During my Ph.D. program, I found myself drowning in the deepest depression of my life — and that’s saying a lot. In college, a misunderstanding with a professor had prompted me to raise my dorm window and think very seriously…
Association of Certified Biblical Counselors needs to look deeper than Bill Shannon to understand what ails them
The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors has removed Bill Shannon, women’s pastor and counseling pastor at John MacArthur’s Grace Community Church, from their approved counselors list due to credible allegations of protecting abusers and harming women. The accusations were cosigned in…
Creating inner peace
Last week I heard “therapy” mentioned on Zoom meetings, but not for the usual life dilemmas. The reason was generalized anxiety, a lack of inner peace. “I just need to learn new skills to live in this chaotic world now,”…
Sing of your faith, sing for your health
The following piece is written in dialogue between Paula Mangum Sheridan and Beverly Howard. The initials PS indicate Paula’s words, while the initials BH indicate Beverly’s words. PS: During my junior year of college, I interned as a social work student at…
Sometimes hanging on is all you can do, and it’s enough
“And let us not be weary in well doing,” the Apostle Paul advised in his letter to the Galatians, “for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Sometimes, well doing may mean just hanging on. Even Paul,…
Here’s what I’m learning in therapy
I’m not a person who lives with classic depression, but there have been several times in the last few years where I truly didn’t care whether I lived or died. The most recent episode lasted nearly two years. I chalked…
It is well with my soul? How Mel Gibson and toilet paper helped rescue my appreciation of a hymn
I knew there would come a day when I couldn’t sing it. As a kid, I loved the majesty of the hymn It is Well with My Soul. As life’s harsher realities set in, however, I came to hate it….
Baptist therapist has a prescription for our anxious pursuit of the good life
The American way of life may be good for business, but it wreaks havoc on the mental and emotional well-being of individuals and society, psychotherapist and former Baptist youth pastor Eric Minton believes. The diagnosis stems from his observation of…
Where’s the dry land?
I’ve always appreciated the work of the Jungian analyst James Hollis. His books hold prominent places on my shelves. In Swamplands of the Soul, he says we must learn to embrace life as it is, not as we wish it…