How much should church leaders engage with psychology?

Olivia was 16 years old and wouldn’t go to school. It began a couple of years before when she started feeling anxious and those feelings grew until they ruled her life.

Everyone feels anxious some of the time, but Olivia struggled all the time. Her fear had a savage intensity that only subsided when she shut herself away in her room.

The most recent Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) shows that she is not alone. One in four people between the ages of 16-24 report feeling anxious or depressed. Among the rest of the population, the survey shows that Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is now present in one adult in 12.

Studies like this are incredibly useful to Christians. If there are 100 people in your church, then 12 of them are likely to have a diagnosis of GAD. Preachers, small group leaders, and mentors should reflect on this. How can our Bible teaching heal the wounded and grow confidence in the worried? How might our outreach address these needs in our not-yet-Christian friends? How would you help Olivia?

Jesus can teach us if we watch Him in action. The first time we meet Him, He is listening and asking questions (Luke 2v46), then we see Him taking time to get on the wavelength of the weak and vulnerable (Mark 7v31-37). He doesn’t nag or bully people, He listens and supports them; Isaiah predicted that “He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle” (Matthew 12v20 NLT).

In modern jargon this is called person-centred care; understanding that individual and supporting someone while they navigate life. Jesus is our example.

The gospel meets spiritual needs - and all our needs

The heart of the gospel is the offer of "peace" (John 14v27, Romans 5v1-5). That little English word sits on the shoulders of a much bigger Old Testament concept, "shalom". Our word means the absence of conflict, Jesus’ word means "wellbeing", or "completeness".

For sure, the gospel meets our need to be reconciled to God, but it also addresses the human longing for physical and mental wellbeing. All our preaching, group leading, and counselling should reflect this.

“Find me a faithful pastor in some old village” said Francis Schaeffer, “And I will show you a man who is dealing with psychological problems on the basis of the Word of God, even if he has never heard the word ‘psychology’ and doesn’t even know what it means.”

It is hugely helpful, though, if we do know some things about psychology. It will help if we have a working knowledge of mental health from a medical perspective and have reflected on it carefully from a Biblical one.

We need a personal understanding, too. I once asked people in my church to get in touch if they had a diagnosis of anxiety or depression and were willing to have a conversation with me about their experience. 20 people offered and the resulting conversations changed my life and my pastoral ministry.

And so here’s a hint for your preaching or small group work: don’t crush with mighty words that overwhelm the vulnerable, instead encourage with Christian hope that feeds oxygen to the guttering candle in the heart of the weak. Be gentle (Philippians 4v7).

Olivia’s parents were beside themselves when I saw them. Young people’s mental health services had helped a little. We prayed together. I suggested that they don’t drag her to church, “If she doesn’t believe, you must believe for her. She will get through this”.

We looked at an online directory of counsellors. This would cost money, but the church could help them with that. “Look at the options with your daughter,” I said, “and let her choose the one she likes the look of”. (The key to talking therapy is the relationship with the counsellor, so Olivia’s intuition would be a better guide than her parents').

The path to peace may take time and involve as many set-backs as there is progress. But Olivia recently went to France with her school and is looking at attending university.

People recover; with patient and godly support they can recover well.