What are the uses of psychology to a non-believer? What about a believer?

Psychology can have a few benefits in a non-believer. It can help them to learn to cope with traumas or poor coping skills from their past. It can also bring awareness to defense mechanisms, triggers, and dispositions in a person’s life. Psychology can bring many different exercises or activities which can help an individual attempt to overcome the mental and emotional issues that may plague them. 

In the life of a believer, psychology can bring awareness in the same way that it can an unbeliever. All the same can be true, and in most cases are, as many Christians turn to healing from a counselor or psychologist/psychiatrist. There is nothing wrong with a Christian turning to a psychiatrist for assistance, but one should not put their sole hope in that.

What becomes the greatest barrier between the fully healed individual and the methods of psychology?

The greatest barrier is that while psychology understands there are events which may trigger an individual from a trauma which induces an emotional or mental scar, it doesn’t acknowledge the things in the spiritual realm. While psychology may attempt to solve the issue of an individual with alcoholism by introducing activities which could take the place of drinking alcohol or events which could trigger the desire to drink alcohol. It may ever look back at the childhood and come up with many reasons why they may have a propensity towards alcoholism. The problem it found in the spiritual realm. There is a hole in their soul which they are trying to fill with alcoholism. Perhaps a trauma makes that even more apparent and felt strongly. A divorce for instance may make the hole in their soul feel wider or more evident, as they are also feeling a loss in their life. Since psychology cannot accept this realm, it cannot fathom the need for a divine source of love, meaning, and purpose. If it cannot accept this, then any root that may be discovered will never fully solve the issue. Hence, once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. 

How can this be overcome through Christ?

If looking at the Word of God is our reference, then identity must be our starting point. And through this the Holy Spirit our counselor. Looking at the issue with psychology in handling many of these problems we noted that the spiritual identity disorder, not knowing truly who we are, is the greatest barrier for psychology bringing the healing in our lives. With this being the case, then the easiest solution is to solve the question, “Who am I?” Think about it, if I know who I am and whose I am, then the hole in my soul is filled. I don’t have the desire to fill it with alcohol, drugs, members of the opposite sex, work, achievement, or any number of idols. 

Christ brings the solution, as we spoke of in Romans, “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”Romans 6:4-7

Or again, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Peter even touched on the role God plays in this: “seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness…” 2 Peter 1:3

What role does the Holy Spirit play in this?

The Holy Spirit is the reacting agent, the cause of the change. Do we have traumas, hurts, pains, constant reminders of sin done against us, or sins against ourselves that brought damage? We can’t fix it. If we were capable, we would have. Therefore, the only one who can fix the damage done to us, would be God himself. Can a vase or pot fix itself if it is broke? Can the sheep find its own way back to the flock if it is lost? Can a child who is lost in a crowded theme park find their way back to their mother or father or guardian? The answer is of course no. There must be an external agent to cause the change. We know from above a broken agent cannot fix a broke agent. Or as it has been coined, “Hurt people, hurt people.” 

The only one then who can resolve the pains is the Holy Spirit in our lives. He causes transformation. He causes healing. He is Jehovah Rapha, God our healer. He is the one who sanctifies.