Finding Freedom in Christ: Healing Life’s Hurts

We all have wounds. We all experience the emotional suffering that arises when we’re prevented from receiving or giving love as we were created to. As we orchestrate our lives to hide our wounds and avoid the discomfort of having them irritated, we end up creating anxiety, unhappiness, exhaustion, anger, and a sense of meaninglessness. The good news is that God wants to heal us!

In Finding Freedom in Christ: Healing Life’s Hurts, Dr. Matthew Breuninger examines the nature and causes of our wounds. Finding Freedom in Christ outlines a six-step model to help readers identify and remove the barriers to God’s healing grace—making deeper conversion pos­sible. Ultimately, the goal of this healing model is to free individuals to love and serve God and one another.

Dr. Matthew Breuninger is an associate professor of psychology at Franciscan University of Steubenville. He is a research fellow with the Austin Institute for the Study of Family and Culture as well as a member of the Catholic Psychotherapy Association. He is the founder of the Wellspring Counseling and Coaching in Steubenville, Ohio.

“From years of counseling men and women, Dr. Breuninger has a keen sense of what binds people and how the bondage and their woundedness prohibit them from living fully human lives. . . . He provides a model for the reader that leads us to a place of freedom and wholeness. . . . Dr. Breuninger leads us to an encounter with Jesus so we may experience the freedom He has won for us.”

DAVE PIVONKA, TOR
President, Franciscan University of Steubenville

“Dr. Matthew Breuninger is a true co-worker of healing in the Lord’s vineyard. In Finding Freedom in Christ, he beautifully integrates sound psychological science, the wisdom of the Twelve Steps, and the riches of our Catholic faith to chart a sure path for healing. As a result, Finding Freedom in Christ will challenge, enlighten, and console readers who hunger for God’s healing touch in their lives. I encourage all those hesitating to open this book with the words of Pope St. John Paul II: ‘Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors to Christ!’”

ANDREW J. SODERGREN, PSY.D.
Director of Psychological Services, Ruah Woods Institute

“In a world filled with so much woundedness and pain, Dr. Breuninger offers us hope—the hope of Christ! The steps contained in Finding Freedom in Christ are practical and powerful, sure to help you shed the shackles of your wounds and bring you into the freedom that God desires for you.”

MATT FRADD
Host of the Pints with Aquinas Podcast

“Dr. Matthew Breuninger beautifully explores how the wounds we carry, heavy and hurting, can be healed by recognizing and fully embracing God’s abundant and perfect love. Without over-spiritualizing the ways to find healing (and making note of the need for mental health professionals), Dr. Breuninger examines how, step by step, we can seek perfect healing not simply by trying hard and grinning and bearing it, but instead by going through a clear process of naming, claiming, and moving beyond the hurts we carry and seeing God for who He is, and thus coming to see ourselves more fully. As someone who deals with anxiety, and regularly goes to therapy, Dr. Breuninger’s book provided additional excellent insight into how I can find healing from past hurts and seek comfort in the loving arms of the Lord, who loves me in my woundedness and seeks to bring me beyond it. I loved this book, and think it is a great resource for Catholics longing to find healing.”

KATIE PREJEAN MCGRADY
Host of The Katie McGrady Show on Sirius XM