Mental health issues are a growing concern throughout the US. As treatment centers expand their programs regarding substance abuse, many also now offer help and counseling for behavioral addiction and mental illness.

For Christians who struggle with behavioral and mental health problems, the prospects of treatment are sometimes more daunting. People of faith often view mental health issues as secular problems. Fortunately, today’s Christian mental health facilities are challenging this concept and offering faith-based treatment for individuals.

Christian Mental Health Treatment

At residential Christian mental health treatment centers, patients get treatment for behavioral and mental health disorders from a faith perspective. Faith is crucial to the healing process for patients who give their lives to Jesus Christ. Counseling consists of the following:

• Inpatient psychiatric counseling – The patient explains his/her history with behavioral health issues. This helps the counselor customize a treatment plan best suited to the individual.
• Dual diagnosis treatment – Each mental health disorder is rooted in baggage often tied to a patient’s childhood. When counselors can identify and treat the underlying issue (trauma, abandonment), it’s easier to treat the patient’s current mental health problems.

A person can overcome a mental health disorder by putting faith in the healing power of a higher spirit. Faith-based treatment can help individuals overcome any mood disorder or habit of self-harm.

Partial Hospitalization Program 

At a Christian residential treatment center, patients of faith get help for mental health disorders, depression, alcohol addiction, substance abuse and other behavioral addictions (gambling, food, etc). There are three basic types of treatment:

• Residential treatment – The patient stays at the treatment center for 30-90 days. The program includes faith-based therapy and wellness activities
• Partial hospitalization – The patient comes into the center 20-40 hours each week for treatment and spends evenings at home.
• Intensive outpatient program – The patient comes in 9-19 hours each week for treatment. Covers the same ground as residential treatment.

Outpatient programs allow patients to undergo treatment and still keep up with some work and social obligations.

Group Counseling and Peer Support

Christian counseling is also a group activity where patients come together for meetings. In group therapy, patients open up about their struggles with depression, mental illness, addiction and personal issues (insecurity, social media addiction, eating disorders, etc).

Group therapy helps Christian patients understand that they’re not alone in their struggles. Everyone, theist and secular, has struggles and issues of self-doubt. It doesn’t make a person any less Christian to have problems with mental health and chemical addiction. 

Daily Meetings with Doctors and Therapists

In faith-based rehab, patients receive mental health services and addiction treatment with therapy from a Christian perspective. This makes it easier for Christians to embrace the treatment because it draws on the power of God the almighty savior.

During therapy sessions, the patient and counselor discuss mental health and progress. How far has the patient come since first dealing with his/her psychological issues? As the counselor examines the patient’s treatment success, it’s then determined whether to modify the treatment. If successful, they talk about the patient’s release date from the program.

Celebrate Recovery’s Christian 12-Step Program

Christian rehab programs have long adopted the 12-step treatment program introduced by Alcoholics Anonymous. The program is rooted in biblical principles and outlines a structure for daily life. It’s a holistic approach that helps patients learn how to structure their days around health and productivity.

Wellness Activities

As part of treatment, Christian rehab centers promote experiential therapies, where patients partake in experience-based activities. This encourages mental and physical engagement in healthy tasks that engage the mind and warm the heart. Examples include:

• Art therapy – Activities like painting, drawing and sculpture give patients new activities based on creative thinking, visualization and completion goals.
• Music therapy – Listening closely to the harmonic nuances of music (classical, jazz, ambient) helps engage the mind and makes people more attentive to beauty and detail.
• Animal care – This puts patients more in touch with nature and the innocent side of life. Animals have no addiction, shame, poverty, mental issues or social insecurity. By connecting with animals, people reconnect with life in its most natural form.
• Equine therapy – This involves horse care and horseback riding. Both activities are good for the heart and mind. Horses are friendly, beautiful creatures that warm people’s hearts.
• Yoga – A healthy activity for people healing from addiction issues. Yoga involves stretching and meditation. This can help people feel better in their minds and bodies, including those with chronic pain.
• Hiking – An activity that connects people with nature and the great outdoors. 
• Exercise – Anything from weight lifting to cardio; activities that improve physical health and confidence.

Christian mental health treatment facilities give patients a range of activities to choose from according to their age, physical condition and personality.

Bible Studies and Church Services 

Faith-oriented treatment centers offer rehab and counseling in a community setting based on Christian principles. To that end, residents and outpatients engage in bible studies and Sunday church services.

Christian treatment facilities offer a good staff-to-client ratio, which guarantees that each person gets the care and attention that he/she needs. Through counseling, wellness activities, group support and prayer, people suffering all types of symptoms come away happy and restored.

Find Christian Counseling for Mental Health Disorders

Unlike the traditional treatment center, which is often based in the city, faith-oriented treatment centers are usually located in tranquil country settings. A Christian rehab center is a safe space for people struggling with anxiety, depression and addictive substances.

In addition to behavioral health counseling, Christian rehab centers offer family therapy and substance abuse treatment. Each center has experienced staff for a full range of specialties, including alcohol addiction and drug addiction recovery. 

If someone you love struggles with substance use, eating disorders, behavioral addiction or mental health issues, contact a Christian treatment center today. At Christian rehab centers, people get in touch with their God-given potential to do right.