The Reconnected Heart: How relationships can help us heal

by Jonathan Andrews

Do you carry pain from a previous or existing relationship? Perhaps a friend, family member or partner has hurt you and you just can't seem to get over it. You try to move forward, but you have suffered injuries of connection and your heart isn't healing. Injuries of connection can be the deepest and most disruptive of all psychological conditions, leading to deep feelings of betrayal, worthlessness, shame and alienation. But there is hope. While it is true that relationships can hurt us, they can also heal us. Your heart can mend by connecting with yourself, connecting with safe and understanding people, and connecting with the God who created you and longs to love you in the midst of your pain. Using his 20 years of experience as a practising Clinical Psychologist, together biblical foundations, insights from literature and scientific evidence, Dr Jonathan Andrews will lead you through the steps of healing. He will guide you through the pain of psychological injuries caused by disconnection and towards a reconnected heart - and set you up for a life of trust, self-esteem, honour and belonging.

Genres: Christian

308 pages, Paperback

First published December 3, 2020

Reviews

[Matthew Hodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonathan Andrews, in this book, puts forward a framework for the various sorts of psychological issues we can suffer from, but in the context of relationships.

So by setting up a background of how relational issues from our childhood can have damaged us, he then puts forward how to listen to our "heart" - our emotional core and being - in order to move forward. It is called The Reconnected Heart because the solution that Andrews puts forward is that connections - with others, with ourselves and with God - are the solution to most pain.

I think it is a useful framework, particularly for Christians, but possibly difficult to implement just from reading. I believe the book would be written to be used in conjunction with the type of counseling and psychological help that Andrews provides and probably takes on more life in that context.