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Smith says that once Jesus communicates his truth, most of his clients are completely set free and there is no need to teach the client coping techniques.

This approach differs from a more directive technique known as "healing of memories." In a common healing-of-memories encounter, the client may be asked to "picture Jesus" or "imagine Jesus speaking." Smith adamantly rejects these methods: "If someone is doing guided imagery, visualization, or any similar technique, they are not doing Theophostic. They may call it that, but it's not Theophostic."

Smith says people are being delivered from phobias, depressions, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, dissociative personality disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, sexual addictions, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, and homosexuality through Theophostic principles.

Conventional Christian therapists are making some use of Theophostic. Paul Meier, cofounder of New Life Clinic in Dallas, calls Theophostic ministry "a helpful part of a long-term process of growth and discipleship." Mark Verkler, one of Meier's New Life colleagues in Dallas, also supports Theophostic ministry. "I was skeptical at first—it sounded too good to be true—but have found it remarkably effective."

Others are cautious about the method, including Fernando Garzon, associate professor in the School of Psychology and Counseling at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia. "Some people are overly enthusiastic about Theophostic," Garzon says. "Some people think it is of the devil. The truth is probably somewhere in between."

Garzon has been doing preliminary clinical studies on Theophostic during the last year. He will present his results at the international convention of the Christian Association of Psychological Studies, which will meet in Richmond, Virginia, in March.

"The current case studies on Theophostic are yielding promising results—but more research is needed," Garzon says.

Some critics fault Theophostic for its approach to the demonic. Smith teaches that demons, sometimes numbering in the hundreds, may inhabit and influence even a Christian's mind. These demons often work to keep people enslaved to what Smith calls the "lie-based thinking" causing their pain. He teaches that these demons have to be expelled for a client to see full relief.

While some evangelical theologians believe that Christians can fall under the strong influence of demons, few would agree with Smith that hundreds of demons can inhabit a believer. Millard Erickson teaches at Truett Seminary in Waco and is the author of Christian Theology, a standard work on systematic theology from a broadly evangelical perspective. Erickson says Scripture is silent on whether Christians can be possessed by demons. "I am concerned about [any] approach that sees demons behind every rock," he adds.

Smith is undeterred. "The primary distinction between those who believe that Christians can be inhabited with demons and those who do not is simply lack of experience," he says.

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February 5 2001, Vol. 45, No. 2