Counseling and Medication

Rick Thomas has some thoughts on the benefits of medication.

By the time I met with Melanie, she was objectively affected physically because of her unattended spiritual issues. Fortunately, she was a humble lady, who wanted to be taught God’s Word in such a way that she could apply it to her life. The medication was useful in the sense that it “stopped the bleeding” so to speak, in order to get her to a place where she could be helped.

The meds functioned sort of like the way a cast does for a broken leg. The cast is not a long-term solution, but there is some usefulness in a cast. If Melanie believed the cast was the cure, then it would have been problematic. If the doctor had said the cast was the cure then that, too, would have been problematic.

Fortunately for Melanie, she was willing to listen and learn. It would not have been wise to try to wrestle the “cast” from her or put her down for using a “cast.” I focused on the problem and God graciously freed her from these underlying issues that were the real problem.