I knew I was skeptical of any usefulness of the “Biblical Counseling” that’s espoused by evangelical churches, but for The Gospel Coalition to brag about it this way is horrifying. The author, a 25-year-old woman, has been experiencing depression, eating disorders, hallucinations, depression, PTSD related to sexual assault and rape, inclination toward self-harm, and suicidal ideation.

She has gotten no professional treatment, but instead is meeting regularly with this “biblical counselor” who, after a year [update: misinterpreted the timeline on first read] of counseling hasn’t improved her symptoms - she says “I [still] struggle with all the same things” - but now she has a church-based justification to tell herself that it’s all going to be ok, and that God wants her to continue in this suffering to show her “faithfulness”.

This is terrifying. Professional mental health care is available and effective. Suppressing or learning to live with mental health issues by pushing them down under a veneer of spirituality is a recipe for disaster.