Is Therapy Culture Changing the Way Christians Think? - Matthew Loftus

Pop psychology promises greater self-understanding, but therapy culture can turn normal sadness, conflict, suffering, and personal responsibility into problems that require medical labels and solutions. Dr. Matthew Loftus, physician, writer, and author of Resisting Therapy Culture, is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss how therapeutic language has expanded beyond its proper uses and reshaped how Christians understand themselves, relationships, and the church. Matthew explains why labels such as trauma, narcissism, and toxic behavior can become distorted when applied too broadly, while also emphasizing that legitimate therapy can help people experiencing serious mental illness or specific problems. He argues that resisting therapy culture does not mean rejecting therapy but recovering Christian agency, recognizing the proper purpose of the church, and refusing to treat every difficult human experience as a diagnosis.Resources Mentioned:Resisting Therapy Culture: The Dangers of Pop Psychology and How the Church Can Respond by Matthew Loftus — https://amzn.to/4hPWSWb [affiliate] Matthew’s family mission’s website - https://matthewandmaggie.org/X/Twitter — @Matthew_LoftusGuest Bio:Dr. Matthew Loftus is a physician and writer who practices family medicine at a mission hospital in Kenya. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Christianity Today, First Things, and Mere Orthodoxy. He received the Trinity Forum’s 2025 Michael J. Gerson Prize for Excellence in Writing on Faith in Public Life and is the author of Resisting Therapy Culture: The Dangers of Pop Psychology and How the Church Can Respond.Follow this show and Jake Doberenz’s writings at http://jakedoberenz.substack.com.