Think Big

A paradigm shift occurs when the ways we have understood certain ideas, contexts, or experiences no longer explain the current realities we’re seeing.

There are many events, ideas, and creations that have sparked major shifts in human culture. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech changed how society viewed racial restoration. Likewise, the Ten Commandments transformed Israel’s understanding of God. The gospel was the ultimate paradigm shift; Jesus declaring “A new commandment I give you” (Jn 13:34) changed everything. Paradigm shifts are not just words, however. They can be inventions like the cell phone or new ways to meet needs—like getting counseling at your church. We believe the mental health care paradigm must change to meet overwhelming demand, and we invite Christian counselors, educators and pastors to collaborate in that process. We will explain the demand, cast a vision for new collaboration between counselors and churches, and provide specific recommendations.

Part one makes the case that despite advancements in science and practice, we have not been successful in adequately reducing mental health needs. In fact, mental health demands continue to increase despite our effective medical and psychological interventions. This section offers an alternative path, utilizing the church, and describes how the path might be implemented.

Part two offers a new perspective on the relationship between the church and the clinic, emphasizing the importance of integration. We describe the historic tension between faith and mental health practice and suggest innovative solutions using the term “faith articulation.”

Part three provides recommendations for training future Christian mental health professionals in four essential areas: biblical scholarship and theology, supervision, consultation, and organizational development and evaluation. This section underscores the need for these skills to effectively bring mental health care into the church.

The purpose of this book can be succinctly encapsulated: as the existing mental health framework falls short of addressing humanity’s profound needs, it’s imperative for the church to join forces with Christian mental health experts to tackle the escalating crisis. This collaboration necessitates a transformative approach in the delivery of care, the training and understanding of Christian mental health professionals, and the church’s recognition of its divine mandate in ministry. Culminating its insights, the book exhorts readers to forge ahead with audacity, sagacity, innovation, and empathy to usher in a redefined paradigm of mental health care, amalgamating the strengths of both the church and the profession. The symbiosis between these institutions is paramount to counter the mounting challenges in our communities. The call to action is immediate, and this book stands as a beacon for visionaries eager to envision and actuate a more holistic path forward.

As mental health professionals, we believe that our unique training is essential in working with the complicated nuances of mental disease and relational disorder. And we believe that we must prepare the church, collaborate with it, consult, and be a resource as its frontline role of mental health ministry expands to address the need. To accomplish this, those who train Christian mental health professionals must expand beyond the current emphasis on clinical diagnosis and treatment. Educators must also prepare mental health students to be supervisors of lay counselors, consultants to pastors, and triage clinicians who can refer when necessary and attend to the direct and immediate need as individuals, couples, and families come to their door.

The ideas in this book may seem radical, as that is how paradigm shifts are supposed to feel. Not an unrealistic radicalism that would have no possibility of influencing change but an idea that serves as a response to a real and recognized need. Most in the mental health field know that the system is broken, meaning the needs continue to increase at very scary rates of growth, despite our efforts to educate, inform, and intervene. Our means of informing the public and our medicines are better, and there are more educated and licensed mental health professionals than ever before. Still, with all that we are doing to address the crisis, the problem grows worse.

In this book we highlight a small sample of the professionals who are already working with churches to address human suffering. They are among the hundreds of church/mental health partnerships emerging in communities around the country. These stories serve as models for others who feel called in the name of God and as ambassadors and stewards of his kingdom to...