The Healthy Soul: Faith & Mental Well-Being

The Healthy Soul: Faith & Mental Well-Being — Bridging Orthodox Spirituality and Modern Therapy

The Healthy Soul: Faith & Mental Well-Being by Dr. Steven-John M. Harris is a unique publication that bridges the worlds of Orthodox spirituality and the insights of modern mental health therapy. Edited by Nancy J. Brown and featuring a foreword by V. Rev. Isaac Skidmore, this work serves as a vital resource for understanding the complex interplay between psychological distress and spiritual growth. Dr. Harris, a clinical psychologist and ambassador for the US Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops' mental health initiative, draws on his extensive experience with thousands of clients to navigate the "murky zone" between primarily spiritual and primarily psychological symptoms.

Why This Book is Essential

The text acquaints readers with a broad range of mental health conditions—including anxiety, depression, PTSD, autism, and various personality disorders—viewed through the Orthodox vision of human wholeness. One of the book's most critical contributions is its exploration of "spiritual bypassing," a phenomenon where individuals may use spiritual practices as a shortcut to sidestep the essential tasks required for genuine emotional healing and growth.

Key Topics Explored

• The Intersection of Passions and Psychology: A deep dive into how emotional struggles can foster the development of wayward passions, and how unchecked passions may, in turn, promote psychological disorders.
• A Guide to Personality Disorders: Understanding how ingrained patterns of thought and behavior, such as Narcissistic or Borderline personality traits, impact one’s faith journey and life within the Church.
• Clergy and Mental Health: Addressing the critical role of mental health for church leaders and the impact of a priest's emotional well-being on his parish.
• Collaborative Care: Practical insights on bridging the gap between clergy and mental health professionals to ensure parishioners receive well-rounded support.

The Healthy Soul does not seek to replace faith with psychology; instead, it aims to remove psychological and medical barriers that distort or limit a healthy relationship with God. It is an indispensable guide for clergy, mental health practitioners, and any faithful individual seeking to understand the mystery of the soul in a complex world.

From the Foreword

You hold in your hands a unique book, capable of bridging the worlds of Orthodox spirituality and the insights and methods of modern mental health therapy. A practicing Orthodox Christian, clinical psychologist, educator in psychoanalytic and Jungian psychotherapy, and ambassador for the mental health initiative of the US Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops, Dr. Steven-John Harris is especially qualified to mediate and translate between these domains…This book, I believe, can contribute to appreciation for the therapeutic nature of Orthodox theology and spiritual practice. Also, it can play a significant role in normalizing the Church’s informed cooperation with, and reliance upon, the insights and methods of modern psychotherapy. With pleasure, I commend the reader to the pages that follow, convinced their benefit will last long into the future.
V. Rev. Isaac Skidmore, PhD, MDiv, LPC
Priest, Archangel Gabriel Mission,
Orthodox Church of America (OCA), Ashland, OR
Adjunct Professor, Southern Oregon University,
School of Mental Health Counseling
Psychotherapist
Author & Writer

Introduction

While we know that St. Isaac the Syrian probably did not have the language or understanding of mental health that we have today, we can sense his pointing to something crucial about understanding the stirrings of the mind. It is impossible to ignore the fact that mental health struggles are affecting today’s churchgoers. Whether brought on by personal crises, family instability, trauma, addiction, depression, anxiety, or even thoughts of suicide, emotional health plays a massive role in both how people engage with their church community and how they practice their faith. Mental health challenges have become quite prevalent, and while they can create roadblocks in someone’s spiritual life, there’s also hope for us that when adequately nurtured, faith can positively impact mental well-being.

When left unaddressed, issues like depression and anxiety can lead to feelings of despair and isolation. At its worst, this can cause people to pull away—not just from their church community, but from relationships, themselves, and even God. One of the most complex parts of struggling with mental illness is how it distorts reality, including distortions in relationships, which can make it easy to feel abandoned in one’s faith and by others. This situation can become a downward spiral, but it doesn’t have to be. Understanding one’s emotional life can become instrumental in informing one’s prayer and spiritual life. Psychology is not a substitute for faith, but in its proper perspective, it can pave the way for experiencing it.

With proper support, emotional struggles don’t have to turn into long-term suffering. However, without intervention, these issues can become deep-seated, even chronic. Sometimes, the signs are subtle; someone stops attending church, and before anyone realizes it, they’ve disappeared from worship entirely. One question arises: did anyone notice? Did they fall through the cracks? This is where a caring church community and its leadership become essential.

On the other hand, some individuals remain active in the church but struggle in ways that affect those around them. They might unintentionally take their pain out on others, create division, or misunderstand faith in ways that hinder their progress. In many cases, underlying mental health issues play a role, and if those go unrecognized, they can cause even more harm. So, what can be done to address these challenges?

This work aims to help churches foster better spiritual and emotional well-being. To support individuals in growing their faith and experiencing its full benefits, it is essential to understand the interplay between mental health and spirituality. We’ll explore how emotional struggles can lead to spiritual challenges and vice versa. To this end, this work tries to address these issues.

Dr. Steven-John M. Harris is a clinical psychologist who has been in private practice for over 30 years. In addition to his Ph.D. in Psychology, he has earned certifications in both Jungian and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. He was an interim Editor of Synergeia, the Journal of OCAMPR (Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology, and Religion) 2023–24, and has contributed to the Science and Orthodoxy around the World (SOW) project since 2018. He is the former Director of the Center for Depth Psychology in Newport Beach, CA, and was the Co-Director of the Psychoanalytic Study Center of Southern California. Dr. Harris was also the Clinical Director for the Center for Individual and Family Therapy of Orange, CA. He has also taught at BIOLA University’s Rosemead School of Professional Psychology, Vanguard University, and was awarded the “Distinguished Professor Award” at both the California Graduate and American Behavioral Studies Institutes.