39 documents in this section:

"The Immanuel Approach, Theophostic, and Exposure Therapy"
(posted: 12/17/2016 revised: 12/16/2016) The purposes/goals for this essay are: 1) Build bridges between different schools of thought, so that different therapists and/or ministers can avoid needless misunderstanding and conflict, and work together as much as possible. 2) Continue to clarify the “big picture” by identifying more aspects of how the Immanuel Approach and Theophostic-based work fit in the wider context of other therapy principles and techniques. 3) Confirm/support the Immanuel Approach and Theophostic principles and techniques by recognizing where they are consistent with and/or shared by other established methods, and especially by identifying where they have been indirectly research validated as parts of other methods/techniques. 4) Provide additional information that will help mental health professionals present the principles and techniques of the Immanuel Approach and Theophostic in language (that is truthful and accurate) that insurance companies will understand and accept.
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"Internal Dissociated Parts Presenting as Jesus"
(posted: 02/26/2003 revised: 09/11/2014) We have found that it is common for internal dissociated parts to speak for Jesus (even outside of being programmed to do so in the context of ritual abuse). I refer to these as "volunteer" internal parts, since they have not been programmed, but rather learned on their own that they could "help" the person by speaking for Jesus, and they "volunteer" to do this. In my experience with Theophostic ministry, this is the most important source of "truth" and/or "healing" that is not coming from Jesus.
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"Discerning Truth in Memory"
(posted: 03/01/2014 revised: 02/18/2014) In this essay we address legitimate concerns about the possibility of memory errors, the reasons we believe repressed memories and dissociated memories are real phenomena, and the reasons we believe that most "recovered" memories have a core of historical truth.

This essay has replaced the original essay entitled "False Memory."
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"Unresolved Issues in the Facilitator"
(posted: 04/12/2002 revised: 12/18/2013) One of the Most Important Hindrances to Emotional Healing
Our assessment is that unresolved issues (truth-based pain, lies, judgments, vows, other sinful defenses, other sin, and demonic infection) in the facilitator are some of the most important hindrances to emotional healing ministry. Furthermore, our perception is that unresolved problems are being stirred up in the facilitator any time he or she is experiencing anything other than calm, clear thinking, and confidence in the Lord's desire and ability to heal. This essay discusses these two premises, describes examples from our own experience, and provides a number of specific recommendations.
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"Direct Eye Contact (Technique for Making Contact with Internal Parts)"
(posted: 10/14/2000 revised: 12/12/2013) This is a brief "how-to" essay regarding using direct eye contact for helping a person connect with internal dissociated parts; this essay does not provide information about the wider context of dissociative phenomena. Please do not use this tool until you have a basic understanding of dissociated internal parts
Download PDF (5 pages, 82.6 KB)

"Immanuel, Emotional Healing, & Capacity: Part I"
(posted: 07/08/2005 revised: 06/09/2012) There are many possible blockages to emotional healing, but one that often goes unrecognized is the issue of inadequate capacity. In these two essays (see also Part II) Dr. Lehman introduces the concept of capacity (drawing especially on the work of Dr. E. James Wilder), and then shares ways that he has found to help people overcome problems with inadequate capacity, particularly by helping them experience the reality of Jesus’ Immanuel presence.
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"Brain Science, Psychologial Trauma, and The God Who is With Us ~ Part I: A Psychiatrist's Journey -- A Brief Introduction to the Immanuel Approach"
(posted: 10/24/2007 revised: 06/09/2012) [This document is the promised updated post-conference version of “Part I” of the material Dr. Lehman presented at "Healing Redesigned: Brain Science, Psychological Trauma, & The God Who Is With Us," on 16-20 June 2008, in Springfield Illinois, sponsored by THRIVE. It is mostly the same as Part I of what was presented 9-10 November 2007, in Sydney, Australia, and on 24-26 April 2008 in Modesto, California.] "The first thing I want to do is tell the story of my journey with respect to what we call the 'Immanuel Approach to emotional healing,' and also the larger 'Immanuel Approach to life.' Hopefully, this story of my personal journey will provide an overview with respect to how all of the pieces fit together."
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"Immanuel, An Especially Pernicious Blockage, and the Normal Belief Memory System"
(posted: 03/15/2005 revised: 06/08/2012) In this essay Dr. Lehman discusses a tangle of wounds, choices, memory dynamics, and other factors that prevent many people from perceiving the Lord’s Immanuel presence, and from receiving the Lord’s help. This essay also presents the normal belief memory system and the trauma-associated belief memory system, and describes how understanding these two different memory systems provides a theoretical foundation for emotional healing.
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"Immanuel, Emotional Healing and Capacity: Part II"
(posted: 10/28/2006 revised: 06/06/2012) This is "Part II" of the material described under the title: "Immanuel, Emotional Healing, & Capacity: Part I"
Download PDF (18 pages, 1.1 MB)

