Symptoms of mental health disorders are well known and talked about these days. Terms like “gaslighting, anxious thoughts, ADHD, OCD, depressed” are part of our common vernacular. Perhaps you’ve had some discussions with the older adults in your life or with your peers about mental health and the Church. How do the two intersect? What is a spiritual problem and what is a mental health problem? How should a Christian think about mental and spiritual health concerns? Should I pray about it, or do I need medication and therapy? I have good news: You do not have to hang up your Christian hat when thinking about mental health problems.  

It would be impossible to answer every question in this article alone. What I will humbly attempt is to provide you with a framework for thinking about the integration of mental health and faith. This framework is informed by the truth of the Bible and the teaching of the Church. What do the Scriptures say about the human condition and the suffering that many live with each day?

When someone is suffering or living with a mental health challenge, the Church historically has described this as “deprivation from the fullness of life.” These days, we say that mental health challenges affect the way a person “lives, laughs, loves and learns.” Take 1 Kings for an example. Elijah may have been suffering from suicidal thoughts. He had had enough and felt his life was not worth living any longer. God came to his rescue and provided for his needs physically, emotionally and spiritually. Mental health challenges affect us holistically. The prevalence rates of mental health challenges among Christians versus non-Christians is relatively insignificant. Christians suffer from mental health concerns about the same as the wider population. However, mental health challenges are not always accepted in the Church. We must be careful not to overlook the biological foundations of our challenges or underestimate God’s power to heal.

Throughout Christian history, Christian persons have attempted to understand mental health challenges. From the church’s birth in Acts, the authors of the Bible speak to the weight of caring for others, especially those in need. God deeply cares about our human experience. In fact, He created a world which is quite different than the one we live in now. Our world today is fallen and sinful. The world he originally created for us was without death, pain or suffering. Due to our fallen state and the sin of Adam and Eve, we live in a fallen world and have a sinful nature. The effects of sin were both spiritual and physical. Therefore, both mental and physical health challenges exist in this world as we know it today.

The Bible, of course, will not use the words you may be accustomed to today in terms of mental health terminology. What it does talk about is the way humans were made. We were made in the image of God. We are made by God and to be like Him, however, we can reject Him through our sins. Because we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), only God can bring hope and healing (Psalm 147:2). So, how does God feel about those experiencing a mental health challenge? God’s response to those in pain is always compassion.

I encourage you to take a “both/and” approach to understanding mental health challenges. We can understand the sufferings of persons through both Biblical understanding and psychological research. As humans, we have internal thoughts and external behaviors. Mental health challenges span both thoughts and behaviors. We can look at mental health challenges through the lens of “the wounds of the soul” and through contemporary research, technology and treatment. Faith and science are interwoven. If we separate mental health from faith, we misunderstand the holistic nature of being human. We cannot divide the psychological from the spiritual. We are not fragmented parts. God has designed us complexly and therefore our framework for thinking of our health must also be complex. May the Lord make straight the path that may seem unclear as you discern the intersection of mental health and faith.

Works Cited

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4^th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Glossary of Psychological Terms.

McRay. B.W., Yarhouse, M.A., Butman, R.E. (2016). Modern Psychopathologies: A Comprehensive Christian Appraisal. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press

Meet Kendall

Kendall is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She received her Master of Arts Degree in Marriage and Family Counseling from Asbury Theological Seminary. Kendall is a Salvationist who loves connecting with people through conversation. She and her husband, Caleb, and their children, Caroline and Jack, live in the bustling city of Atlanta.