Thank you for your kind words about my piece, and it means a lot coming from you and your thorough background in this topic! I agree, it truly is amazing to see God's common grace at work through his creation and how general revelation allows even those who do not know him to discover such life-changing truths about the mind and body. It is not a lack of faith to acknowledge that, but a praise of God's goodness!
Aww thank you! Good to know! I’ve heard of CCEF but not the other one. Giving serious thought to a grad dip at trinity theological college in Perth one day. But not anytime soon as I just had my third baby a month ago 😂😂😂
Lara this is so helpful. Thank you for bravely sharing your experience.
Thank you, Whitney, this truly means a lot ❤️
What a heartfelt and honest reflection, Lara. I'm so glad I came across it tonight. I had actually been very interested in becoming a biblical counselor. During my research, I learned about many different programs. CCEF seems the most grace-filled to me, while still sticking with biblical truths. I've decided to go a different way though, and am pursuing my MSW to do private counseling.
You very eloquently put into words how I'd like to respond to some in the church who have (or I'm sure will) question my decision to pursue the "secular path." Thank you for your bravery and sharing your thoughts and ideas in such a well-organized way.
I agree that CCEF seems like a much more solid place to receive both theological and counselling training for lay people. I've benefitted from many of the resources they have created over the years! And yes, definitely feel no shame whatsoever for choosing the "secular path" for your training! You can be such a light in the secular world as you bring both God's goodness and grace along with clinical knowledge to the counseling room.
Thank you, Lara. I hope that's the case. I know God will lead me to counsel whoever can benefit most from it--whether they're Christian or not. I love how He leads us!
Wow! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 Thanks Lara.
Thank you for the encouragement, Jacqi!
I appreciate your thoughtfulness on this topic. It’s giving me some things to think about and mull over.
Thank you for the encouragement, Olivia! I'm so glad this essay can be of help to you!