pastor as spiritual therapistual therapist

Scientific evidence on the healing impact of faith in God

Jesus said: “It is written man shall

not live Not by bread alone, but from every word

that proceeds from the mouth of God”

Matthew 4:4

The impact of faith on the basic human mental and emotional systems

1. The Seeking System of a person(where are the perceived “treasures” in a person’s life)

2. The Attachment System (who do they love, how do they love, and who loves them)

3. The Theory of Mind System (believe in, what attributions are made, and where those attributions are coming from).

The pastor as spiritual therapist

Also in the church community : psychiatric disorders and life events

stress (anxiety & mooddisorders, personality issues, coping, stress,

sleep disorders, behaviour difficulties, etc.)

Masked Sanity (religious mask of psychopathology)More loss of controle of agression/fear in the Last days(agression/psychoses)

Factors and

events in context of ministry

The experience of emotional/m

ental discomfort, feeling of

sadness and slowed activity

Production of biological changes as a reaction

(chemical changes, etc.)

Seen and perceived by the person

Processed in the brain and modified by previous learning, biases, personality temperament, etc.

The sequence of events in the experience of emotional and mental discomfort

Impact of a relationship wih God on mental health

• Depth Evangelism• 2nd phase of conversion

• Evangelising of the “deep heart”• Modulation of brain neurons emotions/cognitions ->

through God’s love