"Is It From the Lord? – On Discerning Words"
(posted: 06/02/2001 revised: 11/20/2011) Learning to discern the Lord's "voice" or leading is essential to the life of Christian discipleship. It is also an essential part of one's skills in Theophostic ministry, in which so much depends on "hearing" from the Lord. This is not a comprehensive discussion of discernment, but hopefully these thoughts will be helpful when a "word" or message is unclear, or when there is disagreement as to the word's source.
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"Dreams and Prayer for Emotional Healing"
(posted: 02/13/2002 revised: 11/16/2011) This brief document gives some of Dr. Lehman's ideas of how emotions from dreams can be part of the process of prayer for emotional healing.
Download PDF (2 pages, 76.6 KB)

"Addressing Spiritual Concerns in State and Federal Facilities"
(posted: 09/03/2000 revised: 11/16/2011) Dr. Lehman discusses the issue of addressing spiritual concerns in public settings, sharing encouraging research, developments in the mental health field, and his own experience.
Download PDF (5 pages, 97.1 KB)

"Immanuel Approach/Theophostic®-based Emotional Healing With Children"
(posted: 06/05/2002 revised: 07/15/2011) We have gotten a number of requests for advice, thoughts, consultation, etc. regarding using the Immanuel approach and/or Theophostic-based ministry with children. In this essay we offer thoughts from our own experience, and have also tried to collect useful material from others who are doing emotional healing work with children.
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"Brain Science, Psychological Trauma, and The God Who is With Us ~ Part IV: Conditions and Resources Necessary For Resolving Traumatic Memories"
(posted: 10/25/2007 revised: 02/04/2011) [This document is the promised updated post-conference version of “Part IV” of the material Dr. Lehman presented at "Healing Redesigned: Brain Science, Psychological Trauma, & The God Who Is With Us," on 16-20 June 2008, in Springfield Illinois, sponsored by THRIVE. It is mostly the same as Part IV of what was presented 9-10 November 2007, in Sydney, Australia, and on 24-26 April 2008 in Modesto, California.] From the material presented in parts II & III, we know that for painful events to avoid becoming traumatic they need to complete the journey through the brain/mind pathway designed to process our experiences. If one or more processing tasks is not successfully completed, the painful experience will become a traumatic experience (and then a traumatic memory). Very specific additional conditions must be in place and very specific resources must be available for the person to successfully complete this remedial processing work.
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"Brain Science, Psychological Trauma, and The God Who is With Us ~ Part III: Traumatic Memories vs Non-Traumatic Memories"
(posted: 11/01/2007 revised: 02/04/2011) [This document is the promised updated post-conference version of “Part III” of the material Dr. Lehman presented at "Healing Redesigned: Brain Science, Psychological Trauma, & The God Who Is With Us," on 16-20 June 2008, in Springfield Illinois, sponsored by THRIVE. It is mostly the same as Part III of what was presented 9-10 November 2007, in Sydney, Australia, and on 24-26 April 2008 in Modesto, California.] As we work to resolve the toxic memories of traumatic experiences, it is helpful to understand the differences between traumatic memories and non-traumatic memories.
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""Triggered" Positive Thoughts and Emotions"
(posted: 09/03/2002 revised: 12/15/2009) Triggered positive thoughts and emotions will be produced by anything in the present that comforts, covers, compensates, or counter-acts core lies. The triggered positive thoughts will be the opposite of the underlying lies, and the triggered positive emotions will be the opposite of the emotions usually associated with the lies. This essay summarizes our thoughts and experience regarding triggered positive thoughts and emotions.
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"Mind and Brain, Separate but Integrated"
(posted: 12/11/2004 revised: 11/29/2009) (Draft - replacing previous essay titled "Mind Before Brain, Big Picture")
This essay presents our thoughts regarding the biological brain, the non-biological mind, and how they fit together. The "mind and brain" paradigm presented here provides a foundation from which those studying the biological brain and those studying the mind/spirit can work together, as complementary players on the same team. This essay also includes description of fascinating medical research consistent with basic Theophostic® principles, and also discussion of the appropriate place for psychiatric medication in emotional healing ministry. Note: this is a draft version (you will notice unfinished pieces, but people wanted the material and it might be many months before the remaining pieces are completed).
Download PDF (72 pages, 778.1 KB)

