Five Domains of the Person: A Map for Healing
- Ashley Brooks, PhD, LPC-S
- May 20
- 13 min read
Updated: Jun 1
Post # 3 - Soul Change Model Series
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. —Mark 12:30
One of the most common and pressing questions Christian therapists wrestle with is this:
How do I actually integrate faith into therapy without forcing it or fragmenting the person?
For many, the answer has felt elusive. Some models encourage adding Scripture to thought records or prayer to sessions, while others advocate for keeping faith “in the background” unless clients bring it up. But these approaches can often feel either too imposed or too compartmentalized.
The Soul Change Model offers a different way forward. It doesn’t treat faith as an add-on or psychology as a threat. Instead, it begins with a deeply biblical conviction: People are whole, integrated beings. Not simply minds that think, but souls with stories. Wounded not in one domain, but in many.
At the heart of the Soul Change Model is a foundational framework: The Five Domains of the Person. These are:
Cognitive – the realm of thoughts, beliefs, narratives, and meaning-making
Emotional – the realm of feelings, affective patterns, and mood states
Relational – the realm of connection, attachment, community, and belonging
Physical – the embodied experiences of health, trauma, regulation, and presence
Spiritual – the deepest realm of identity, worship, purpose, and connection to God
These domains serve as more than categories—they are a map. They help the Christian therapist discern where wounds may lie, what kind of interventions may be needed, and—most importantly—where the Holy Spirit may be inviting healing.
Rather than isolating cognition from emotion, or spiritual life from bodily pain, this model insists on treating people as whole persons. Because that’s how God sees them, that’s how Jesus engaged them. And that’s how healing actually happens, when the whole person is seen, known, and loved into wholeness.
1. Cognitive Domain: Reframing Thought Through Truth
The cognitive domain includes our beliefs, thoughts, mental schemas, and interpretive frameworks—essentially, how we make sense of the world. It’s where much of traditional therapy, especially Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), naturally begins. CBT teaches that our thoughts shape our emotions and behaviors, and that by identifying and restructuring distorted thoughts, we can foster change.
As Christian therapists, we affirm this wisdom. It is deeply helpful to help clients catch automatic thoughts, name cognitive distortions, and uncover internal narratives that are contributing to suffering. But we also recognize a profound limitation: logic alone cannot change the soul.
In the Soul Change Model, the goal isn’t simply to think more positively or logically. It is to align the mind with truth, not just intellectual truth, but relational, redemptive, gospel truth. A client might reframe the thought “I am worthless” into “I have value”—but unless that truth is anchored in God’s declaration, it may not reach the level of transformation.
As McMinn (1996) reminds us,
“Christian therapy must go beyond insight to transformation through the power of biblical truth.” (p. 26)
This is the crucial difference. In secular CBT, the focus is on evidence-based beliefs—what can be proven logically or behaviorally. In Christian therapy, we ask: What does God say is true? Where do this client’s thoughts diverge from the mind of Christ? And how can we invite the Holy Spirit into the work of renewing their mind (Romans 12:2)?
This means Scripture becomes more than a prooftext—it becomes a lens through which clients begin to see themselves, others, and the world differently. The counselor is not just a logic coach, but a truth-teller, walking with the client toward deeper alignment with God's Word and God's heart.
For example, when a client wrestles with the core belief, “I am unlovable,” CBT might help them generate counter-evidence: “My friend cares about me,” or “I’m kind to others.” But a Christian therapist asks deeper questions:
Where did that belief begin?
What does God say about your worth?
How might this lie be keeping you from intimacy with God or others?
Thoughts matter—but they must be rooted in something greater than mental technique.
They must be rooted in the unwavering, relational truth of the gospel.
2. Emotional Domain: Naming and Holding Emotion with Compassion
The emotional domain encompasses a person’s affective life—grief, anger, fear, joy, shame, hope, and everything in between. Emotions are messengers. They reveal what matters to us, what has been wounded, what we love, what we fear, and where our deepest longings reside.
Yet many clients—especially those from Christian backgrounds—have internalized the message that certain emotions are unacceptable or unspiritual. They've been told:
“Anger is sin.”
“You just need more faith.”
“God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear.”
“Rejoice always—so stop being sad.”
While these statements may be rooted in Scripture, they are often used out of context and out of season, becoming tools of suppression rather than transformation.
The result? A deep emotional illiteracy and a fractured relationship with one’s own heart.
