Grace for the Afflicted: A Clinical and Biblical Perspective on Mental Illness

"It has long been understood that individuals experiencing psychological distress are likely to seek help from religious leaders more than from any other professional... Far too often we have abdicated our responsibility as members of the body and pushed those who are suffering toward the pastor with a "he gets paid for this kind of thing" attitude. while pastors may have extensive training in interpreting the Scriptures, typically they have no forma training in the causes and treatment of psychiatric illnesses. In addition, many pastors have little if any training in individual counseling."I rarely come across a book where I think "I cannot think of a single person who should not read this." But here we are.I strongly recommend to you Dr. Matthew Stanford's Grace for the Afflicted. I'll go so far as to say that anyone who knows someone who has mental illness, knows someone who knows someone who has mental illness, is involved in any kind of personal or pastoral care, is a parent, or will someday be a parent, or is, in fact, a human being on planet earth, needs to read this book. This is not a book for pastors or professionals. This is a book for Christians.So what do we have here?In 240 concise and well-written pages, Dr. Stanford brings his expertise as a PhD in Neuroscience and Professor in Psychology and Neuroscience at Baylor University to bear on the topic of mental illness and Christian faith. Covering everything from the difference between demon possession and mental illness to the realities of various mental disorders to the proper ways we Christians should help those who are struggling with mental illness, this book is the best guide I have seen for Christians who have no baseline knowledge of mental illness or how to respond to others who are sick.The strongest sections of the book are Part III: What are Mental Disorders? and Part IV: How can we Help Those who Struggle?.In Part III, Dr. Stanford lays out the eight major categories of mental disorders and provides for each an introduction, a breakdown of the types of disorders within the broader category, symptoms of the disorder, a "look at the life" of someone with that disorder, psychological and biological risk factors for the disorder, treatment for the disorder, "what does the Bible say about" the disorder, and final thoughts. These chapters are refreshingly direct and devoid of any kind of extraneous metaphors or stories but are not too technical for the reader who knows nothing about mental illness before picking up the book.In Part IV, Dr. Stanford provides stories of people who have dealt with severe and persistent mental illness. These stories are not of the directive or illustrative type that one finds in books written by pastors: these are real clinical and personal examples of mental illness that show the mess and long-lasting effects of the illness. There is no "do this and see how everything is better." Instead, we see real lives laid out. The concluding chapters after these stories provide invaluable advice for people who confront mental illness in others and seek to love and care for the sick in a way that honors God.The person struggling with a mental illness needs a holistic approach to "treatment" that takes into account all three aspects of his or her being. Treatments that focus solely on a single area (e.g., the body) can bring only limited relief at best. The mentally ill individual needs medical treatment, psychological counseling, and spiritual guidance. That is why comfort, encouragement, and support from those in the church are so important. He writes:"Often in Christian settings I see two responses to mental illness: either a tendency to ignore the subject entirely and hope that outside counsel can 'fix' a person; or a total assumption of responsibility for the healing of the other. Neither approach is healthy. Dr. Stanford shows how churches can be support networks working alongside clinicians to achieve well-being for a person in need. Even something as simple as bringing a meal, he points out, can help change the lives of families and individuals dealing with mental illness for the better."The weaker sections of the book are still invaluable but could have been longer and more complete are the first two sections, Part I: A Spiritual Perspective and Part II:: Psychology, Psychiatry, and Faith. I think these parts are too small and not sufficient supported or argued given the realities present in many churches when dealing with mental illnesses: the most theologically trained in the church really have no idea what they are talking about when they come to mental illness. Dr. Stanford tries to outline a theological understanding of mental illness and does say several important statements in this book that Pastors and other theologically-minded individuals should take to heart, but in in doing only a layman's level of theological analysis he leaves space open for Pastors to dismiss his book, much to their own dismay.To whit: the first three pages of Chapter 1 deal with the tripartite division of man into mind, soul, and body. What would a person who is adamantly bipartite do with the rest of the book if they dismiss offhand something that the author does not fully argue for on theological grounds? He runs into the same problem with his brief study on demonology: he covers the whole subject in about ten pages. Given that many pastors still (sadly) attribute all mental illness to demons, what ground could he gain in ten pages without footnotes from pastors or theologians that would support his arguments?I found myself wondering how many Christians would not read past the first two sections because of something he assumes to be true that they (the readers) disagree with and thus lose out on the invaluable 2/3rds of the book dealing with mental illness and our response.On the whole, though, I think the book is a success and ought to be read by anyone and everyone. Mental illness is a hot topic in politics and culture now. Any reasonably cultured Christian should now this stuff. More importantly, mental illness will show up increasingly in our neighborhoods and families as the ever-expanding effects of sin make haste the corruption of our minds and bodies. Disease is not limited to our bodies, and it does not always go away through prayer. Be informed!

This is an outstanding book and incredible resource for the church. Dr.Stanford lays out mental illnesses, mood disorders and personality disorders in such amazing detail. Every Christian should read this. I cannot recommend this enough.

Neuroscientist Matthew Stanford does an outstanding job at explaining mental disorders from a physiological and biblical perspective. He insightfully debunks some of the dogmatic views concerning demons and sickness, while acknowledging biblical truth. Stanford answers hard questions on whether Christians should take medications for such disorders and explains his reasons from a biblical and neurological perspective. He also shares the missing element in secular psychology and psychiatry that keeps many people from complete recovery.The book is written in four sections with the largest section dedicated to the top mental disorders affecting people today, everything from schizophrenia to anorexia to AD/HD and more. Well-researched statistics and interesting short stories serve as great examples to help us better understand certain disorders. It is very well written, using non-technical language. I highly recommend this book for people who have family members or friends affected by mental disorders. It is also a must read for every pastor.

For basic understanding of what some of the more prevelant mental health diagnoses, Stanford does a great job explaining what it is and what it is not. I appreciate his persepective on how we can help those with various mental health illness and the biblical guidelines in treating those individuals with grace. It is important to remember they did not choose to have a mental illness, and it is not a lack of faith. We can give those indviduals and their families support through understanding and acceptance, That will go along way in their healing. In the last chapter Stanford breifly tells what we can do to prevent some of the incidents of mental illness. He does not go far enough. Trauma in families needs to recognized and firmly dealt with. It can longer be hidden. The physical,mental and sexual abuse perpetrated by those who are supposed to love and nurture cause long term mental health problems that can affect generataion after generation. It needs to be addressed and recognized for the major impact it has on our famileis and community. Grace is just the beginning.

Very goodI am a pastor and the author explains many mental and emotional issues that the Church dismisses. The author also has a great balance of the absolute sovereignty of God in light of the affliction that many children of God suffer with. This is a great read and I suggest buying one for your pastor as well as many of the men of the church.

This book was recommended to me by a social worker who is a Christian. It is a wonderful book that will give you a better understanding of various mental illnesses and how faith plays a role. If you are a person who has heard or believes that people that suffer from mental illness need to "pray harder" or that it is a sign of character weakness or of demonic origin, then you especially need to read this book. A wonderful addition to our mental health awareness resource library at our church.

Grace for the Afflicted is an exceedingly helpful resource for anyone or any family living with mental illness. The author is compassionate and offers much wisdom from a wealth of knowledge and experience. I would recommend this book to anyone seeking to better understand mental illness, its causes and treatment options, as well as the grace and mercy available in Christ.

Great book for chaplaincy ministry. Author gives a healthy explanation of how to have a deeper understanding of the psychological and spiritual issues people contend with.

Good book

O.K.