Christian anti-psychology and anti-psychiatry

Christian ableism

various | sanism | anti-psychology and anti-psychiatry

Last updated 9/1/2024

I do want to note people can criticize psychiatry without being ableist, such as victims of medical abuse speaking out. However, this is not about Christians trying to help keep insane people safe from abuse. It is addressing Christians who think mental illness is just making excuses for sin and we'd get over it if we just accepted Jesus.

1. A particular subgroup of Christians portray mental illness as fake and a cover for sin. They also portray psychology and psychiatry as too secular to be worth using.

Uncritical examples

The Psychology Epidemic And Its Cure by John F. MacArthur, Jr. | The Master's Seminary

Archived on Wayback Machine and Archive.Today

Psychology Without Sin by Ernie Baker | Answers In Genesis (July 2012)

Archived on Wayback Machine, Archive.today, and Ghost Archive

Whatever Became of Sin? By Ab Abercrombie | Biblical Counseling Institute (April 2013)

Archived on Wayback Machine, Archive.today, and Ghost Archive

The Myth Of Mental Illness | Dove Christian Counseling (earliest archive is from October 2007, updates indicate the page was published sometime before 1996)

Archived on Wayback Machine, Archive.today, and Ghost Archive

Scripture and Counseling: Foreword by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr | Biblical Counseling Coalition (October 2014)

Archived on Wayback Machine, Archive.today, and Ghost Archive

Can Nouthetic counselors deal with mental illness? By Jay E Adams | Institute For Nouthetic Studies

Archived on Wayback Machine

PsychoHeresy Ministries Awareness Ministries

Archived on Wayback Machine, Archive.today, and Ghost Archive

A Biblical Response to Mental Illness and Suicide: What Should We Conclude by Ab Abercrombie | Biblical Counseling Institute (April 2013)

Archived on Wayback Machine, Archive.today, and Ghost Archive

Why Biblical Counseling Is The Only Way To Go... | Dove Christian Counseling (earliest archive is from October 2010)

Archived on Wayback Machine, Archive.today, and Ghost Archive

[audio with transcript] Spiritual Stability, Part 3: Humility and Faith | Grace To You (September 1989)

Archived on Wayback Machine, Archive.today, and Ghost Archive

Dispelling Myths About ”Mental Illness” A Biblical Perspective by John MacArthur | Grace Community Church (June 2024)

Archived on Wayback Machine, Archive.today, and Ghost Archive

Seven Major Flaws Of Secular Counseling | Christian Blogger of the Pacific Northwest (December 2018)

Archived on Wayback Machine, Archive.today, and Ghost Archive

Commentary

Nouthetic Counseling: A Word of Caution | Homeschool Alumni Reaching Out

Creationist Anti-Psychiatry: The Worst of Two Worlds | Debunking Denialism (September 2012)

Intro to Nouthetic (Biblical) Counseling and Its Founder, Dr. Jay E. Adams | The Wartburg Watch (May 2013, the comments offer further insight and sources)

More Creationist Anti-Psychiatry at Answers in Genesis | Debunking Denialism (September 2013)

2. Basically everything about the Biblical/Nouthetic counseling movement is horrible. It includes lack of mental health training, using spirituality as the primary and often sole treatment, and lots of victim blaming.

Uncritical examples

Can Nouthetic counselors deal with mental illness? By Jay E Adams | Institute For Nouthetic Studies

Archived on Wayback Machine

The Christian Approach to Schizophrenia by Jay E Adams | Institute For Nouthetic Studies (a copy of a 1976 publication)

Archived on Wayback Machine

Commentary

The Rise of Biblical Counseling by Kathryn Joyce | PS Mag (September 2014)

More about Christian anti-psychology and anti-psychiatry

Nothing yet

Further information

5 Ways Your Critiques of Psychiatry Might Be Ableist | Let's Queer Things Up! (August 2017)

Back to the front page | About this site | support me