In the Soul Change Model, we reclaim emotion as part of being made in God’s image. Scripture does not dismiss emotion—it dignifies it. The Psalms, Lamentations, Job, the prophets, and even Jesus himself (who wept, grew angry, rejoiced, and groaned in distress) model a fully embodied emotional life that is both human and holy.
As Diane Langberg (2015) notes,
“You cannot redeem what you will not name." (pg. 17)
Therapeutic work within the emotional domain is not about fixing feelings, but about making space to name them, feel them, and explore what they reveal. The Christian therapist becomes not an emotional technician, but a compassionate witness—a bearer of sacred space where a client can:
Acknowledge the grief they’ve never said aloud.
Express the rage that felt forbidden in their family or church.
Sit with the fear that has shaped every relationship.
Celebrate joy without guilt.
This naming is not an end in itself—it is an act of courage and surrender. It is in this honest naming that clients often encounter God afresh. The Spirit, after all, is not afraid of our sadness or fury. He meets us in our emotions, not just beyond them.
Christian therapists practicing Soul Change learn to:
Slow down and listen for the emotion under the narrative.
Offer an attuned presence, even when emotions are raw or dysregulated.
Help clients locate their emotions in their bodies, stories, and relationships.
Invite curiosity, not control, around emotional expression.
Honor tears as worship, anger as protest against injustice, and lament as holy dialogue.
In doing so, therapists reflect the posture of Christ, who did not shame Mary for weeping, did not scold the disciples for their fear, and did not hide his own anguish in Gethsemane. He entered our emotional reality—and invites us to enter our own, with Him.
The work of emotional healing is not emotional control—it is emotional communion.
Through naming and holding emotions with compassion, the soul begins to unfold.
3. Relational Domain: Rebuilding Connection and Trust
Wounding often happens in relationship—and so does healing.
The relational domain focuses on how we connect, detach, defend, or long for others. It includes attachment patterns, interpersonal dynamics, boundary-setting, conflict, trust, and the deep desire to be seen and loved without fear. For many clients, the presenting issue—whether anxiety, depression, people-pleasing, or trauma responses—is the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface lies a story marked by relational rupture: abandonment, betrayal, neglect, over-control, or chaotic enmeshment.
Christian therapists know that relational harm requires relational repair. As image-bearers of a relational God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—we are created not just to relate, but to thrive in communion. Eric Johnson (2010) emphasizes that a Christian psychology must reflect this Trinitarian anthropology: we are designed for connection, distorted by sin, and restored through love.
Yet in the aftermath of relational trauma, clients often struggle to trust—even when they long to. They may:
Avoid closeness out of fear of abandonment.
Cling to others to avoid being alone.
Sabotage healthy relationships due to shame or mistrust.
Struggle with boundaries after years of relational enmeshment or control.
Confuse love with caretaking, compliance, or performance.
The Soul Change Model recognizes that the therapeutic relationship itself can become a corrective emotional experience. It’s not just a setting for clinical work—it is sacred space.
Within it, clients encounter:
Attuned presence: a therapist who listens deeply and stays emotionally connected.
Consistency: a safe relationship that doesn’t rupture or abandon.
Repair: a model for how ruptures (even minor ones) can be named and mended.
Freedom: the invitation to show up honestly without fear of judgment or rejection.
As clients experience this kind of relational safety, their nervous systems begin to calm. Trust starts to rebuild. Slowly, the relational templates forged in pain are revised in love.
From this place of healing, clients can begin to:
Develop healthier boundaries without guilt.
Form deeper, more reciprocal relationships.
Navigate conflict with clarity and compassion.
Receive love without suspicion.
Risk vulnerability without constant fear of harm.
Importantly, the relational domain also includes the client’s relationship with God. For many, early caregiver relationships have shaped how they perceive Him:
A distant father may make God feel cold or uninvolved.
A controlling parent may color God as harsh or punitive.
An inconsistent caregiver may lead to anxiety in spiritual connection.
Therapists using the Soul Change Model pay close attention to these functional beliefs about God, gently helping clients distinguish between their projections and God’s true character. Over time, spiritual intimacy becomes more than theology—it becomes experience.
