257. Mental Health & the Unseen Realm with Dr. Natalie Atwell257. Mental Health & the Unseen Realm with Dr. Natalie Atwell
Strong Tower Mental Health with Heidi Mortenson
Heidi Mortenson and Dr. Natalie Atwell talk about how mental health issues may intersect with spiritual warfare and the unseen realm. They discuss ethics, practical assessments, and ways Christian therapists and clients can address both clinical and spiritual aspects of suffering.
42:23•14 Sept 2026
Mental Health, Spiritual Warfare and the Unseen Realm
Episode Overview
- Good clinical care can be combined with careful assessment of spiritual influences when clients remain stuck.
- Clear informed consent and an open statement of faith help keep spiritually conscious counselling ethical.
- Suicidal thoughts, identity confusion and some extreme disorders may reflect spiritual voices rather than simply personal thoughts.
- Christians are encouraged to speak out against occult practices being brought into therapy as harmless tools.
- Hope and healing are presented as possible for any level of darkness through Jesus and wise, trauma-informed support.
“"What you have to understand about the unseen realm is there’s a lot of different spiritual beings out there. There are good and bad."”
She explains that her team first uses mainstream evidence-based approaches, then looks further when someone seems stuck: "We needed to dig deeper into a lot of spiritual issues that may be helping us understand if someone has opened a door to some darkness in their life that could be manifesting in their mental health." You’ll hear candid discussion on ethics, informed consent, and why she openly identifies as a Christian therapist, even at the risk of losing clients or her licence.
What drives someone to seek a life where mental health and spiritual reality are both taken seriously? This conversation between host Heidi Mortenson and licensed clinical mental health counsellor Dr. Natalie Atwell zeroes in on the "unseen realm" and how it may be impacting people’s minds and emotions. Dr. Atwell shares how years of practice near Charlotte, North Carolina, plus her own spiritual battles, led her to study spiritual warfare and rethink standard clinical assessments.
She and Heidi talk through grey areas many therapists wrestle with, like how far to go with spirituality in session and what to do when clients are lukewarm in their faith but clearly struggling. Dr. Atwell gives concrete examples: increased suicidal ideation, narcissism, church abuse, and transgender identity struggles, linking them to deeper questions of identity and spiritual influence.
She describes cases where clients found relief after addressing occult involvement such as ouija boards, and how she blends tools like CBT with prayer, repentance and renouncing harmful practices. This discussion may especially interest Christian therapists, pastors and believers who sense "something more" behind ongoing anxiety, depression or trauma and want to approach it both clinically and spiritually. Dr. Atwell finishes by stressing hope: there is always a way forward in Jesus and in good, thoughtful care.
If you’ve ever wondered whether your mental health story might have a spiritual layer too, could this be the perspective that helps things finally make sense?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.