Jesus and EMDR: Can Faith and Therapy Work Together?

As a mental health therapist/counselor who is a Christian you can probably already guess my answer. The answer is yes of course they can! But allow me to explain further. I believe that God created our brains and our minds, so I believe that Jesus gets really excited about therapy.  

I believe that Jesus is the ultimate healer. As a Christian providing mental health therapy services, I see my role as advancing Jesus’ mission of healing in the world. I get to be a part of the healing work that he is doing in world. Jesus is the healer, and I am his servant.  

So I practice a form of therapy called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) (Click here to learn more about EMDR). In order for me to explain why I believe in this form of therapy so much and how it connects to Jesus I need to explain it first. So bear with me on some complex explanation for a minute. It will tie back into Jesus I promise!  

So What is EMDR? 

 This form of therapy is often considered the “gold standard” for treating trauma according to the research. It was initially developed to treat PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) for Vietnam Veterans. However, they have found now that EMDR can help with a variety of issues such as depression, phobias, anxiety, and more. It is rather complex, but one of the central tenets of EMDR is based on the AIP model (Adaptive Information Processing). The theory behind this is that trauma memories get stuck in the brain and do not go through the usual processing process that the brain does. This is because the traumatic event overwhelmed the brain. The idea is by using the techniques explained in EMDR we can help the brain to get unstuck and process through these traumas. As it does this processing, the brain is able to discard the negative emotions and negative self beliefs connected with that overwhelming event. As the brain discards these negative emotions and negative self beliefs it is able to link up other positive emotions and positive beliefs. By the end of the process the client is able to believe the positive truth about themselves and make peace with the past.  

How Does EMDR Connect to Jesus? 

So all that to say EMDR works because the brain has a natural way to discard negative self beliefs and create positive self beliefs instead. I think this is so cool! I believe God created us with this AIP to be able to help us to heal from our negative past! There is an innate system within our brain to be able to help us heal by moving from believing lies to believing the truth about ourselves. This innate system feels like it was designed by Jesus to me.  

As it says in John 10:10 “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that they may have life and life to the full.” The devil loves to steal, kill, and destroy us through painful interactions with others and our environments. But Jesus comes to help us to experience life to the full. One of the many things I love about my job is that I get to see people who were robbed, killed, and destroyed by acts of the devil who are able to move into experiencing life and life to the full. If that doesn’t sound like something that Jesus gets excited about then I don’t know what is!  

Some of my favorite moments in therapy have been when we invited Jesus into the session specifically and he showed up in powerful ways. When clients are stuck in session I often like to ask if it’s ok if we invite Jesus in. If the client says yes then I will often let Jesus take the lead in the session and see what He does. Often times clients will tell me that Jesus is showing up and hugging them and reassuring them they can make it through. The way that they describe Jesus is always wise and calm. The client will then share that they feel so much better and their issues will naturally resolve. I feel so privileged to be able to guide people into encountering Jesus and watching him heal people right in front of me. 

But What About Going to Church, Shouldn’t that be Enough? 

Sometimes the complexity of your struggles won’t be healed by only going to church and praying. Now let me clear, this does not mean I do not believe in the power of prayer, reading scripture, or being a part of a local church.  We are not confined to choosing only therapy or only going to church. If there is a big problem in your life I am a fan of using as many tools as possible to address it! If you have a great friend that makes you feel better and you feel better after working out you don’t have to choose just one. In fact it will be a good idea to talk to your friend and to work out! So, in the same way I am an advocate of praying about your struggles and talking to your therapist about it. Sometimes the way God is answering your prayers for healing is by providing an amazing therapist in your life! Sometimes it’s by having an amazing therapist and by having a supportive small group and spouse.  I would love to work with you as we invite Jesus into your healing. So let’s pursue God’s healing for your life together, reach out for a free 20 minute consultation today.