Can faith and therapy work together—or should one be enough?

In this episode of the Bent Christian Podcast, Cliff sits down with Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and EMDR therapist LeLyne Edens Joyner, founder of Raw and Refined Coaching, for an honest conversation about trauma, counseling, faith, relationships, and what real healing can look like.

LeLyne’s passion for helping others didn’t begin in a classroom. Her own experiences with childhood trauma eventually led her to counseling, where her personal healing journey helped reveal a calling to walk alongside others. Today, she brings together professional training, lived experience, and her faith in Christ to help people navigate trauma, relationships, emotional healing, and personal growth.

The conversation explores the meaning behind Raw & Refined—being honest about the raw parts of our lives while continuing to pursue healing, growth, and maturity.

They also tackle an important tension surrounding mental health and Christianity. On one side is the belief that if your faith is strong enough, you shouldn’t need therapy. On the other is an approach to healing that can leave faith and God completely out of the conversation.

Does it really have to be one or the other?

LeLyne shares why she doesn’t see counseling and faith as competitors, how trauma can affect the brain and our relationships, what EMDR therapy is designed to address, why community matters in healing, and why finding the right therapist can make such a difference.

Most importantly, this conversation is about hope.

Our past can be part of our story without determining our future. Healing is possible. And as LeLyne reminds us during the conversation:

“If it’s not beautiful yet, if it’s not good yet, He’s not done.”

If you’re carrying pain from your past, questioning whether counseling belongs alongside your faith, or walking beside someone who is hurting, this conversation is for you.

🔗 CONNECT WITH LeLyne EDENS JOYNER

Website: https://www.lelyne.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lelyne.edens

🔗 CONNECT WITH BENT CHRISTIAN

Website: https://www.bentchristian.com/

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👍 If this conversation encouraged you, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who may need to hear it.

Remember, you don’t have to stay broken—no matter where you’ve been or what you’ve been through. And none of us are perfect. So if we’re not broken and we’re not perfect… maybe we’re all just bent.

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