“If I Have God, Why Would I Need Therapy Too?”

For those of us who have experienced trauma, we know that God is enough, and we need a therapist. God said He would be with me, that He would never leave me or forsake me, and He said His burden was light. But He didn’t tell me how to take all these scriptures and apply them to trauma. What I’ve learned is that God used people to teach me that. A licensed therapist who has a like mind can help you process trauma through a Biblical lens.

For those who say, ‘God is enough, we don’t need a therapist,' let me ask you a question: Why did God choose people to spread the Gospel instead of just giving us salvation? He has all the power. He doesn’t need to use men to spread His Gospel, but He has always used men to minister, to help, to bear burdens, and to witness to others. A therapist is no different. A Christian therapist will help you apply these principles to the anxiety, depression, and trauma you are facing.

For example, the Bible says, “Cast your cares (anxieties) on Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). But how do you do that? A Christian therapist can teach you to have a mental image of God’s Hand, put the worry into that Hand, and let the Hand take it to Heaven. This is a practical way to apply the verse using a therapy skill. This is called Guided Imagery, a CBT skill that releases the worry from you and gives it to God.

A therapist could guide you through trauma through a DBT or EMDR lens by processing trauma through a redemptive lens instead of a trauma lens. “I was abandoned” becomes “God never left me, even when others did.” Another helpful skill is to use IMPROVE (DBT skill). This teaches us to visualize a peaceful scene, put meaning to the situation, pray, relax, and more. From a biblical perspective, we can visualize Heaven (where there’s no sorrow, no anxiety, no pain, no death, no trauma), ask God to use this for good, pray His Word, meditate on His Word (which brings relaxation), and take a mental vacation from this life to think about the one to come.

God will not be angry that you see a therapist, because they are there to guide you to the life that Jesus promised. He said He would give life abundantly, and living in trauma and anxiety is not an abundant life. A Christian may be selective in the therapists they choose and go through a few until they get the right fit, and that’s okay! Pray about a therapist, seek a licensed, Christian therapist, and allow God to heal you mentally.

Refuge Springs Counseling

Phone: 850-530-6662

Email: refugespringscounseling25@gmail.com

Pensacola, Florida