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Is the Holy Spirit more effective at restoring people's mental health than secular therapeutic approaches and treatments?

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Mental health is an essential component of a person's well-being and, as everything else in life, it is subject to a plethora of potential maladies, some of which are quite difficult to cure even for the best [mental health professionals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_health_professional) out there. Wikipedia has a comprehensive [list of mental disorders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mental_disorders) . Some examples include: - Anxiety disorders - Dissociative disorders - Mood disorders - Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders - Neuro-Developmental Disorder - Neuro-Cognitive Disorders - Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders - Paraphilias - Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders - Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders - etc. The secular world has devised different therapeutic techniques and treatments, many rooted in psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience research, to heal or at least mitigate to some extent the effects of these mental health issues. A few examples that come to mind: - [Psychotherapy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychotherapy) - [Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_behavioral_therapy) - [Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rational_emotive_behavior_therapy) - [Twelve-step programs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-step_program) (which can be performed in a secular, non-religious way, see e.g. [12 step programs for atheists](https://www.12step.com/articles/12-step-programs-for-atheists)) - [Antidepressants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antidepressant) - [Psychedelic therapy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychedelic_therapy) - etc. Of course, no amount of concerted secular human effort can even come close to the supernatural effectiveness of the Holy Spirit, who (or which, for the non-Trinitarians) should be more than capable of restoring a person's mental health instantly, miraculously, even in the face of the most challenging mental disorders for modern science. **Is this, actually, the case?** **Question**: Is there any evidence that people are actually getting healed of very severe mental health disorders in contexts where the Holy Spirit is believed to move more (e.g., in Church services), at a rate significantly higher than in secular settings, even when all the options in terms of secular treatments and therapies have been exhausted and tried? ____ Related C.SE questions: - https://christianity.stackexchange.com/q/78911/50422 - https://christianity.stackexchange.com/q/80809/50422 - https://christianity.stackexchange.com/q/50329/50422 Related Psychology.SE question: - [Can someone be healed from a long-held addiction or compulsive disorder in an instant and without therapy due to a dramatic spiritual experience?](https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/25058/25376)
Asked by user50422
Oct 15, 2021, 01:17 AM
Last activity: Oct 14, 2023, 08:47 PM