Counseling at the Intersection of Faith and Justice
- Ashley Brooks, PhD, LPC-S
- May 30
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 6
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. —Micah 6:8
When we divorce Christian counseling from justice, we fail to reflect the full heart of God. —Soul Change Model
The world is hurting in layered, systemic ways. Clients come to therapy not only carrying personal pain but also the weight of collective trauma—poverty, racism, marginalization, spiritual abuse, and community-wide grief.
In this context, Christian therapists are called to do more than offer comfort. We are called to embody the justice and mercy of God.
The Soul Change Model embraces this call. It is not only a Christian psychology model grounded in biblical theology and clinical wisdom—it is also a model that takes justice seriously. Because God takes justice seriously, and so must we.
Justice Is Not Political—It’s Biblical
In some Christian circles, “justice” has been miscast as a secular or political agenda. But the Bible is unambiguous:
God hears the cry of the oppressed (Exodus 3:7)
He calls His people to defend the vulnerable (Isaiah 1:17)
Jesus proclaimed good news to the poor and freedom for the captive (Luke 4:18)
Justice is not a trend—it is the heart of God. And when our counseling models ignore injustice, we reflect a distorted gospel. We may soothe symptoms while leaving structural and spiritual wounds unaddressed.
Christian psychologist Diane Langberg (2015) challenges the field bluntly: “You cannot separate the gospel from justice without losing both.” The Soul Change Model agrees—and integrates that truth from the ground up.
What Justice Looks Like in the Counseling Room
Justice in therapy is not about preaching causes or campaigning from the couch. It is about creating spaces where every image-bearer is seen, respected, and safe. It’s about naming injustice when it shows up in a client’s life—and not spiritualizing their pain away.
In Soul Change, justice includes:
Listening well to the lived realities of clients affected by racism, poverty, or marginalization
Addressing how power, systems, and privilege impact a client’s story
Naming spiritual abuse, religious trauma, and misused authority in the church
Offering resources and referrals when therapy alone is not enough
Honoring culture and context without compromising biblical truth
Holding sacred space for lament, protest, and righteous anger
Justice also means taking responsibility as clinicians. Are our practices accessible? Do our fees reflect our values? Are our rooms welcoming to all clients—not just in words, but in presence?
Soul Change Is a Justice-Informed Model
Because the Soul Change Model integrates the whole person, it cannot ignore structural realities. It acknowledges that clients are not just individual souls—they are also embedded in families, systems, and cultures.
That means healing is not just internal. It’s relational, communal, and contextual.
Eric Johnson (2010) argues that Christian psychology must reflect “God’s redemptive concern not only for individuals but also for communities and cultures.” The Soul Change Model echoes this. It teaches therapists to see clients’ suffering not only as personal, but as potentially systemic—requiring both compassion and courage.
Spiritual Formation and Social Responsibility
Justice is not separate from spiritual formation—it is one of its fruits. When clients grow in intimacy with Christ, they often grow in empathy for others. When shame is lifted, courage emerges. When healing takes root, advocacy follows.
We’ve seen it in the therapy room:
A survivor of abuse finds her voice and speaks up in her church.
A young man healing from racial trauma reclaims his sense of worth and purpose.
A grieving mother begins mentoring others who have walked through similar loss.
These are not just individual triumphs. They are redemptive echoes of God’s justice through lives that have been healed.
As Dallas Willard (2002) put it, “Spiritual formation is not merely about private transformation. It is about the kind of person who naturally blesses others and makes wrong things right.”
Counseling with Humility and Cultural Wisdom
Justice-informed Christian counseling requires cultural humility—a posture of curiosity, not certainty.
It means asking:
What am I not seeing?
What biases do I carry into this space?
How can I honor this client’s cultural and spiritual framework without imposing mine?
Christian therapists are called to hold conviction and compassion together. The Soul Change Model teaches therapists to speak truth with grace, and to honor difference without compromising theological depth.
That includes working with clients across denominations, racial identities, socio-economic realities, and levels of faith engagement. It also includes acknowledging when harm has been done in the name of religion—and creating space for repair.
Justice Begins with the Counselor
Therapists cannot take clients where they have not gone.
That’s why Soul Change therapists are trained to examine their own formation:
How have I benefited from unjust systems?
How has my theology shaped my view of justice—or blinded me to it?
Where do I need to lament, repent, or grow?
Am I creating space in my life and practice for the vulnerable?
This is not about shame—it’s about alignment. The more therapists are formed by the heart of God, the more their counseling becomes a channel of that heart in action.
Reflection
What does justice look like in your therapy room?
Where might God be inviting you to listen more deeply to your clients’ experiences of systemic harm?
How can your faith shape your commitment to compassion, advocacy, and equity in the healing process?
References
Johnson, E. L. (2010). Foundations for soul care: A Christian psychology proposal. IVP
Academic.
Langberg, D. (2015). Suffering and the heart of God: How trauma destroys and Christ
restores. New Growth Press.
Willard, D. (2002). Renovation of the heart: Putting on the character of Christ. NavPress.
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