Loss of Heaven and Pains of Hell: Addressing God Images within Scrupulosity for Deeper Healing

Individuals with scrupulosity often find themselves at one point or another asking significant existential questions about their faith related to the state of their soul, eternity, and judgment. These existential concerns can develop into obsessive fears that are not well addressed through traditional treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Current approaches are often targeted at tolerance of uncertainty in one form or another, either through exposures meant to reduce a response to anxiety or practicing acceptance of the unknown, but both are lacking in their ability to enter deeply into the experiential aspect of scrupulosity. Scrupulosity hinges upon existential beliefs around an unseen God, specifically around rigid images of this God that are hyper-focused on His justice, power, and punishment. This article argues that by utilizing experiential and relational modalities in treatment for scrupulosity, we allow clients to encounter flexible images of God that finally allow them to tolerate uncertainty—by growing in relationship with He who is all knowing.