Imago Dei, Mental Health, and Knowing When to Refer

Dr. Michael Brashears

You know, we, uh, we keep telling people these days to just, uh, live your truth. Just look inside, find who you are, and build your entire identity on whatever you feel in that moment. But, man, what a brutal, exhausting way to live.

Jill Miskelley

It really is. It puts this immense pressure on a person, especially young people, to literally create their own value out of thin air. If your feelings are the steering wheel of your life instead of just, you know, a dashboard warning light, you're constantly recalibrating.

Steve Miskelley

Right, it's like, uh, it's like hanging a lantern on the bow of your own boat and telling yourself that it's the North Star. You're trying to navigate by a light that is moving with the wave you're currently sitting on.

Dr. Michael Brashears

Yes! That is exactly what happens. You get moral drift, you get emotional burnout. Because when feelings shift, your whole foundation shakes. And, look, this is where the theological concept of the Imago Dei, being made in the image of God, becomes deeply practical in mental health advocacy.

Jill Miskelley

Mm, yeah. Dr. Margaret Hill wrote a piece for the AACC where she said something that really stuck with me. She said that every client carries both the dignity of the Image and the wounds of its distortion.

Steve Miskelley

That framing changes everything. It means your worth isn't something you have to wake up and manufacture every morning. It's grounded in an objective design outside of yourself.

Dr. Michael Brashears

I, I, I cannot tell you the level of relief I see in people when they finally realize that. When they stop trying to invent their own worth and just accept a received, unshakeable identity. You don't have to carry the universe on your shoulders just to prove you deserve to exist.

Jill Miskelley

It takes the burden off the individual. You're not a project to be constantly reinvented. You have inherent dignity, period, even when you are broken, even when you feel completely lost.

Steve Miskelley

Which brings up a really crucial distinction, though, right? Because recognizing that inherent dignity means caring for the whole person, their soul, their mind, and their physical body.

Dr. Michael Brashears

And that is where our system, and frankly a lot of faith communities, run right off the rails. We have to draw a clear line between pastoral guidance for everyday existential struggles and immediate clinical intervention for psychiatric crises.

Jill Miskelley

When Ian was struggling, you know, we saw how easy it is for people to misread clinical symptoms. When someone is experiencing severe clinical depression, or psychosis, or suicidal ideation, spiritualizing those medical conditions is dangerous. It actually dishonors the person.

Steve Miskelley

Yeah, it tells them, or implies to them, that their brain chemistry or severe trauma is just a spiritual weakness or a lack of faith, which only adds a layer of toxic shame to an already terrifying situation.

Dr. Michael Brashears

It really does. Look, medical and psychiatric referral is not a failure of faith. It is an act of deep pastoral love, wisdom, and genuine theological integrity. You would not tell someone with a shattered femur to just pray it back into alignment. You take them to the emergency room!

Jill Miskelley

Exactly. The church and the community, we are meant to walk alongside families with deep humility. We provide that constant spiritual presence, that love, that community support, while letting trained clinical professionals manage the medical crisis.

Steve Miskelley

It takes a team, plain and simple. Partnerships between faith leaders, families, and healthcare providers are what actually save lives. Nobody has to do it all alone.

Dr. Michael Brashears

When we hold onto that objective dignity and back it up with real, practical clinical care, that is when true healing becomes possible.