Should Christians Seek Psychotherapy?

Tuesday, March 11, 2014 @ 3:54 PM

There are two reasons Christian should seek Psychotherapy. The first reason is important: to improve your overall life quality. A couple of researchers found one's attachment to God predicts their general sense of well-being (Limke & Mayfield, 2011). In turn, one's attachment to God is predicted by his or her attachment to his/her father. In other words, Christians whose relationship with their father is poor is also likely to have a poor attachment to God, which translates into having a poorer sense of well-being.

The second reason is no less important: therapy is helpful to treat the consequences of past trauma. Indeed, while people who have been abused mightotherwise lead a meaningful life, there are still areas in their lives that are suffering. For instance, survivors of childhood sexual abuse tend to desire partners who are themselves attracted to violence and abuse (Zurbriggen et al., 2012). These survivors will continue to pair up with partners that are unhealthy for them, even if others (including preachers and sermons) are telling them not to do it. In fact, they are likely to struggle in all sorts of relationships, because trauma impairs our view of attachment. Unresolved attachment issues will affect current relationships.

References:

Limke, A., & Mayfield, P. (2011). Attachment to God: Differentiating the contributions of fathers and mothers using the experiences in parental relationships scale. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 39, 122-129.

Zurbriggen, E. L., Gobin, M. S., & Kaehler, L. A. (2012). Trauma, attachment, and intimate relationships. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 13, 127-133.

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