Misinformation, skepticism and fears, often surround the use of psychiatric medications, disinclining many from seeking professional help. Dr. Biller, a Christian and expert in psychopharmacology (the science of psychiatric medical treatment) offers very useful information so that anyone considering the use of psychiatric medication may understand the risks and benefits of this kind of treatment. He offers straight talk about specific medications, potential side effects and anticipated benefits. All of this is done is a comprehensive, yet easy to understand manner. And, very importantly, this is presented from a faith based perspective.

Misinformation, skepticism and fears, often surround the use of psychiatric medications, disinclining many from seeking professional help. Dr. Biller, a Christian and expert in psychopharmacology (the science of psychiatric medical treatment) offers very useful information so that anyone considering the use of psychiatric medication may understand the risks and benefits of this kind of treatment. He offers straight talk about specific medications, potential side effects and anticipated benefits. All of this is done is a comprehensive, yet easy to understand manner. And, very importantly, this is presented from a faith based perspective.

As Christians, we should neither blindly accept nor entirely dismiss psychiatric labels, diagnoses, and medicines that are prescribed to help those who are suffering. Descriptions and Prescriptions provides a balanced, biblically (and scientifically) informed approach that will help us understand and minister to those struggling with mental ...

GOD WANTS ME HERE -- FOR NOW -- God’s Protection through Psychiatric Medication Adverse Reactions is an account of the psychiatric medication mismanagement I have endured and that difficult journey. Though a college educated, confident and involved, married mother of three, I learned the hard way to give grave respect to psychiatric medications. My travails have taught me to do my own research when accepting prescribed medications and not to trust the advice of doctors regarding the safety of the choice, the quantity prescribed, or the method to stop. I was totally unprepared for the level of suffering from antidepressant mismanagement (which was especially complicated by Gabapentin), the disbelief of doctors, or the judgment by family and friends. I had no idea that doctor training was so inadequate regarding those drugs or of the thousands of people, like me, who report their symptoms and are daily diagnosed as somatically preoccupied or with a conversion disorder. The pain caused by inappropriately prescribed drugs affected my jobs, my children, my finances, my public perception, and my involvement in life. (I have lost precious years of life because of psychiatric drugs.) My experience has awakened me to a desperate need in the medical community. I now advocate for informed consent of consumers, better training for doctors, insurance coverage for tapering, smaller manufactured drug quantities, penalties for doctors who cold turkey or fast taper a dangerous drug, and less flippant prescribing of those drugs.

This book aims to help readers appreciate the many-faceted relationship between Christianity, one of the world’s major faith traditions, and the practice of psychiatry. Chapter authors in this book first consider challenges posed by historical antagonisms, church-based mental health stigma, and controversy over phenomena such as hearing voices. Next, others explore both how Christians often experience conditions such as mood and psychotic disorders, disorders in children and adolescents, moral injury and PTSD, and ways that their faith can serve as a resource in their healing. Twelve Step spirituality, originally informed by Christianity, is the subject of a chapter, as are issues raised for Christians by disability, death and dying. A set of chapters then focuses on the state of integration of Christian beliefs and practices into psychotherapy, treatment delivery, educational programming, clergy/clinician collaboration, and treatment by a non-Christian psychiatrist. Finally, there are chapters by a mental health professional who has been a patient, a Jewish psychiatrist, a Muslim psychiatrist knowledgeable about Christianity and psychiatry in the Muslim majority world, and a Christian psychiatrist. These chapters provide context, diversity and personal perspectives. Christianity and Psychiatry is a valuable resource for mental health professionals seeking to understand and address the particular challenges that arise when caring for Christian patients.

Yet the marketplace of natural healing can be a highly unregulated one full of hearsay, trends, and half truths. Too much misinformation! Few trusted sources are available to clearly explain both the good and bad sides of the herb and supplement story. The Christian's Guide to Natural Products & Remedies offers the respected integrity of Dr. Frank Minirth and collective wisdom of his associates for a thorough, Bible-informed approach to mind and body health. Dynamic commentary and Q & A chapters address natural healing from every direction, followed by invaluable sections on herb and supplement profiles, drug and herb interaction studies, and much more. Book jacket.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a relentless condition, the primary symptom being the occurrence of terrifying ideas, images, and urges that jump into a person's mind and return again and again, despite the individual's attempt to remove them. Christians who suffer from OCD may grapple with additional guilt, as the undesired thoughts are frequently of a spiritual nature. Yet people may be surprised to learn that some of the greatest leaders in Christian history also struggled with this malady. What did they experience? How did they cope? Were they able to overcome these tormenting, often violent, obsessions? Where did God fit into the picture? Ian Osborn shares the personal accounts of Martin Luther, John Bunyan, and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, as well as his own story, in exploring how faith and science work together to address this complex issue.