Should Religious Figures Give Advice on Mental Illness?

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales welcome Katie Dale, a young woman with bipolar disorder who was convinced by a pastor to discontinue her medication and instead put her faith in God to heal her. Unsurprisingly, going off her meds plunged Katie into a serious bipolar episode. She resumed her medications and has been living well ever since. Katie shares with listeners a touching, yet very pointed, letter that she wrote to this pastor, explaining how she understood his motives. But, she cautions, this doesn’t change the fact that his advice was harmful.