Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Episode 2 Healthy Christian Counseling: Healing NOT Harm
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Episode 2 Healthy Christian Counseling: Healing NOT Harm
Part 1: My Story – Walking Through Trauma, Divorce & Faith
I want to share a little bit of my own story with you because I’m not just speaking as a therapist—I’m speaking as a woman who has walked through deep personal pain, trauma, and divorce. I know what it’s like to wrestle with God in the darkest moments. To question everything you once believed. To feel like your heart is breaking in a way that nothing and no one can fix. And if that’s where you are right now, I want you to know—you are not alone, and God is not done with your story.
🔥 Key Themes:
🌿 Part 2: The Problem with Some Christian Counseling
Many Christian counselors mean well, but they aren’t trained in trauma-informed care, attachment science, or the psychological impact of shame-based teachings. And so, instead of healing, people are often left feeling worse—blaming themselves for their suffering, staying in toxic cycles, or feeling spiritually disconnected.
Harmful Messages Some Women Have Heard in Christian Counseling:
🚫 "Your suffering is God’s test for you—just pray harder."
🚫 "If you have enough faith, your marriage will be restored, no matter what."
🚫 "Divorce is a sin, so you have to stay, even if it’s toxic or abusive."
🚫 "If you struggle with anxiety or depression, you just need to trust God more."
🌱 The Truth:
✅ God is not in the business of keeping you trapped in suffering. He calls us to wisdom, discernment, and emotional health.
✅ Emotional and spiritual healing go hand in hand—faith does not replace therapy, and therapy does not replace faith.
✅ Boundaries are biblical. Choosing yourself does not mean you are failing God.
🌿 Part 3: The Type of Christian Therapy I Offer
So if that’s what Christian counseling shouldn’t be, what does faith-based therapy look like when it’s truly life-giving, healing, and transformational?
🔥 Here’s What I Believe:
✨ Faith & Therapy Should Coexist – I use clinical expertise + spiritual wisdom to guide healing. Trauma isn’t healed by “just praying about it”—it requires understanding, processing, and safe attachment work.
✨ No Shame, No Judgment – If you’re navigating divorce, trauma, emotional wounds, anxiety, or even doubts about faith, I’m here to help—not to condemn.
✨ Attachment Theory is a Game-Changer – Understanding secure, anxious, avoidant, and disordered attachment can help you heal past wounds and build healthy relationships with God, yourself, and others.
✨ You Can Have Faith & Boundaries – Jesus was not a doormat. Setting boundaries doesn’t make you less loving—it makes you wise.
✨ Scarcity vs. Abundance Mindset – God calls us to live in abundance, not fear. Many of us have internalized scarcity thinking—believing we aren’t worthy of love, success, or peace. But healing allows us to step into God’s abundance.
💡 Therapy + Faith = True Emotional Freedom.
🌿 Part 4: A Call to the Women Who Need This Space
If you are a high-achieving woman who has been carrying the weight of past pain, toxic beliefs, or deep emotional exhaustion—this is your invitation. I don’t believe God wants you to live overwhelmed, depleted, or disconnected. I believe He is calling you to healing, and I want to walk that journey with you.
💬 This PODCAST space is for you if:
✅ You feel stuck in the tension between faith and emotional pain.
✅ You’re trying to heal from a difficult past—whether it’s trauma, divorce, church hurt, or toxic relationships.
✅ You want practical, faith-aligned strategies to break free from shame, imposter syndrome, burnout, and fear.
✅ You are done with scarcity, survival mode, and just “getting by.” You’re ready to step into abundance, joy, and emotional clarity.
✨ This is your safe space. Let’s have the conversations no one else is having.
🌿 Closing Thoughts & Prayer
📖 Isaiah 61:3 – "...to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness..."
