Counseling people with physical illness - Grace Biblical Counseling Services

COUNSELING PEOPLE WHO ARE ON
PSYCHOLOGICAL DRUGS

Charles Hodges MD

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I. Are psychological drugs needed in biblical counseling?
	A. Difference between medicine and psychiatry regarding disease.

1. Medicine.

a. There are definitely organic causes of a number of behavior problems.
b. Whenever a truly organic cause is found, it is given a medical disease diagnosis.
c. The diagnosis primarily describes the disease in the body rather than the symptoms.
d. To qualify as an illness, the condition in question must show damage to the body's
physical tissue.

2. Psychiatry.

a. To contrast, in psychiatry diagnoses are made on the basis of behavior of the person not
    the reason for the behavior.
b. Various theories are proposed to account for the behavior.
c. Contrast the difference between medical and psychiatric diagnoses this way:
    Medicine: Disease -> Symptoms (behavior)
    Psychiatry: Symptoms <- Symptoms (behavior)

B. Rationale for use of drugs.

1. He is living by feelings rather than biblical principles.

a. He does not see God in the trials – Romans 8:28,29.
b. He claims the real solution is to change the feelings.

2. He has not known how or has refused to use the Bible to deal with life.
3. Very likely told he has a chemical imbalance.

a. A chemical imbalance is the term used for the theory that one of the chemicals is too high or too
    low in this synaptic junction.
b. Chemical imbalance is only a theory NOT a fact.
c. Improvement of feelings as a result of the chemical does not prove there was a chemical
    imbalance.
d. "Maybe sinful behavior has produced a chemical imbalance and medication is needed to
    restore it."
e. Research studies have not proven it to be a fact.
f. "What if the future research reveals the theory to be actual fact or they find some other physical
    cause for the behavior?"
g. There are true chemical imbalances in the body but when they are present the condition is
    no longer labeled as chemical imbalance but are given medical disease labels.
h. "Wouldn't it be good to use medications to control bizarre behavior to calm a person down so you
    could counsel him?"
i. Questions to ask when a physical problem (like chemical imbalance) is allegedly producing
    emotional or behavior problems.

1. What tests were run to prove a physical problem is present?
2. How was it proven that the alleged physical condition is the cause of the emotional or
behavioral actions?
3. How can it be proven that the recommended medication corrects the physical problem?
4. Drugs have helped him to feel better.

a. The Bible teaches that feelings are the result of thinking and doing - John 13:17; James 1:25;
Proverbs 29:18.

b. Problems in life responded to in unbiblical manner produce unpleasant feelings.

c. Feeling oriented people use their bad feelings as the reason for their inability to function.
d. Medication is used to reduce the bad feelings, making the person feel better and thus help
    him function better.
e. It is unknown how the chemicals improve the feelings.
f. When person feels better because of the improved feelings this gives the false impression the
    problems are solved.
    Even though feelings are improved with drugs, this does not get at the heart of the problem.
g. New drugs are continually developed because of failures and side effects of the current ones.

C. Medication is not needed or even helpful in biblical counseling.
D. When there is no proven organic cause for the behavior, use the Bible.

II. Counseling principles to be used.

A. Data gathering for some essential information.

1. Spend considerable time learning about the problems in the person’s life when medications
were started.
2. Learn what made those situations unpleasant.
3. Learn how the counselee respond to them.
4. What was the goal of each response?
5. How has the medication helped with each of these situations?

B. Build involvement and give much hope.
C. Do not be critical of him since he is following the advice given.
D. Teach Biblical principles to apply to each problem and the presence of bad feelings.
E. Your primary goal in counseling is not to get the person off medication.
F. The biblical goal is to become more like Christ through the problems rather than feeling better.

1. To become more like Christ through daily problems means to handle or respond to them in a way
that pleases Him.
2. The Bible has promised great victory in difficult situations where change in feelings is not possible.
3. Your goal is to teach the counselee how to deal with the problems biblically so that the medication
is unnecessary.

G. A counselor says, "I have been counseling this person and I cannot find any significant spiritual
problems in his life, so wouldn’t medication be needed?"

1. This hope is that there can be a victory when pain and suffering cannot be relieved.
2. You must really be convinced of this yourself.
3. Don't maximize or minimize the person's symptoms.

III. Coming off the medication.

A. "What if the counselee is already on medication?"

1. As the counselor, taking the counselee off medication is NOT something for you to do.
2. Your task is to help them find biblical solutions to the problems while still on the medicine.

B. How to respond when counselee requests the medicine be discontinued.

1. Learn the person’s reason for wanting to stop.
2. Explain to the counselee that there is much work to do before that question can be answered
and you will deal with it later.

C. Only discuss discontinuing medication when you are convinced the person has replaced the use
    of medication with biblical principles.
D. If you are convinced the counselee can come off the medication send him to the doctor who
    started them.
E. If that doctor refuses, then the counselee needs to get a second opinion.
F. Continue counseling as a form of progress reports every week for 3 - 4 weeks after stopping the
    medication.