234. Discernment & Mental Health: When Spirituality Overlooks Pain

234. Discernment & Mental Health: When Spirituality Overlooks Pain

How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This episode of Strong Tower Mental Health speaks straight to anyone who’s ever felt unseen in church spaces while struggling with mental health, addiction, or deep emotional pain. Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Heidi Mortenson shares her own story of faith growing from childhood curiosity, to a dramatic encounter with the Holy Spirit, to years of ministry school and clinical work in trauma and mental health.

From that mix, she raises a hard question: are Christians sometimes so focused on miracles and big encounters that they miss the hurting person right in front of them? You’ll hear her unpack the idea of “chesed” – God’s steadfast, relational love – and why emotional safety and secure attachment are central to healing. As she puts it, “Healing doesn’t just come through power.

It also comes through being seen, being known, and being safely held.” She connects biblical themes with psychology and neuroscience, drawing parallels between deliverance, inner healing work, EMDR, and trauma-informed care. Heidi also challenges spiritual bypassing: those moments where someone’s anxiety, trauma or grief is brushed aside with a quick prayer or a push to “just be positive.” She reminds listeners that Jesus “wept” before a miracle, showing that God doesn’t rush past pain but meets people in it.

If you’ve ever felt like your mental health struggles or addiction history made you an inconvenience in church, this conversation might feel like a deep breath.

It suggests that real revival may look less like a stage and more like simply sitting with someone, making space for their story, and letting them know, “I like being with you, just because you’re you.” Could the next step in your healing be less about striving for a breakthrough and more about allowing yourself to be seen and loved where you are?