"Identifying When You Have Lost Access to Your Relational Connection Circuits, and Getting Them Back On Line"
(posted: 11/13/2008 revised: 11/12/2008) (New 11/12/08) This essay is a brief, “stand alone” discussion of our relational connection circuits – what they do, how to identify when you have temporarily lost access to them, what this means with respect to your ability to function in relationships, and then how to get them back on line.
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"Triggered Traumatic Content and Verbal Logical Explainer (VLE) Confabulations"
(posted: 08/24/2008 revised: 08/16/2008) [New 2/23/2007, but not posted until 8/24/2008]This document provides a brief summary regarding foundational concepts, such as psychological trauma, implicit memory, and triggering, and then discusses why triggered traumatic content is so important, why it is so difficult to recognize and acknowledge triggered traumatic content, and finally how to recognize, acknowledge, and neutralize triggered traumatic content and verbal logical explainer (VLE) confabulations.
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"How To Get People To Do Their Healing Work: Lead By Example, Change the Culture"
(posted: 09/10/2000 revised: 12/23/2006) A student in our pastoral counseling class asked the very understandable question: "How do you get people to heal their old wounds, instead of 'inflicting their pain on others'?" Here are some thoughts.
Download PDF (3 pages, 284.8 KB)

"Immanuel: God with Us"
(posted: 10/25/2006 revised: 10/26/2006) This document is the manuscript of Charlotte’s seminar lecture recorded on the DVD/VHS entitled “Immanuel: God With Us.” Charlotte delves into the Biblical uses of the name Immanuel, Hebrew for “God with us,” and draws out essential insights, both for emotional healing, and more broadly, for the life of Christian discipleship. This presentation of Biblical exegesis and real life illustrations can also serve as an indirect and non-threatening, but compelling, introduction to the necessity for emotional healing in the life of the believer. This teaching also contributed to the discovery and use of powerful new approaches to emotional healing, which we are now sharing in the “Immanuel Series.”
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"Internal Family Systems (Family Systems with Internal Parts)"
(posted: 09/07/2000 revised: 10/07/2006) This document discusses the potentially helpful book Internal Family Systems Therapy by secular author Richard Schwartz.
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"Lay People and Theophostic Ministry Part 1"
(posted: 03/01/2002 revised: 10/05/2006) World Changing Forces & Vision for the Church This document lays out our general vision of the necessity and feasibility of lay persons doing Theophostic Ministry -- this material was first presented in part at our Nov 30-Dec 1, 2001 Basic Training event in Evanston, Illinois
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"Mind and Brain, Separate but Integrated - very condensed version"
(posted: 12/11/2004 revised: 01/29/2005) This essay presents a greatly condensed version of "'Mind and Brain,' Separate but Integrated," and is the manuscript for the presentation delivered by Karl at the "2004 Conference on Integrated Healing: New Wineskins for the New Wine," sponsored by Laulima Ministries International, Honolulu, Hawaii, on November 11-13, 2004.
Download PDF (24 pages, 224.8 KB)

"Lay People and Theophostic Ministry Part 2"
(posted: 03/01/2002 revised: 12/21/2004) Promoting Healing, Preventing "Breakage"
This document begins to fill out the vision for lay Theophostic ministry with specific recommendations about how that can be done with fewer risks and greater benefits to both minister and person being prayed for. This material was first presented in part at our Nov 30-Dec 1, 2001 Basic Training event in Evanston, Illinois
Download PDF (9 pages, 64.8 KB)

"Emotionally-Connected Discipleship & New Wineskin Community"
(posted: 12/15/2004 revised: 11/13/2004) Presented by Charlotte at the "2004 Conference on Integrated Healing: New Wineskins for the New Wine," sponsored by Laulima Ministries International, Honolulu, Hawaii, on November 11-13, 2004. The manuscript of Charlotte's presentation casts a vision of the lifestyle of healing that comes from living connected to one's heart, and not by oneself, but in a deliberately formed "new wineskin community." That new "container" can bring a whole new level of healing and blessing to individuals and to the Kingdom of God as a whole. There are many visions of community and its many benefits; a distinctive about this one is its encorporation of the concepts of Theophostic®-based emotional healing ministry into the vision presented. However, the presentation does not assume that the audience is familiar with Theophostic® Prayer Ministry. Since the presentation was designed to be mostly inspirational and motivating, a two-page informational handout is included at the end of the document for those who want to pursue the vision.
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"Theophostic & EMDR: F.A.Q.'s and Common Misunderstandings"
(posted: 01/18/2002 revised: 12/17/2003) Many have asked questions and/or raised concerns regarding EMDR and Theophostic. The Lord seems to have placed me (Dr. Lehman) in a position to have extensive training and experience in both EMDR and Theophostic. Hopefully this essay will address many of the questions and concerns of people in the Theophostic community regarding EMDR
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"Spiritual Disciplines and Emotional Healing Ministry: Choosing Healing"
(posted: 05/31/2003 revised: 10/25/2003) Many people have asked: "What can the person receiving ministry do, especially between ministry sessions, to cooperate with this process?" The focus of this essay is how the person receiving ministry can use spiritual disciplines to cooperate with emotional healing ministry – how he can use spiritual disciplines as aids in getting into the place where he can receive healing from the Lord.
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"Bereavement, Grief, and Mourning"
(posted: 08/12/2003 revised: 08/12/2003) This essay provides a brief summary of our thoughts and of Dr. Smith's writings regarding the application of Theophostic principles to bereavement, grief, and mourning. It also includes a ministry aid and sample prayers for resolving truth based grief pain.
Download PDF (8 pages, 51.5 KB)

