The Life Beyond Achievement

The Empty Self A decades-old critique of American psychology helps explain why focusing on just the self never seem to be enough. By Victor Counted • The Flourishing Journal • 9 min read You finally buy the thing you have wanted for months. For a few days, perhaps a few weeks, it works. Something inside you settles. There is usually a rush of excitement. You feel more confident about your purchase. Then the feeling fades, and another object takes its place in your imagination. We usually explain this pattern as materialism or poor self-control. If you are a Marshmellow Test's fan, you perhaps might say that it is a lack…

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There Is No Such Thing as Spiritual but Not Religious

The Sacred Core: What My Students Taught Me About Religion and Spirituality Psychology of Religion The Sacred Core: Rethinking Religion vs. Spirituality A classroom argument over the "spiritual but not religious" turned into a deeper question: are religion and spirituality two things, or one search wearing different clothes? VC Dr. Victor Counted The Flourishing Journal It started, as the best class discussions often do, with a disagreement. This healthy disagreement, I must say, has been ongoing throughout the semester. This time, we were working through the standard definitions in my psychology of religion course, the ones every textbook offers: religion as the institutional and doctrinal thing, and spirituality as the…

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Three Mental Health Crises in Our World Today

Three Crises in Our World Today — The Flourishing Journal The Flourishing Journal Three Crises in Our World Today Identity, loneliness, and meaning look like three problems. I want to tell you why I think they are a problem of belonging. VC Victor Counted, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychology, Regent University · Faculty Affiliate, Harvard Human Flourishing Program I have spent most of my adult life studying what makes people flourish. I have also spent most of my adult life trying to flourish. Some seasons it was easier. Some seasons it was not. What I can tell you is this. Something is hurting people in our day that was not…

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Proximity Seeking: The First Step in Bonding with God

Bonding with God Series Proximity Seeking: The First Step in Bonding with God Episode 02  ·  Flourishing with Dr. Victor Counted About This Episode What if drawing near to God isn't just a spiritual discipline — but a deep psychological instinct woven into how you were made? In this episode of the Bonding with God series, Dr. Victor Counted unpacks proximity seeking — the most foundational step in forming a secure bond with God. Drawing from attachment theory and his new book Bonding with God (Baker Academic, 2026), Dr. Counted explores why human beings are neurologically and relationally wired to move toward a source of safety when life feels uncertain,…

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We Got the Order Wrong: How Christianity Traded Relationship for Religion

We Got the Order Wrong | The Flourishing Journal For generations, we have handed children doctrines before we gave them a living God to hold onto. The consequences are written in the data — and in the faces of those quietly walking away. VC Victor Counted, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychology · Regent University · Faculty Affiliate, Harvard Human Flourishing Program Walk into almost any evangelical church on any given Sunday, and you will see it at the end of the service — the altar call. The music softens. The lights dim slightly. A voice says something like, "If you want to give your life to Jesus tonight, repeat this…

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Attachment Theory and Spiritual Flourishing

Bonding with God — Author Discussion Author Discussion · Regent Library Gallery What does it really mean to bond with God in a way that transforms how we live, relate, and flourish? Regent Library Gallery & Online Victor Counted · Ward Davis · Corné Bekker In this special author discussion, Victor Counted sits down with Ward Davis and Corné Bekker to explore the intersection of attachment theory, faith, and spiritual flourishing — drawing from Bonding with God: Attachment Theory and the Psychology of Faith and engaging deeper questions about how our inner world shapes our relationship with God. 📘 Book Resources Order on Amazon

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Why Attachment Science Can Help A Spiritually Hungry Generation Find God

All around us, people are searching for God again. Many are tired, confused, and unsure what to believe. They scroll through endless arguments online, watch churches divide over politics, and see leaders they once trusted fall. As we look toward 2026, this season already feels like a year of spiritual yearning. A quiet hunger is rising -- especially among young people -- to find something real and trustworthy to hold on to. Many want a faith that feels honest and not hypocritical. They are asking questions that come from their pain: Where is God when the world feels cruel? Why do hate and fear speak louder than love? Why do…

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