Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry

296 William P. WilsonA wife of a physician in her late forties camebecause of depression of three years duration. Ithad not responded to several different antidepressantsprescribed by a psychiatrist in her city.Her illness began when she was involved in awreck while taking her son to reading therapy forhis dyslexia. She had all the classical symptomsand signs of major depression. She was tried on anew antidepressant, but she did not respond to iteither. Continuing cognitive behavioral therapywas of no avail, so it was decided to review herhistory to see if something of dynamic significancehas been missed.She said in this session that she was drivinga small Volkswagen with her son when she lostcontrol of her car and rolled it several times. Withfurther questioning, she remembered that as thecar rolled she thought, “I will have killed both mysons.” The therapist said, “But you only have oneson.” “Oh!” She said, “I did not tell you. I had anabortion.” She then guiltily explained her reasonsfor having one.When she was asked how she knew it was aboy, she said that she “just knew.” “I was going toname him Christopher.” After she had finishedher story she was told that she needed to commitChristopher to the Lord. She agreed and ina ceremony called “requiem healing” she committedChristopher to God. (35) A modified standardEucharistic service in the Book of CommonPrayer was used. The liturgy contains a request forforgiveness. She then committed Christopher tothe Lord for his eternal destiny. As she did, shevisualized standing at the threshold of the kingdomof God with the light of God’s presence in thebackground. An angel then came out of the lightand took Christopher off into the light of God’spresence. At this point she wept for a few minutes.They then celebrated the rest of the Eucharisticservice for closure. She was instantly healed ofthe depression and taken off medication. She hasremained well for the last twenty-five years.5.5. Use of the BibleThe Bible is for the Christian the authoritativeword of God and the source of all truth. Becauseit is considered sufficient to lead a person to salvationand as a guide to right living, it is usefulin helping the therapist transform the mind ofthe patient he is counseling. Almost all personshave a distorted image of God and themselves.One job of the Christian therapist is to help themsee who God really is and who they really are.Most persons view God as they view their father.Most of them appraise themselves as they havebeen appraised. Some have low self-esteem andfeel unworthy, whereas some are prideful withdistorted views of their actual worth. All personsneed to see God rightly. It is easy to correct theirdistorted view because God revealed himselfwhen he sent Jesus to live among us (John 14:9).Throughout the Bible, there are statementsof who a person is in Christ and how God seeshim. Neil Anderson, in his book Living Free inChrist ,( 36) has listed these so that they can seethemselves as God sees them. If they have a distortedimage of who they are, then praying thesescriptures will facilitate a change in their view ofwho they are and their security in God’s love.There are many other things the Bible doeswhen we read it. They include:1 It provides a correct image of God. He isrevealed to the believer.2 It makes him wise for salvation. Each stepof the plan of salvation has a scripturalreference.3 It speaks to the person’s security.4 It provides knowledge about meaning andpurpose for life.5 It speaks on how to deal with sin bya Urg ing c onfession.b Calling to repentance.c Providing the offer of forgiveness.d Instructing how to meet and mastertemptation.6 It c o n d e m n s s e l f i s h n e s s a n d t e a c h e sselflessness.7 It teaches how to maintain rightrelationships.8 It provides rules for a successful marriage.9 It speaks negatively about divorce.10 It provides directions for family life.