Why I Left Working at a Psychiatric Ward for Biblical Counseling

This article was first published by Transformed Biblical Counseling Centers in their monthly newsletter. To learn more about Transformed, visit: https://transformedbc.com/.

*This article is not suggesting that psychiatric facilities are never beneficial. If you or someone you love is actively suicidal, admission to a psychiatric facility may be what is necessary to provide immediate safety and preserve life. The purpose of this article is to highlight the competing worldviews and methodologies that characterize care provided in psychiatric facilities compared to biblical counseling.*

When I was in 7th grade, I was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and put on an antidepressant for about a year. I went to a secular therapist, and upon meeting her with some regularity, I knew I wanted to be a counselor when I grew up. I attended Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, where we walked to class in snow up to our knees. My time at Edinboro earned me a bachelor's degree in psychology with a focus on abnormal psychology. Studying fluctuating emotional states and bizarre behavior intrigued me, and I became even more passionate about finding solutions to these problems. I was working as a Walmart greeter while I went to school, and an opportunity arose to work as a “Behavioral Health Technician” at an inpatient mental health hospital (also known as a psychiatric ward). Soon, the same behaviors I was learning about in the front row of a psychology class were what I was witnessing firsthand. Obsessions about things that are irrational. Screaming in the room down the hall. Deep despondency. Gashes on arms. Fears. Abuse victims asking for help. Constant restraining and strapping people to mattresses and injecting them with medication. Extreme volatility in emotions. Agitation and outbursts of anger. Psychosis. Rope marks. Sex and drug addiction. You name the diagnosis and the behavior, and I probably have seen some version of it. When a patient on the unit was at heightened risk of harming themselves or others and needed a staff member by their side throughout the shift, I was the one raising my hand and saying, “Me, please!”

For two years, I worked relentlessly on those floors to save up for my wedding. 12 and 16-hour shifts were common. One day, I would work with a 4-year-old who was labeled as having Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) because they frequently yelled and hit their parents. The next day, I would work with an 80-year-old who attempted to end their life because of their battle with dementia. This period of my life of learning in the classroom and learning in the psych ward, was one of the most valuable experiences in my life that I still think about multiple times a week. Yet, throughout my time learning and working with people who were suffering in a secular setting, I noticed they weren’t being changed.

Everyone Had Theories, But People Weren't Changed

For the past century, dozens of theories regarding the human brain, mind, personality, and behavior have been proposed within secular psychology and psychiatry. As these theories have been presented on CNN and Twitter feeds, the general public tends to assume that the one with a degree and licensure who proposed the theory has found something objective in a laboratory that will cure so-called mental illness. Examples of this include lobotomies, bloodletting, and the use of psychotropic medication to cure a chemical imbalance. In the world of psychotherapy, its interventions like cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and EMDR. The evidence behind these practices, though giving the allure of being rooted in medical science, has proven questionable due to their lack of efficacy (Leichsenring et al.).

I saw this firsthand. Children were told that they have a biological disorder for their anxiety, which is why they needed a pill. Adults were told that their environment and upbringing were the cause of their distressing personality, which is why they needed talk therapy and coping skills. Yet, I never witnessed objective medical tests to discover legitimate pathology, and the psych ward was a revolving door that created consumers rather than people who were legitimately being changed for the better. With all of these therapeutic interventions, why weren’t people being cured? Notice that this is the pattern of the culture at large as well. As of 2024, over 60 million people received therapy for some form of mental health condition, and around 35% of the US population was prescribed psychotherapeutic medication. Yet, despite the reality that there are more licensed mental health professionals than ever before, and more people are on psychotherapeutic medication than ever before, the rates of depression and suicide, for example, are far higher than they were a decade ago. The increase in mental health professionals is projected to continue over the next decade as the profession is growing at an exponential rate compared with other professions. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Roy Perlis et al., Center for Disease Control and Prevention). It is reasonable to conclude that the theories underlying our solutions are inadequate and that our remedies heal wounds only superficially, if at all. For all our culture's obsession with the therapeutic, the perceived need for help is seemingly greater than ever.

The Remedy Enters the Story

In my psych ward days, I was a part of a men’s discipleship group through my local church where we did the SOAP bible study method (if you don’t know what this is, check it out). My goal was to take whatever passage we observed that week and meditate on it for the week. As I was sitting in the psych ward with people screaming, banging on the walls, and others crying, I read Matt 11:28-30 for what felt like the first time, though it was not. The words jumped off the page as if someone was screaming them to me: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matt 11:28-30 LSB, emphasis added). Rest for your soul. I had been learning all about the soul from Freud, and his theory is the one that is supposed to offer rest. His theories about man’s problem and the needed solution contradict Christ’s theories. So which is it, Freud or Christ?

From that point forward, I subtly and slowly began to see the inferior methods of secularism to cure issues of the soul. Conversely, I was trained in biblical counseling and began to see real, lasting change in people's lives. For example, I recently counseled a woman who had emotional problems that included irritability, impatience, and fits of anger. Over the course of weeks of counseling, we pinpointed her particular desires and affections that were causing her to lash out. Among other passages, she memorized, meditated on, and worked to apply Galatians 5:16-26 to her life. Over time, her outbursts of anger lessened, and she began to display peace, patience, kindness, and gentleness in her speech and behavior. The approach in secularism would have led to medication, talk therapy that includes differing theories about her desires and behavior, and coping skills. While these interventions may offer temporary relief, they do not bring about transformation. Biblical counseling helped her gain an accurate understanding of her heart's desires by examining them in light of God's revelation. As she applied Scripture to her life and began walking in obedience, she experienced lasting change.

From time to time, I look back on my educational and vocational experience and wonder whether I should instead have pursued theological training for an undergraduate degree. Certainly, there are tremendous benefits in taking the theological route. For me, however, I am grateful to the LORD for the experiences in secular mental health, because they showed me the superiority and sufficiency of Scripture in diagnosing and curing the deepest issues of the soul. The psychiatric ward creates people who, like the woman at the well, are trapped in isolation and weighed down by shame over their sin and suffering. “No one can know I am here,” they tell themselves. But the gospel of Jesus Christ transforms the ashamed into witnesses. Like the woman at the well, they return to the very people from whom they once hid and joyfully cry out as their testimony, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did!” (John 4:29).

In Christ,

Justin Daugherty

Bibliography

Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “New Reports Highlight Depression Prevalence and Medication Use in the U.S.,” NCHS Pressroom, May 29, 2025, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/releases/20250416.html.

Leichsenring, Falk et al. “The Efficacy of Psychotherapies and Pharmacotherapies for Mental Disorders in Adults: An Umbrella Review and Meta‐analytic Evaluation of Recent Meta‐analyses.” World Psychiatry 21, no. 1 (2022): 133–45. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20941.

Perlis, Roy et al., “Antidepressant Use among American Adults in a 50-State Survey,” BMJ Mental Health 29, 1 (January 2026): e302287, https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjment-2025-302287.

“Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors,” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 28, 2025, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/substance-abuse-behavioral-disorder-and-mental-health-counselors.htm.