What is Temperament Therapy?
​The Bible makes it clear that every person is created with intentionality and care. God tells Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart…” (Jeremiah 1:5). The psalmist echoes this truth: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:13–14). From the beginning, Scripture testifies that each life is uniquely fashioned by God with purpose and design.
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This foundation is essential to understanding Temperament Therapy, a form of soul care widely used among pastors, Christian counselors, and spiritual directors. Its history reaches back to the work of the Greek physician Hippocrates in the 4th and 5th centuries BC. Hippocrates observed human behavior through the lens of four elements—earth, water, air, and fire—and proposed that personality was tied to the balance of bodily fluids, or “humors.” From this came the classic model of the four temperaments: Choleric, Melancholic, Sanguine, and Phlegmatic.
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Centuries later, in the 1980s, Drs. Richard and Phyllis Arno expanded this theory in a Christian context. Their research introduced a fifth temperament, Supine, and emphasized that every person carries three distinct areas of need within the soul: Inclusion (social and intellectual needs), Control (decision-making and responsibility), and Affection (love, approval, and deep relationships). Within each of these areas, people have both expressed needs—what they openly communicate—and responsive needs—what they long for others to initiate toward them.
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At its core, Temperament Therapy (also called Creation Therapy) affirms the biblical truth that people are created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26–27). Humanity is a tripartite being—body, soul, and spirit. The soul, consisting of the mind, will, and emotions, carries innate needs placed there by God. Therapy, then, is not about changing who we are, but about discovering how God designed us from the beginning and learning whether those God-given needs are being met or left unfulfilled.
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This framework helps clarify the distinction between temperament, character, and personality. Temperament is created by God and present from birth—it is the blueprint of our inner design. Character, on the other hand, is learned behavior, shaped by environment and relationships. Personality is the “mask” we choose to wear in response to our circumstances. The good news is that while temperament is unchanging, character and personality can be reshaped. Unhelpful patterns can be unlearned, allowing us to walk more closely in alignment with the way God originally made us.
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A guiding principle of Temperament Therapy is this: the more a person lives outside of their God-given temperament, the more stress, conflict, and dissatisfaction they experience. Rather than focusing merely on outward behaviors, this therapeutic approach looks deeper—into the needs of the soul. The closer one lives in harmony with their God-given temperament, the greater the peace, fulfillment, and relational health they experience.
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Temperament Therapy ultimately invites us to see ourselves as God sees us—fearfully and wonderfully made, created with purpose, and designed with unique needs. When we understand and embrace this truth, we are freed to live more authentically, love more deeply, and become more fully the people God intended us to be.