As Larry Crabb (2005) put it:
“We have made a terrible mistake! For most of this century we have wrongly defined soul wounds as psychological disorders and delegated their treatment to trained specialists. Damaged psyches aren't the problem. The problem is disconnected souls. What we need is connection. What we need is a healing community.” (pg. 30)
In the relational domain, we walk with clients through the slow, sacred journey of rebuilding trust—first with the therapist, then with others, and ultimately, with God.
4. Physical Domain: Attending to the Body Where Trauma Lingers
The physical domain is often overlooked in traditional therapy, but it is essential for healing. In the Soul Change Model, the body is not merely a container for the mind or soul.
It is a living, breathing participant in our emotional and spiritual life.
Trauma is not just a psychological event—it is a physiological experience. The body records what words cannot express. Long after a painful moment has passed, the body may continue to respond as if danger is still present. Clients may experience:
Chronic muscle tension or pain
Gastrointestinal distress or headaches
Panic symptoms with no apparent trigger
Dissociation or numbness
Heightened startle response or hypervigilance
As Bessel van der Kolk (2014) famously said, “The body keeps the score.” (p. 21)
Clients may come to therapy for emotional pain, but their bodies are speaking volumes—often through insomnia, fatigue, tightness in the chest, or an inability to sit still. Insight alone doesn’t resolve these symptoms. That’s because the wound is not just cognitive—it’s embodied.
Christian therapists trained in the Soul Change Model are equipped to pay attention to somatic signals. We recognize that healing requires more than talking—it requires listening to the body with compassion.
Curt Thompson (2010) reminds us:
“We come to know ourselves only as we are known in embodied relationship with others.” (p. 49)
This means therapy must also be embodied. It must involve an attuned presence, gentle pacing, and permission for the client to slow down and notice what is happening internally.
In the Soul Change Model, therapists help clients:
Recognize how anxiety or shame shows up physically
Practice grounding strategies to regulate the nervous system
Release stored tension through breath, movement, or posture shifts
Reconnect with parts of the body that have been numbed or dissociated
Identify how physical symptoms may reflect deeper emotional or spiritual distress
But this is more than just body awareness. For Christian therapists, the body is sacred. It is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), a vessel through which God communicates, comforts, and heals.
Sometimes, the Spirit speaks through physical sensation:
A weight in the chest may signal grief that’s been buried too long.
A deep exhale may come as a sign of surrender or release.
A sense of warmth or lightness may accompany a moment of peace or truth.
The goal isn’t to interpret every sensation spiritually—but to become curious about what the body might be trying to say. In a world that often disconnects soul from skin, the Soul Change Model invites integration.
Clients are gently encouraged to treat their bodies not as enemies to control, but as companions to honor. As Dan Allender (2008) notes, trauma recovery must include the body:
“Abuse is not just an event that happened in the past; it is a wound that continues to live in the body and soul.” (pg. 45)
Ultimately, the physical domain reminds us that soul change is not abstract—it is embodied. Healing takes root when the body is seen, felt, and included in the work of restoration.
5. Spiritual Domain: Restoring Identity and Intimacy with God
Finally, and most centrally, we come to the spiritual domain. This is not a layer added on top of the therapeutic process—it is the core from which everything else flows. In the Soul Change Model, the spiritual domain is not merely one aspect among many; it is the integrating center of the person’s story, identity, and healing.
The spiritual domain includes a client’s lived experience of God, their theology in practice, patterns of prayer or silence, felt sense of worth or shame before the Divine, and the narrative they carry about their own belovedness. It touches purpose, calling, worship, doubt, and discipleship. It is the realm where clients ask, consciously or unconsciously,
“Am I seen? Am I known? Am I safe with God?”
Many Christian clients come into therapy with stated beliefs about God that sound orthodox, but their functional beliefs tell a different story. They may say, “I know God is loving,” but flinch at the idea of being held by that love. They may recite Scripture while simultaneously living under the crushing burden of shame or perfectionism. Others carry deep spiritual trauma—messages from church leaders that misrepresented God, or religious environments that equated obedience with suppression and sanctification with silence.
In traditional therapy, the spiritual domain is often tiptoed around—either ignored for fear of imposing values, or overly generalized under the banner of “meaning-making.” But Christian therapy must go further. It must make intentional space for spiritual exploration, restoration, and the redemptive work of God.
Crabb (2005) once wrote that "the absolute center of what God does to help us change is to reveal himself to us.” The Soul Change Model takes this seriously. It invites therapists to co-discern with clients the ways in which false images of God are operating, and to hold space where the real God, one who is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, can be reencountered.
