4 Reasons to Consider Christian Counseling for Your Depression
An estimated 7 million Christians suffer from depressionin the United States. If you’re one of them, you may struggle with how best to address your symptoms.
When you need professional help for depression, secular psychiatrists may not understand your faith or may not incorporate it into your treatment. You need Christian counselingfrom a Christian psychiatrist like Dr. Joy Kwakuyiat Faith Integrated Psychiatryin Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona. With over three decades of pastoral experience and 15 years as a psychiatric practitioner, he approaches your depression from a Christian perspective.
Here are four key reasons to consider Christian counseling — faith-based talk therapy — to help you overcome depression.
1. Renewing your mind
Your thoughts, worldview, and mental interpretations influence your emotions and behaviors. People with depression often have negative or pessimistic thoughts that control their moods and actions. Very likely, the hopelessness and despair you experience begins in your thought life.
Unchecked, these negative thoughts creep into your brain and take over. If negativity dominates the 25,000-50,000thoughts you have daily, it’s bound to impact your behavior. Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he;” King Solomon, in all his wisdom, knew the power of the mind.
The Apostle Paul in Romans 12:2 gives us clear instruction about how to respond when the world’s thoughts creep in: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what isthat good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Through Christian counseling, Dr. Kwakuyi can help you identify the negative thoughts you may not realize are the underlying cause of your depression.
2. Using Scripture to change your negative thoughts
The world focuses on happiness, but Christ focuses on joy. Happiness is temporary and circumstantial; it comes and goes. It’s easy to get caught up in the world’s idea of success and begin to feel dissatisfied with your life, allowing negative thoughts to hijack your brain.
But Dr. Kwakuyi helps you see the lie in that line of thinking and guides you to the Word, the only source of true joy. Unlike the emotion of happiness, joy is a deep state of being, which is why James told us to consider trials pure joy and why Paul said that despite being shipwrecked, hobbled, beaten, scorned, mocked, and imprisoned, he could do all things through Christ who strengthens him.
Scripture contains God’s promises to you, and Dr. Kwakuyi helps you locate and meditate on them. For example:
- “You will show me the path of life; In your presence is the fullness of joy; At your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:1).
- “…for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joyin the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).
- “…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of ourfaith, who for the joythat was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).
God never promised us happiness, but He did promise us joy. Christian counseling can help you restore your God-given joy even when you’re chronically sad or clinically depressed.
3. Tapping into the power of prayer
Depression has a way of isolating you from other people and separating you from God. But He is never far from you and longs to hear your prayers. Dr. Kwakuyi prays for you before, during, and after your treatment. He can also help you reconnect with God through your prayer life. Here are some things to ponder as you pray:
- God never changes even when the world seems upside down; thank Him for that
- Satan is real and is battling for your mind and soul; ask God for protection
- Depression and other mental illnesses are effects of our fallen, sinful world; but there’s hope in Christ
- Ask God to guide you as you search for help for depression
- Remember that Jesus grieved, experienced loneliness, and wept
God knows we’re weak and need His help — He made us that way. Talk to Him about what you’re going through. Ask him to guard your mind and heart against depression and be the light in the darkness when life feels overwhelming.
4. Guiding you to your true identity
Christian counseling doesn’t seek to merely make you feel happy; its ultimate goal is to restore your true identity in Christ and remind you of your spiritual inheritance. Dr. Kwakuyi approaches Christian counseling like Paul approached the Galatians in chapter 4, verse 19, laboring until Christ is formed in you.
If you’re a Christian struggling with depression, let Dr. Kwakuyi help through prayer, evidence-based techniques, and the truth in God’s Word. To schedule a consultation with Dr. Kwakuyi, contact usonline or by phone today.