Lord, for every woman listening right now, I pray for healing. For those who have been hurt in Your name, I pray for restoration. For those who feel unseen, unheard, or unworthy, remind them that You are close to the brokenhearted. I ask for wisdom, peace, and the courage to heal. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
View all episodes
By Joy E Davis, LCSWPart 1: My Story – Walking Through Trauma, Divorce & Faith
I want to share a little bit of my own story with you because I’m not just speaking as a therapist—I’m speaking as a woman who has walked through deep personal pain, trauma, and divorce. I know what it’s like to wrestle with God in the darkest moments. To question everything you once believed. To feel like your heart is breaking in a way that nothing and no one can fix. And if that’s where you are right now, I want you to know—you are not alone, and God is not done with your story.
🔥 Key Themes:
🌿 Part 2: The Problem with Some Christian Counseling
Many Christian counselors mean well, but they aren’t trained in trauma-informed care, attachment science, or the psychological impact of shame-based teachings. And so, instead of healing, people are often left feeling worse—blaming themselves for their suffering, staying in toxic cycles, or feeling spiritually disconnected.
Harmful Messages Some Women Have Heard in Christian Counseling:
🚫 "Your suffering is God’s test for you—just pray harder."
🚫 "If you have enough faith, your marriage will be restored, no matter what."
🚫 "Divorce is a sin, so you have to stay, even if it’s toxic or abusive."
🚫 "If you struggle with anxiety or depression, you just need to trust God more."
🌱 The Truth:
✅ God is not in the business of keeping you trapped in suffering. He calls us to wisdom, discernment, and emotional health.
✅ Emotional and spiritual healing go hand in hand—faith does not replace therapy, and therapy does not replace faith.
✅ Boundaries are biblical. Choosing yourself does not mean you are failing God.
🌿 Part 3: The Type of Christian Therapy I Offer
So if that’s what Christian counseling shouldn’t be, what does faith-based therapy look like when it’s truly life-giving, healing, and transformational?
🔥 Here’s What I Believe:
✨ Faith & Therapy Should Coexist – I use clinical expertise + spiritual wisdom to guide healing. Trauma isn’t healed by “just praying about it”—it requires understanding, processing, and safe attachment work.
✨ No Shame, No Judgment – If you’re navigating divorce, trauma, emotional wounds, anxiety, or even doubts about faith, I’m here to help—not to condemn.
✨ Attachment Theory is a Game-Changer – Understanding secure, anxious, avoidant, and disordered attachment can help you heal past wounds and build healthy relationships with God, yourself, and others.
✨ You Can Have Faith & Boundaries – Jesus was not a doormat. Setting boundaries doesn’t make you less loving—it makes you wise.
✨ Scarcity vs. Abundance Mindset – God calls us to live in abundance, not fear. Many of us have internalized scarcity thinking—believing we aren’t worthy of love, success, or peace. But healing allows us to step into God’s abundance.
💡 Therapy + Faith = True Emotional Freedom.
🌿 Part 4: A Call to the Women Who Need This Space
If you are a high-achieving woman who has been carrying the weight of past pain, toxic beliefs, or deep emotional exhaustion—this is your invitation. I don’t believe God wants you to live overwhelmed, depleted, or disconnected. I believe He is calling you to healing, and I want to walk that journey with you.
💬 This PODCAST space is for you if:
✅ You feel stuck in the tension between faith and emotional pain.
✅ You’re trying to heal from a difficult past—whether it’s trauma, divorce, church hurt, or toxic relationships.
✅ You want practical, faith-aligned strategies to break free from shame, imposter syndrome, burnout, and fear.
✅ You are done with scarcity, survival mode, and just “getting by.” You’re ready to step into abundance, joy, and emotional clarity.
✨ This is your safe space. Let’s have the conversations no one else is having.
🌿 Closing Thoughts & Prayer
📖 Isaiah 61:3 – "...to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness..."
Lord, for every woman listening right now, I pray for healing. For those who have been hurt in Your name, I pray for restoration. For those who feel unseen, unheard, or unworthy, remind them that You are close to the brokenhearted. I ask for wisdom, peace, and the courage to heal. In Jesus’ name, Amen.