Counseling, Christianity, and the increasing need and demand for help... how do we navigate a culture in which some, especially the young, believe that everything is a diagnosis and mental illness, and others think that nothing is a mental health problem but only sin nature? As for many things, there is probably some truth to both sides of this coin, and navigating it takes discernment. We know that there's a mental health crisis in America. People are experiencing different stress thanks to things like social media and the amount of information available at the click of a button; truth is no longer accepted as truth; and our society seems to be more comfortable with sin than ever before. Even if we can agree on the problem, what do we do about it? In my role, I often find myself part of conversations working to navigate both mental health and spiritual health needs. It's helpful to start with the fact that sin is very real and very much a part of the way that we all experience the world. We experience the pain of our own sin, the sins of others, and original sin in our lives. Additionally, addressing our issues with the help of a professional counselor, especially one that shares a Biblical paradigm and will use that in therapy, can be very necessary to heal the impact of a broken world. At the same time, does everyone need therapy?
I would argue that no, everyone does not need therapy, and especially not at every point in their life. For counseling to be appropriate, a person needs to have goals or things we want to accomplish in the context of the therapeutic relationship. Ideally, a person can identify what health might look like and wants to work alongside a counselor to reach that place. If this is the case, when is the therapeutic work done, and how do we know? A person no longer needs professional therapy when they're able to navigate and work successfully through obstacles with the help and support of their community rather than a paid professional.
Some ways that we can successfully work towards navigating this challenge between mental health, emotional health, and spiritual health are by providing Biblically based, clinically informed counseling; normalizing the need to ask for help and address mental and emotional struggles in our faith communities; and helping folks navigate this through conversations in church on Sunday mornings. I'm so excited for E91's upcoming series on Mental Health as this will help to do all of the above. Thank you to our teaching team for being willing to have these conversations.
Catch these sermons and learn more about of offerings here: E91Church.com/MentalHealth
