This deeply Christian book names and identifies with the holistic way in which Jesus approached people. It draws on \u201cbiblical insights, the lived experience of those who struggle with mental health challenges, the insights of psychiatry and the mental health sciences, and the resources of theology\u201d. This makes it a vital resource for all those wishing to support those thus challenged and for those who care for and about them.<\/p>\n
Particular features are a useful summary of specific illnesses in chapter one and close encounters with biblical narratives throughout, notably that on Job and his friends. The authors suggest that Job\u2019s struggles were not outside God\u2019s presence, but were \u201ca valid and essential expression of faith in the midst of utter darkness\u201d. This sense of despair is picked up in chapter three, in a reflection on the dark night of the soul as explored by St John of the Cross in the 16th century. Comparison is made with characteristics of a depressive disorder. The difficulty in disentangling spiritual and psychological struggles is named. This difficulty was the research object of the psychiatrist Gl\u00f2ria Dur\u00e0-Vil\u00e0, who was troubled by the over-medicalisation of deep sadness and published her findings in\u00a0Sadness, Depression, and the Dark Night of the Soul\u00a0<\/em>(Jessica Kingsley, 2017).<\/p>\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n You\u2019re invited to join @CorinPilling<\/a>, UK Director of Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries, as he hosts the virtual launch of a new book, Struggling with God, by Christopher C.H. Cook, Isabelle Hamley, and John Swinton. — Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries (@SanctuaryMH) June 26, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n
Register for free online at https:\/\/t.co\/2Rt6jptgsN<\/a><\/p>\n