By Michael Strating, PhD
Emotions are a valuable source of information about how our life is going in light of our deepest values
and concerns, but they must be sufficiently regulated before we can make use of them. Secular
therapies have developed a wide range of effective emotion regulation strategies, but most of these
strategies tend to be grounded in the self. For the Christian, without negating the self entirely, emotion
regulation is expressed primarily as spiritual contentment, which originates from God and is derived
from an awareness of God’s sovereignty and presence in the life of the believer.
How are we to cope with distress amidst the adversities of life? Look not to the self, which is finite, but
look first to our Heavenly Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who is our infinite, eternal, unchangeable, ever-
present, all-knowing, all-powerful, holy, just, wise, gracious, and loving God.
Dr. Strating completed his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Windsor as well as his residency with the London Clinical Psychology Residency Consortium. His areas of focus include working with relationship concerns, difficulties managing or engaging with emotion, anxiety, panic, anger, grief, depression, self-criticism, perfectionism, trauma, and OCD. He is also experienced in research as well as teaching and supervising therapist trainees.
He is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Redeemer University and a practicing Clinical Psychologist at Dr. Jared French and Associates.
