I live in a region of the United States where holistic care1“Holistic care is a nebulous and subjective concept. In general, it describes approaches and interventions that are meant to satisfy a patient’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs.”See https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5294442/pdf/IJPC-23-71.pdf is readily accessible and popular among many Christians. Numerous people seek these alternative treatments to deal with unwanted physical, mental, and emotional struggles. More specifically, a type of holistic care known as naturopathy or natural health has become a popular drug free alternative to caring for both physical and emotional struggles.Natural health remedies could include homeopathic medicine, acupuncture, herbal remedies, chiropractic care and naturopathic medicine, etc. Similar to biblical counseling, natural health seeks to find the root cause of maladies instead of trying to merely eliminate symptoms. Many natural remedies can work successfully to alleviate the physical suffering for people, but like many other areas of life, they need to be approached with some caution and biblical wisdom. This article is not intended to amplify the benefits of natural health or to disparage them as that would be outside the true scope of our job as biblical counselors. Instead, the aim of this discussion is to consider how we as biblical counselors should think about natural health treatments as they relate to the well-being and care of our counselees.
Common Therapies and Beliefs
There seems to be increasing questions swirling around the topic of natural health and its usefulness and appropriateness for Christians who are seeking relief from various mental and emotional troubles. Among some of the more common and seemingly benign approaches to natural healing is to replace psychotropic medications with natural remedies such as herbs, vitamins, or essential oils to help with depression and anxiety related symptoms. Other counselees might pursue hormone testing and balancing treatments or supplementing with amino acids to regulate moods. Beyond these more common ways of dealing with “psychological disorders” naturally are other dubious or more controversial kinds of treatments that should be approached with skepticism as they are influenced by New Age or Eastern religious beliefs.2Such treatments include Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), ayurveda, electromagnetic therapy, reiki, qigong, and more.
One area of research that has become increasingly popular and central to many natural health approaches is known as the gut-brain axis.A two-way signal between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system. Studies show that the gut (GI system) is intricately connected to the brain which leads many to believe that when the gut is functioning poorly, it negatively impacts the mental and emotional health of a person. Further research points to an imbalance in gut bacteria being associated with depression and poor intestinal health, compromising the body’s production of serotonin which is believed to correlate to depression and anxiety.3Ed Ergenzinger J.D., Ph.D. , “5 Surprising Ways Gut Health Affects Mental Health” Psychology Today, August 15, 2022. See also https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6225396/ However, it is important to note that association between two factors is not the same as a causative mechanism. While we do know that the stresses in the body can affect the inner man, it is important to note that, as believers, we should not adopt theories that biologically reduce man to his physical body or studies that have causative claims when they are not proven. More importantly, these psychological labels by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM) merely describes the symptoms that individuals exhibit, the DSM’s nosology does not identify biology markers (i.e., there is no biological pathology underlying the diagnoses).4For more, see Jenn Chen’s new book here: https://www.shepherdpress.com/products/biblical-counseling-and-mental-disorder-diagnosis/ So, biblical counselors ought to discern between physical issues and immaterial issues and carefully weigh secular theories and interventions against what the Bible teaches us about the human soul and our experience with despair, anxiety, and other related difficulties. We must remember that the aim of these health theories and treatments is to alleviate the physical or outer man sufferings, without a true understanding of the inner man being the primary source of all that we think and do.
Don’t Get Distracted
A few years back I had a severely anxious counselee ask me what I thought about the ketamine treatments5Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic used to treat depression in patients.she was receiving while I was counseling her. She was excited by the promised relief that they were going to bring her. Regrettably, I was uninformed and had little feedback for her or any words of warning and soon these auxiliary treatments aimed at alleviating her anxiety became her focus and source of hope. This experience served as a warning to me that any counselee who is invested in getting help and relief for matters of the soul from therapies outside of biblical counseling can often sidetrack the counseling process.
As biblical counselors, it is important that we are informed and can engage in fruitful discussions with our counselees about natural therapies they may be pursuing while not allowing these issues to distract us from the main issues. This may look similar to how we approach a counselee who is taking psychotropic medication. Do not allow the counseling time to be confused and muddled up by too much focus on these other treatments. Be careful to keep the focus of your time with the counselee on what the Bible has to say about their particular struggle and stay fixed on their growth spiritually. Help them to understand that the Bible teaches that our hearts are the seat of our behavior, thought, and emotion, and the body can never cause us to sin (Luke 6:43-45). Encourage and exhort your counselee with the true aim of biblical counseling centered on them learning to bring glory to the Lord whether or not their suffering abates (1 Corinthians 10:31; Romans 8:28).
Ask God For Wisdom
Since our inner and outer man influence one another, it is wise to think biblically about natural health approaches that our counselees may pursue for physical health. In this way, we should encourage our counselees to ask God for wisdom regarding which treatments should be best avoided and which treatments are within moral bounds as Christians (James 1:5). We can also help our counselees understand that seeking to be natural is not in and of itself virtuous. There may be times when wisdom and trust in God calls for them to loosen their standards of health and trust in His sovereignty instead of their natural health diet or regimen. And while being healthy is a good desire, it must yield to the primary desire of pleasing God (2 Corinthians 5:9).
When Does Health Become an Idol?
The Bible does not promise that our outer man (body and brain) will be healthy. Instead, we know as Christians that we will encounter various trials and hardships in our life on earth (John 16:33). There is a certain false allure that comes with natural health because it puts the patient in the driver’s seat, and they often stop at nothing to find the next best remedy or cure. However, just like anything else, seeking health and bodily wellbeing can become an idol in the heart of the one pursuing it (1 Timothy 4:8). Natural health can deceive us into thinking that we are choosing the better way, the purer, or the one that God intended, but all the while it can serve to increase control and a drive toward making the healthy outcome the most important thing. This pursuit can quickly and deceitfully detract from a person’s focus on the health of their soul. We must remember that despite our efforts for bodily wellbeing that our health is ultimately in God’s hands, and He is sovereign over outcomes (Psalm 135:6; Proverbs 16:33). Thankfully, we can cling to the promise that as our outer man decays, our inner man is renewed daily (2 Corinthians 4:16).
What is Our Ultimate Goal and Calling?
As Christians we can become imbalanced in what becomes our goal and calling in life. Is our end goal to alleviate our earthly suffering and to live a life that is symptom free, or do we trust and believe that God can use all that ails our bodies and vexes our souls to bring about His perfect plan for our lives? If we truly believe that we have been created through Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16), then our purposes and motivations change and we begin to see that perfect health is not the end goal, but rather to be changed and conformed more into our Savior and bring Him glory. As we learn to be content in having abundance or in suffering need (Philippians 4:12), He receives the glory, and He works together all things for our good and His purposes (Romans 8:28). Our ultimate hope is not bodily health here on earth but in the promise of a glorified body and perfect worship of our Savior in heaven (Revelation 21:4).
