Trying to choose between Christian counseling and secular therapy? Discover practical, faith-based tips to help you decide which approach best supports your mental and spiritual health.
As a Christian, have you ever found yourself struggling with your mental health, even after turning to prayer, God’s Word, and faithful family and church support systems? A licensed Christian therapist would be the next logical step, but many believers mistakenly feel a pang of guilt or shame for considering that option. Mental health and counseling can still be divisive topics within some faith communities, where, misguided though it is, there can sometimes be more of a stigma related to seeking help than in the secular world.
While we believe God helps us and we understand that we are not to walk in our Christian journeys alone, that understanding sometimes falters when it applies to our mental health, when the fear lingers of seeming “weak” in our faith. Christians are regrettably not immune to this main stigma from our society that has hung over counseling for generations. “It’s weak to ask for help” is a devilish lie that has infiltrated society for many decades and is only now beginning to fade from the public eye, even in Christian circles.
But Christians face an additional stigma: “asking for help from a spiritual perspective isn’t real help.” This new stigma cuts into Christian families and churches by pitting counseling and mental health services against faith when the two should walk hand in hand.
Despite how the world presents these extremes, Christian counseling is not only viable but is the optimal form of mental health aid Christians should seek, as it acknowledges both scientific and physical components as well as recognizing a deep, spiritual element in how we were created. Christian counseling recognizes and supports this vital interrelationship between our mental, physical and spiritual health as we live out our Kingdom journeys. For the Christian, this counseling doesn’t just begin with appointments; it is a process with many steps that begins with prayer and searching for the wisdom of Scripture to prepare you to step out in faith for help and guidance.
These stigmas and the secular world’s negative perspective on Christian counseling are dangerous and must be combatted. The best way for believers to do this is by understanding the value of biblical counseling and its foundational truths for a lasting impact.
A faithful retort against the stigmas of mental health
Regarding the first aforementioned stigma, Christian counseling rejects the belief that seeking help and support is a form of weakness. After all, the Lord created us to be in community, and He created counseling and healthcare as tools that can help aid us against the effects of the Fall. Taking care of our health in every aspect – including mental health – is not weakness, but a sign of strength as we steward the lives we have been given. Stepping out to seek the Lord’s wisdom through prayer and biblical counseling is an act of faithful obedience!
In fact, the approach of Christian counseling is one actively steeped in community and support; it doesn’t just happen in an office. Even before a Christian reaches the point of seeking a counselor, this model suggests that they spend time with the Lord in prayer and in His Word, as well as seeking the wisdom of trusted church leaders and mentors. This is not a substitute for counseling, but it is a valuable step in determining needs and gaining spiritual support. The Body of Christ should come alongside you as you pursue counseling from trusted biblical therapists.
Regarding the danger of the second stigma, our spiritual enemy likes to use extreme perspectives to accuse and sow disunity and division. These warped opinions often are used to place mainstream and Christian clinicians at odds with one another and invalidate the significance of a spiritual component to counseling. Secular messages telling us we must choose between counseling and faith continually put mental health in the crossfire. This leads to inaction, crises of faith, or even a complete separation of faith from science.
Christian counseling offers a solution: integrating psychology with biblical teachings and Christian theology rooted in the Bible and a Christian worldview.
A biblical precedent to balance faith and science
A Christ-centered approach to mental health, while acknowledging scientific discoveries, does not believe that people are reduced merely to physical bodies or that mental issues arise only out of chemical imbalances. While Christian physicians and counselors sometimes feel as though they are on opposite sides of the care spectrum from their secular counterparts, the Bible asserts a counter-cultural claim: true wellness is a synergy of mental, physical, and spiritual vigor.
The Bible asserts this in a way that emphatically urges us to treat our minds and our bodies when needed, but just as importantly, to treat our souls. The Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 lists all three as equally important: “May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless." Even more clearly, the greatest example for the paradigm of holistic health is in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Throughout His ministry, Jesus continually cared for the whole person, healing the sick and comforting the broken-hearted, and offering us salvation by grace through faith in Him. It wasn’t enough just to heal the body, the soul, or the mind; Jesus showed that true holistic care aims to serve all three components of our self.
In response to secular therapy that separates faith and mental health into different conversations, the position of Christian counseling does not aim to discredit the value of science but rather to assert that secular counseling only understands part of the picture. Licensed therapists using clinical methods, such as professional psychotherapy for anxiety or therapy focused on the regulation of emotions, can be helpful in the right circumstances, but they may fail to recognize the spiritual needs that require healing.
A hope for healing the mind and the soul
Finally, Christian counseling provides hope for healing through our faith and mental health working together. Inspired by biblical truth and by a love of God and our neighbors, Christian counseling serves as an extension of God's Word into the world of mental health and clinical science, not an abandonment of His precepts.
With licensed biblical counseling, hope comes from the goal of both emotional and mental healing and a deep spiritual growth that often occurs through our toughest battles. More than focusing solely on symptom relief, behavior change, or improved functioning, this type of therapy also brings believers into discussions about sin, guilt, repentance, grace, hope, forgiveness, and the redemption of everything touched by the Fall.
Just as Christians should not fear being seen as weak by the Church in asking for help, nor feel like they must choose between religion and science, believers needing help can find it in Christian counseling based on Scripture. Christian therapists pray with their clients as well as acknowledge medical research. Application of a Christian worldview in counseling sessions affirms the reality of mental health struggles as well as the God who is sovereign over them. In addition, a Christian perspective on trauma and recovery walks hand in hand with what science knows about the mind, incorporating what the Bible teaches about spiritual healing.
For Christians, many mental health support options align with faith to provide valuable, spiritually-affirming counseling. If your faith is central to your identity and you want your counselor to integrate biblical principles, prayer, and spiritual guidance into therapy, Christian counseling can feel more aligned and supportive. If your struggles involve spiritual questions, such as feeling distant from God or reconciling faith with life challenges, a Christian counselor may address these directly.
Feeling understood and safe is critical. If speaking about your faith openly matters to you, a Christian counselor might provide that space more naturally. If you don’t know where to start looking, Medi-Share provides affordable telehealth meetings with Christian behavioral health specialists who would be thrilled to work alongside you. Additionally, many churches have pastors trained in biblical counseling, and there are entire networks of dedicated Christians educated in counseling, mental health, and psychology who aim to minister to your well-being holistically.
