How do I know if I’m dating a narcissist?

Why do my friends keep trauma-dumping on me?

What can I do to reduce my mental load?

Not long ago, questions like these would only have surfaced in a therapy session or a psychology textbook. Today, you're likely to encounter them in a casual conversation with a friend or on Instagram or TikTok. “Therapy speak” has become commonplace, and countless clinical terms have trickled into everyday language. The past several years have seen a rapid rise in what professionals call pop psychology—“a term used to describe the popularization of psychological theories and concepts”.¹

This popularity can be a problem. As technical terms like “gaslighting,” “trauma,” “boundaries,” “narcissism,” “triggering,” and many more have become common, they have also become increasingly flexible and often misunderstood.

We should be careful and thoughtful about how we use pop psychology to describe ourselves and our experiences. This is especially true for Christians, who know that our identity is grounded first in what God says about us, not what we say about ourselves. Insights from psychology can be valuable tools for understanding ourselves and others, but they can also be dangerous when misunderstood and misapplied.

As pop psychology grows more common, two important questions arise: Why is pop psychology becoming so attractive to so many of us, and how might Christians respond to this growing phenomenon?

Pop Psychology Makes Us Feel Seen

One reason for the rise of pop psychology is that it makes us feel seen and understood. By applying names and labels to our experiences, pop psychology makes them feel more real, giving a “scientific” weight to personal experiences. This also makes us feel less isolated, since we feel connected to other people who carry the same labels.

In addition to making us feel seen and understood, pop psychology also makes us feel like our problems can be solved in concrete ways. When we apply labels from clinical psychology to our problems, we feel as though we have achieved a “diagnosis” which might then direct us to a “cure.”

Think about how you feel when you go to the doctor to ask about physical symptoms of illness. If your doctor provides a diagnosis, you typically feel a sense of relief. Since the doctor can name your experience, they can probably help you overcome it. They can prescribe the right medicine or lifestyle changes to address your concern. On the other hand, if the doctor can’t figure out what is wrong or does not provide a specific diagnosis, you are more likely to feel anxious and isolated. Without a name for your experience, it is a lot harder to get help.

These same desires make pop psychology appealing. Of course we want to feel seen and understood! Of course we want to be given concrete solutions to our most complex internal struggles! We turn to pop psychology because it promises answers to difficult questions. While pop psychology has opened many doors for people to get the treatment and help they need, we should also practice caution when applying its concepts to our lives without professional help.

Pop Psychology Can Be Harmful

The problem is that pop psychology often provides distorted answers and can even lead us further from the truth about ourselves and our experiences. Real professional psychologists and counselors warn about the common side-effects of pop psychology. Among other concerns, they point out that it often oversimplifies complex issues and lacks important context.

As a result, experts warn that pop-psychology contributes to:

• Misunderstandings about real conditions like OCD or PTSD.²
• Pathologizing relatively normal behavior—for example, calling someone a “narcissist” when they act selfishly.³
• Promoting disconnection rather than communication, especially by labelling people as “toxic” and setting sharp “boundaries” instead of initiating honest conversation.⁴
• Self-diagnosis based on limited, flawed, or out-of-context information.⁵

In other words, pop psychology encourages us to believe things about ourselves and other people that may be far from the truth. We may be tempted to self-diagnose ourselves with conditions or disorders that we do not have or explain the behavior of our friends and family by theorizing about their past trauma, attachment styles, neurodivergence, or other concepts from clinical psychology. We might be filling our conversations with “therapy speak” because it protects us from being direct and honest with ourselves and others.

As appealing as these promises might be, we should be discerning in how we engage with pop psychology. As Christians, our understanding of the world should be shaped by Scripture before anything else.

A Biblical Response to Pop Psychology

The word “psychology” comes from Greek and literally means “the study of the soul.” We should be eager to understand our own souls better as we pursue lives of holiness and authenticity before God. Fortunately, the Bible has a lot to say about our souls!

We know that God is the Creator of our souls. Genesis 2:7 tells us that God formed the first human from dust and breathed into him to make him a “living being.” God is also the Lord over our souls—we do not belong to ourselves. In Ezekiel 18:4, the Lord declares: “every life belongs to me.” We have reason to rejoice because Jesus is the Savior of our souls. First Peter 1:9 reminds us that “the goal of [our] faith” is “the salvation of [our] souls.”

Knowing that God is the Creator, Lord, and Savior of our souls is a source of great comfort. When we long to be seen and understood, we can take heart in knowing that God sees us, understands us, and loves us deeply.

Scripture also teaches that our own souls are sinful and often untrustworthy. Jeremiah 17:9 warns us that “The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable.” Jesus similarly teaches in Mark 7:21–23 that evil things come “from within, out of people’s hearts” (Mark 7:21).

Part of the appeal of pop psychology is that it tries to explain our poor choices. We want to understand why we act in ways that we don’t like. Why is it so hard to live the life I want to live? Why do I keep doing things I said I wouldn’t do again? Why do I hurt people I love?

The Bible provides an honest and hopeful answer to these questions. In Romans 7 and 8, Paul wrestles with his own sinfulness and then rejoices in God’s grace:

For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate. . . . For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. . . . What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! . . . Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 7:15, 18b, 24–25; 8:1, emphasis added).

Although our souls are flawed, sinful, and untrustworthy, Jesus has taken it upon Himself to save us and offer us new life: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Creator, Lord, and Savior of our souls is making us new!

Pop Psychology Opens Doors for the Gospel

Although we should be careful about how we use pop psychology in our own lives, we can also view it as an opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with people around us. Our friends and neighbors are drawn to pop psychology for the same reasons we have already explored: They want to understand themselves and their experiences, feel seen and understood, and find real solutions to their personal struggles. Jesus can provide all these things! The same desires which draw people to pop psychology can also draw them to Jesus. As Christians, we have a real opportunity to share the gospel with people who are wrestling with the complexity of life.

This does not mean that there isn’t a place for responsible psychological help. We should be grateful for people who have dedicated their lives to studying psychology to become counselors, therapists, psychiatrists, and other professionals. We also should not be afraid to educate ourselves on psychological concepts, nor should we ever feel any shame for seeking psychological help. As Christians, we know better than anyone that our souls are flawed and in need of help! There is no place for pride or shame over mental health in the Church.

At the same time, let us never forget that Jesus is the ultimate Doctor of Souls. In a world that is desperately searching for answers, we have a remarkable opportunity to point people to Christ. Let’s seize the moment and boldly encourage friends, neighbors, and coworkers to look to the Bible for answers when pop psychology lets us down.

Notes:

1. Jon Finch, “The Problem with Pop Psychology,” Centre for Clinical Psychology, November 14, 2023, https://ccp.net.au/the-problem-with-pop-psychology/.

2. Finch, “The Problem with Pop Psychology.”

3. “Pop Psychology: The Problem with Oversimplifying Mental Health,” PCI Centers, September 12, 2024, https://www.pcicenters.com/pop-psychology-the-problem-with-oversimplifying-mental-health/.

4. “Pop Psychology Is Everywhere, But Is It Helping You?” Birchwood Clinic, August 29, 2025, https://www.birchwoodclinic.com/pop-psychology-is-everywhere-but-is-it-helping-you/.

5. Marcia Sirota, “The Many Dangers of Pop Psychology,” Dr. Marcia Sirota (blog), September 27, 2023, https://marciasirotamd.com/psychology-popular-culture/the-many-dangers-of-pop-psychology.

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Author Bio

Benjamin Vincent is a bi-vocational pastor, teacher, and writer. He and his wife, Sage, live in Massachusetts. You can find more of his writing at benjaminvincent.com.

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