You Cannot Counsel a Demon—You Must Cast It Out.

Yet, behind many of those choices are unseen powers, spiritual forces that influence, distort, and enslave.

One of the greatest misunderstandings in modern Christian counseling is this: you cannot counsel a demon; you must cast it out.

Jesus never counseled a demon. He never asked for its story, never explored its childhood, and never created a treatment plan for it. He addressed it with authority and drove it out. And only after deliverance did He speak to the person. Why? Because you cannot disciple someone who is still bound, and you cannot guide someone to freedom while the real oppressor remains untouched.

So much of modern counseling deals with symptoms – anxiety, addiction, destructive patterns, anger, identity confusion, and cycles of shame. These are real experiences, and they matter. However, often the counseling focuses solely on behavior modification, emotional regulation, coping skills, or better thinking patterns. Those can help, but they do not break chains. They rarely confront the spiritual darkness behind the bondage. Many Christians sit in counseling rooms for years, trying to negotiate with what Jesus would have commanded to leave in a moment.

Demons do not respond to logic. They do not respect coping strategies. They do not change because someone journaled their feelings. They respond only to the authority of Jesus Christ.

Here is where many believers miss the deeper truth: people who are oppressed or influenced by darkness often live out the effects without ever recognizing the source. Counseling that addresses only the effects eventually becomes like trimming the branches of a poisonous tree while leaving the roots untouched.

A man may deal with rage, but the root is a spirit of anger. A woman may wrestle with compulsive behavior, but behind it may be a spirit of bondage. A young person may spiral into hopelessness, but behind it is a spirit of heaviness. Families may continually fight the same cycles, but behind it is generational oppression.

This is why Jesus said He came to “set the captives free,” and why the early Church walked in both discipleship and deliverance. The apostles preached repentance, taught the Word, built community, and cast out demons. Not because they were sensational, but because freedom requires all three: truth, transformation, and the breaking of spiritual chains.

Now, does this mean all problems are demonic? Of course not. Humans have free will. Trauma wounds the soul. Our own decisions can lead to destruction. But it is equally dangerous to ignore the spiritual dimension that Scripture speaks of repeatedly. When darkness is present, you do not negotiate; you confront. When bondage is spiritual, you do not medicate alone; you liberate. When the enemy has a foothold, you do not analyze the foothold – you remove the enemy and close the door.

True healing is holistic: the mind renewed by the Word, the heart restored by the Spirit, the emotions healed through godly counsel, and the soul set free by the authority of Christ.

This is why, in recovery, discipleship, and family ministry, we must boldly preach the whole Gospel. We counsel the wounded, but we deliver the oppressed. We comfort the broken, but we cast out the tormenting spirit. We disciple the believer, but we renounce the works of darkness. The Church was never meant to be a spiritual hospital without an emergency room. We must address both the natural and the supernatural.

When Jesus gives us authority, it is not symbolic – it is functional. When He sends us into the world, it is not to soothe demons – it is to expel them. When He calls us to make disciples, it is not to train people to live with bondage – it is to remove the bondage so they can be trained.

There are moments when counseling is necessary – and moments when counseling is useless until deliverance comes first. And discerning the difference is part of mature spiritual leadership.

So let us return to the ministry of Jesus with clarity and boldness. Let us care for the soul while also confronting the darkness that binds it. Let us remember that the Cross broke the power of sin, the resurrection broke the power of death, and the name of Jesus breaks the power of demons.

You cannot counsel a demon. You cast it out. And only then can true healing begin.