"Cognitive Therapy and Theophostic Ministry"
(posted: 10/06/2001 revised: 06/28/2003) Cognitive therapy is one of the most widely used forms of psychotherapy, and competes with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for the psychotherapeutic technique with the most research documentation of efficacy. When someone suggests an overworked therapist learn about Theophostic, he or she often replies, "Why should I take the time and energy to learn something new – I already do cognitive therapy." In response to all of this, we thought it would be helpful to write a brief essay comparing and contrasting cognitive therapy and Theophostic ministry
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"Theophostic Ministry With People and/or Parts That Don’t Know Jesus"
(posted: 02/06/2003 revised: 02/06/2003) We have received a number of questions about doing Theophostic ministry with people that are not Christians, and also about doing Theophostic ministry with Christians who have internal dissociated parts that appear to be non-Christian. I have combined my thoughts about these two subjects into one essay because several of the principles and techniques discussed can apply to both. This essay also includes sample comments and prayers.
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"Just Hold It Up To Jesus"
(posted: 01/23/2003 revised: 01/23/2003) Many people have lies that get triggered when they think about "listening" for truth, "waiting" for Jesus, receiving something from Jesus, or by some other aspect of the usual Theophostic requests. We have discovered that sometimes the person receiving ministry is able to "just hold it up to Jesus," even though they are not able or willing to participate in the usual Theophostic process of asking Jesus to come with truth and healing, and then listening/watching for His response. This essay includes explanatory discussion, and a ministry aid with sample comments and prayers.
Download PDF (3 pages, 30.3 KB)

"Doing Theophostic on Yourself"
(posted: 01/16/2003 revised: 01/16/2003) In this article, Dr. Lehman describes some of the issues involved in using Theophostic ministry on oneself
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"Worship and Theophostic Ministry"
(posted: 11/26/2002 revised: 01/15/2003) Dr. Lehman shares a few thoughts regarding worship, including his own experience with how memory-associated lies have hindered his ability to worship, and how resolving these lies has blessed his worship experience.
Download PDF (3 pages, 31.1 KB)

"Acupuncture, Acupressure, and Thought Field Therapy (TFT)"
(posted: 11/20/2002 revised: 11/20/2002) A number of people have asked us about acupuncture, acupressure, and Thought Field Therapy (TFT). I (Karl) have tried to write out some comments and observations that I hope will be helpful for those of you who are encountering these techniques in one way or another.
Download PDF (10 pages, 68.2 KB)

"Honoring One’s Parents and Healing the Wounds of Childhood"
(posted: 10/02/2002 revised: 10/02/2002) What does it mean to honor one's father and mother? How does one abide by this commandment, the fifth of the Ten Commandments, when seeking healing for wounds caused by one's parents? This essay explores the meaning of the fifth commandment, taking into account parents who were wonderful, parents who were awful, and the majority of parents in between.
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"Healthy, Truth-based Emotions and Associations"
(posted: 08/16/2002 revised: 08/16/2002) We agree with Dr. Smith that most intense emotional reactions in the present get much of their energy from triggered emotions and lie-based associations, but we also perceive that some people need help in understanding that not all emotions are triggered and not all associations are lie-based triggers. Here is a brief summary of our thougths regarding healthy, truth-based emotions and associations.
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"How long will it take for me to be healed?"
(posted: 06/19/2002 revised: 06/19/2002) Many people who have heard about Theophostic but who have never seen a session have asked "Is Theophostic really as fast and effective as it sounds? Is the healing really ‘instantaneous' as Dr. Smith describes?" When Theophostic healing did not unfold as quickly and easily as they expected, many clients and/or therapists/ministers have asked "What's wrong? Why isn't it working? Why is it taking more than three sessions?" In this essay, we discuss our answers to these questions
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"How do I know for sure if Theophostic worked?"
(posted: 09/06/2000 revised: 09/06/2000) This document gives some tips and reflections on evaluating whether a Theophostic ministry session was "successful"
Download PDF (2 pages, 16.3 KB)