People often ask me, “What is a Christian Psychiatrist?”
I think it’s a fantastic question because there isn’t just one answer, and depending on who you ask you can hear different things. So I’ll give you my personal take on the question.
I became a Christian during medical school. I was already studying to be a psychiatrist because I wanted to better understand who people are and why they do what they do. (If you didn’t know, a psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in mental, emotional, and behavioral ailments.)
And then all of the sudden I was beginning to reassess why I did what I did, what was in my heart, and I came to believe that I was on the wrong path. Eventually I discerned that I was called to follow Jesus, and I began to rethink my big questions in light of the wisdom of the Bible. The Bible talks about God’s plan for us to have abundant life in Him, and it explains God’s corrective for our souls when we're off course. Of course it also contains God’s own description of why we do what we do — and it’s pretty thorough in its discussion of human motivations!
Essentially, I had to reconcile my psychiatric studies with what I began to understand from the Scriptures. Now, there is obviously a lot of great psychiatric wisdom that does not conflict with God’s design. But I believe a biblical understanding of a person is authoritative—meaning that the Scriptures should inform all of our other knowledge in life, including psychiatry.
So for me a Christian psychiatrist is one who tries to think about everything (including psychiatry) through the lens of the Bible. That means that there are some distinctively Christian applications that will come through in my practice of psychiatry, because I ultimately want to keep our clients on course to know God through whatever struggle they're having in life!
Finally, I believe that God’s plan for each of us includes the very intimate details of our lives, including our biochemistry. And this matters even as we consider how medications come into play, because our efforts to ease pain should be considered in the context of our broader commitment to love and honor God.
Sincerely,
Dr. John Applegate
ps: Do you have more questions about the intersection of psychiatry and the Christian faith, especially in the context of the local church? Reach out to our Development Director John Alexander (the “other JA” on our team!) to talk more.
