Behind Spiritual Flourishing is Good Mental Health.

Spiritual Attitude

The human person grapples with problems of religious-identity, meaning and purpose within situational circumstances and cultural, historical contexts. Therefore, there will always be a psychological response to what is spiritually rooted, and a spiritual response to what is psychologically caused. Indeed, the mind and spirit are connected. Insofar as all Truth is one- that the same God who designed spiritual health also designed mental health- psychological healing will not contradict spiritual progress but may compliment it.

At Irvine Family Counseling, we believe we are Peters and Andrews called to “fish” for mental health wounds [Mathew 4:18-20]

We commit ourselves to finding the wounds in each and every person coming to us, believing that every person is made in the image and likeness of God. In following Christ, we seek to leave no individual, couple or family “lost at sea,” alone or unhealed in their brokenness. We hope our counseling practice is a mental health home for people of all faith backgrounds because we believe all people, irrespective of individual differences, deserve the best mental health care they can receive.

Upon request, we pray with you

We use Scripture

We incorporate the lives of saints

Which of my symptoms are mental? Which are spiritual? To avoid spiritualizing what is psychological and pathologizing what is spiritual, we help you discern the difference in order to give each symptom the appropriate attention.

We do not pathologize
spiritual issues

In your practice of faith, do you:

1)  Struggle to feel a sense of connection with God?

2)  Experience dryness in your prayer life? ​

3)  Feel a lack of desire for your old spiritual ways?

4)  Find yourself maintaining a desire to love God nonetheless?

If you answered "yes" to these questions, then you may be experiencing a spiritual trial. As unpleasant as they can sometimes be, they are not necessarily a hinderance to spiritual growth. Instead, they can be indications that your spiritual journey is transforming and heading in new directions. We can help you understand this better so you can take helpful steps and avoid unnecessary guilt.

We do not spiritualize pathological issues

In your practice of faith, do you:

1)  Experience unusual difficulty focusing when worshiping or praying? 

2)  Feel overcome with social anxiety when leading prayer or participating in group activities?

3)  Struggle with a depressed mood or negative thoughts which deter you from attending religious events?

If you answered "yes" to these questions, then you may be experiencing a psychological impairment effecting your ability to participate in faith practices. These individuals may perceive themselves to be "lacking in faith" but should not fault themselves spiritually when experiencing mental obstacles and should seek mental health counseling.

At Irvine Family Counseling, we understand the intersection of faith and psychology. We will point you in the right direction of spiritual and/or mental care.

What is The Dark Night of the Soul?

St. John of the Cross, a Catholic saint, coined the term a Dark Night of the Soul in reference to a spiritual process whereby an individual's soul is allowed to feel God's total absence. The distressing feeling of God's total absence paradoxically leads individuals to seek God in deeper ways which results in profound spiritual maturity.

St. John of the Cross believed he experienced a Dark Night of the Soul while he was kidnapped and tortured by a group of Carmelites in the 1500s. As great as his physical and psychological pain was, he believed God's absence was more difficult to bear. When his trials ended, he wrote about encountering God's love more deeply on the other side of what felt like spiritual death. He believed his spirit was "purified, strengthened and confirmed, so as to become an effectual partaker of that union which is the divine espousal of the soul to the Son of God."

A Dark Night of the Soul is not a pathological trial, but a spiritual one

According to Gerald May, author of The Dark Night of the Soul: A Psychiatrist Explores the Connection between Darkness and Spiritual Growth, not every trial we face can be treated by a medical doctor or a psychiatrist. Some trials are spiritual in nature and should be treated with spiritual care. The Dark Night of the Soul is a bittersweet process which creates space in the human hear for mystical developments to occur.  Like a helicopter which cannot land unless there is an open field, God, the rescuer of His beloved people, cannot inhabit their souls unless there is space for him to dwell. Experiencing a Dark Night of the Soul does not indicate that something in your life is going wrong, but rather something is going exquisitely right if you endure with an open heart and mind.  

If you might be undergoing a Dark Night of the Soul, we can help you!