Discussions of mental health flood the airwaves and the digital space in modern life. Current treatments are based on the assumption that mental health problems are diseases, much like polio is a disease, and need to be treated like any other disease. There is no place for religion, much less judgment, in this “scientific” paradigm. But the Christian Bible commands people to look at mental health through more than just that lens.

By Mark D. Harris

The Scientific Paradigm for Mental Health

A paradigm is how a person looks at reality, including how he or she sees problems. All paradigms rely on shared assumptions and a shared framework for research. Scientific paradigms are naturalistic by design, meaning that there is no room for God or for the supernatural. When applying the scientific paradigm to health, diseases and injuries arise from observable causes through logical mechanisms, and diagnoses and treatments are objective and effective. There is no room for sin, guilt, or miraculous healings in a purely scientific paradigm.

Consider the following as an example of the scientific paradigm applied to medicine. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is suggested by the history and physical exam but diagnosed with pulmonary function and other measurable tests. Imaging studies, laboratory findings, and tissue biopsy show changes consistent with a diagnosis of COPD. Treatment involves medication, pulmonary rehabilitation, risk factor cessation (like smoking), efforts to minimize complications, and other lifestyle changes. With the best possible care, COPD treatment can improve quality of life and longevity.

Modern secular science, using the scientific paradigm, views mental health conditions as diseases that should be treated like other diseases, like COPD. That means that the diagnosis of depression or anxiety should rely on observable phenomena, such as imaging, lab tests, or biopsies. They don’t. Diagnoses and treatments should be consistent between observers, with Psychiatrists A, B, and C generally agreeing on who has what disease and what to do about it. The bible of Mental Health, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), is a list of disease constructs (Depression, Bipolar, Schizophrenia, etc.) followed by a list of criteria to diagnose each mental health “disease”. These diagnostic criteria are entirely subjective, depending upon statements of patients, parents, teachers, and others, without support from physical examination,  laboratory or imaging.[1]

The scientific paradigm alone has not significantly improved outcomes such as prevalence for mental health patients.

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