The Soul Care Birthright

Book excerpt: As the postmodern world confronts a mental health crisis, therapy services providers and advocates are rising to the challenge, providing treatment, raising awareness, and reducing the stigma around seeking help. Their important contributions, however, need the collaborative leadership of the church because the crisis is not just psychological but psychospiritual. The church exists to minister in this psychospiritual leadership capacity, but, in an increasingly secular age, how can the church serve at the intersection of faith and behavioral science without compromising its orthodoxy and institutional identity? The Soul Care Birthright outlines how church leaders can reclaim their role as healers, applying insights from evidence-based psychology while embracing a theology of mental health that acknowledges the teachings of Jesus Christ. Drawing upon his background in mental health education and theological studies, Dr. C. Guy Robinson reveals a path to reconciling both disciplines in a way that best serves those who so desperately need soul care.