Tan (2003) emphasizes that spiritual interventions such as Scripture reflection, prayer, silence, and discernment are not just spiritual “add-ons,” but essential aspects of holistic care for Christian clients. Likewise, Johnson (2007) reminds us that “the deepest healing occurs when we are brought back into communion with the Triune God.” (pg. 100)
In the Soul Change Model, the therapist acts as a sacred companion in this process—not replacing the Holy Spirit, but aligning with Him. This includes:
Prayerful presence: Holding the space with reverence, attuning to the Spirit’s guidance moment by moment.
Sacred curiosity: Exploring not just what a client believes, but how those beliefs function—and what might need to be healed at a soul level.
Discernment: Listening for where God may already be at work, even in the client’s symptoms, doubts, or resistance.
Spiritual formation practices: Integrating spiritual disciplines like lament, confession, Sabbath, or guided reflection to help rebuild intimacy with God.
This work is delicate and holy. It cannot be rushed. But when done with humility and care, it opens the door for a kind of change that no technique alone can produce: transformation from the inside out, led by the Spirit and rooted in belovedness.
As Curt Thompson (2010) reminds us, “We are most deeply changed not by what we know cognitively, but by whom we are known by intimately.” The spiritual domain is where that knowing begins—and where the journey of soul change finds its truest anchor.
Healing Happens at the Intersections
The five domains—cognitive, emotional, relational, physical, and spiritual—are not separate compartments. They are deeply interconnected facets of one whole person. Wounds rarely occur in just one domain, and healing, likewise, must take place across multiple layers of the self. When we isolate one area, we risk missing the deeper roots of distress—or the fuller work of the Holy Spirit.
A client with a panic disorder, for example, may need cognitive restructuring to challenge catastrophic thoughts, grounding techniques to regulate physical symptoms, emotional validation to name underlying fear or shame, relational safety to rebuild trust, and spiritual assurance that God is present even in moments of overwhelming anxiety. If any one of these domains is ignored, the healing process may stall—or remain incomplete.
Symptoms are often the visible surface of deeper disruptions. A presenting issue like depression might be fueled not only by negative thinking patterns, but by unresolved grief (emotional), chronic isolation (relational), spiritual despair, or even the nervous system’s unprocessed trauma response (physical). When therapists are trained to recognize these intersections, they are better equipped to offer truly holistic care.
The Soul Change Model encourages clinicians to listen across domains, attending not only to what the client says, but to how they experience life in their mind, heart, body, relationships, and spirit. This requires attunement, curiosity, and spiritual sensitivity. In every session, therapists are invited to ask:
Where is the client hurting?
What story does this symptom or struggle tell across the five domains?
Where is the Holy Spirit moving, revealing, or inviting something deeper?
What healing pathway is opening in this moment—and how can I co-labor with God in it?
This approach guards against two common errors: fragmented treatment that misses the whole picture, and over-spiritualized treatment that bypasses clinical wisdom. Instead, it offers an integrated map—rooted in theology, informed by psychology, and directed by the Spirit.
As Dr. Eric Johnson (2007) writes, "A Christian psychology should seek to address the whole person, grounded in a redemptive understanding of human nature and informed by God’s design." (pg. 100) The Soul Change Model does exactly that—by restoring what has been broken and reconnecting what has been fragmented.
When we treat the whole person, we join God in His redemptive work. We bear witness to healing not only of symptoms, but of identity. Not only of patterns, but of purpose. Not only of wounds, but of worship.
Reflection
Which of these domains are you most comfortable working with in your counseling practice? Which do you tend to avoid?
Where in your own life have you experienced healing in more than one of these areas at the same time?
References
Allender, D. B. (2005). The wounded heart: Hope for adult victims of childhood sexual
abuse. WaterBrook Press.
Crabb, L. J. (2005). Connecting: Healing for ourselves and our relationships. Thomas Nelson.
Johnson, E. L. (2007). 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.
McMinn, M. R. (1996). Psychology, theology, and spirituality in Christian counseling. Tyndale
House.
Tan, S. Y. (2003). Healing care, healing prayer: Helping the broken find wholeness in Christ.
Baker Books.
Thompson, C. (2010). Anatomy of the soul: Surprising connections between neuroscience
and spiritual practices that can transform your life and relationships. Tyndale House.
van der Kolk, B. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of
trauma. Viking.
Comments