Just because you’re a Christian doesn’t mean you’re happy, mentally healthy, free from addiction, or living your best life.
That realization led John Murphy, a self-described former “table-pounding atheist,” to found Rock House Center outside of Nashville over a dozen years ago. Based on the principle that spiritual well-being is mental health, Rock House Center’s proprietary Bible-based counseling is therapeutically effective across the full range of mental health disorders.
When asked where he sends “really tough cases” like addiction, Murphy replies: “We don’t. Many of our clients come to us after traditional mental health treatments have failed them. We haven’t seen a situation we can’t help.”
That’s a bold statement—but before you pass judgment, have a look at the results. Rock House has been tracking results for years, and the data backs up its claim. So do its five-star reviews: The declarations of suffering relieved and lives changed can move you to tears. The stories are nothing short of miraculous.
Traditional therapy? Drug therapy? Murphy’s not a fan.
“The mental health industry is failing us,” Murphy says. “Hurting people are trying talk and drug therapies, but the results, at best, are mixed. While there are some successful symptom treatments, the mental health industry has few answers for the root causes of the suffering.”
Root causes, rather than behavior modification through talk therapy or drugs, are the primary focus at Rock House Center. “Behavior is just a symptom of a deeper issue,” Murphy says. “When the root cause is addressed, the client will quickly begin losing interest in the negative behavior. Focusing on behavior is a waste of time. For instance, we will never provide anger management. We work with the client to eliminate the anger.”
Based on his own experience of healing from years of depression in the context and application of his Christian faith, Murphy wrote a book called Be Transformed—New Life Awaits. Soon after, he founded Rock House Center to guide clients in applying the truth of the Bible to heal the root causes of mental health disorders. His mission is to help every Christian—laypersons as well as pastors, elders and deacons—to lead happy, well-balanced lives that are centered in the principles of the Bible.
“We have a giant behavioral health industry where, from my perspective, the emperor has no clothes,” Murphy says. “There are tons of studies that depression meds typically have no more impact than placebos. This has been proven, but psychiatrists and physicians are still handing out depression medication and telling their patients that depression is due to a chemical imbalance.”
“Research sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health and others for the past fifteen years has disproved the chemical imbalance theory. It’s not a legitimate principle of mental health diagnosis, yet mental health professionals and doctors who accepted this theory years ago are not conforming to current research.”
“We hear this all the time from our clients—‘My doctor told me that my depression is based on a chemical imbalance.’ But it’s just not true. We’ve got a big, broken industry, and few people are getting effective help that brings healing to the root cause. So, when we saw how effective and competitive our faith-based approach was, we brought it to the world of treating mental health disorders.”
While Murphy is a dedicated Christian, he is open to any faith-based solution that has the data to prove its approach works. “When we talk to companies about offering our counseling services as an optional benefit to their employees, they commonly have concerns about promoting one religion over another,” he says. “My response is always the same: ‘If someone else presents you an approach based on their faith, and they have data to prove it works, sign them up!’”
Murphy cautions that his approach is not backed up by clinical studies; nor are any of his counseling staff licensed or trained in traditional clinical methodology. Rock House Center doesn’t accept insurance, unlike most counselors. “When people contact us, they are looking for licensed counselors, and a process paid for by insurance. After we explain our approach, about 40 percent of our inquiries sign up for a paid introductory session, and then about 70 percent of those decide to move forward with our sixteen-week program. That is far better than the behavioral health industry, where about 50 percent of people do not come back after one session, and only about 26 percent make it past five sessions. The reason is simple—not many people feel that traditional psychotherapy is effective, but nearly everyone sees progress after pursuing Biblical truth at Rock House Center. When we explain that, it resonates with them, often as something they’ve sought for many years. They value getting over their problem and are willing to pay for it.”
Rock House Center’s team of counselors has worked with clients in over twenty states and six foreign countries, often using video conferencing or phone.
“We have a very effective process to help people change their lives for the better,” Murphy says. “We started off as a ministry doing discipleship. Then we evolved to competing in the behavioral health world to bring a more effective solution than what the mental health industry offers. And we are seeing phenomenal results.”
Clients come in describing their bouts with depression, anxiety, marriage problems, parenting issues, and their addictions to alcohol, drugs, porn, sex—you name it. The process is unconventional, but you can’t argue with the results.
Murphy says all people are “dual” in their lives and motivations. Their head tells them what they should do, and the heart tells them what they will do.
“Somebody can go to a restaurant,” he says, “and understand intellectually that he’s overweight and should not have dessert. Instead, he orders and eats two desserts. Why would that be? It’s because of the duality of the human mind. There’s the part of you that knows what you should do, and then there’s another part of you that wants that piece of pie in order to medicate and distract you from the way your life feels. Your heart can’t stand discomfort, angst, or torment. So if that piece of pie gives you two minutes of relief, that pie is going down.”
That’s why Murphy calls his approach Motive Transition Therapy®.
“The motivations of your heart are really driving how your life works,” he says. “People report to us that over time, with our process, the heart comes into alignment with their head. That’s when they’re able to do what they know they should be doing, because their heart is not driving them off track from where they want their lives to be.”
“The heart is the target of all the work performed at Rock House. It can be healed of its suffering and self-defeating behavior through the application of Biblical truth. That’s all we do.”
But Motive Transition Therapy® is not for everyone, he says.
“It’s only for people who are sick and tired of being sick and tired. It’s for people who want real results, and they prefer that change to come in the context of their faith.”
Murphy says the inability to truly trust God is at the root of much of the anxiety, fear, and depression Christians suffer. To make a contribution to a world burdened with more fear than ever, he created “Pathway to Peace,” a free, eight-day devotional course designed to help people have more peace by resolving their personal barrier to trusting God. It is available at https://www.rockhouseconnect.com/offers/v23Zwtz2/checkout.
To learn more about Rock House Center’s remarkable results and to read some truly miraculous reviews and testimonies, check out www.rockhousecenter.com.