Ep 1261 | Lies Your Therapist Tells You | Greg Gifford

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey
Episode: Ep 1261 | Lies Your Therapist Tells You | Greg Gifford
Date: October 31, 2025
Guest: Dr. Greg Gifford, Licensed Biblical Counselor, Professor at The Master’s University

Episode Overview

In this episode, Allie Beth Stuckey sits down with Dr. Greg Gifford, a professor and biblical counselor, to discuss the misconceptions in modern psychology and therapy from a Christian worldview. They examine the difference between secular psychology and biblical counseling, the mind-brain distinction, and how diagnoses like depression, anxiety, and ADHD are best approached for Christians. The episode critically evaluates common psychological narratives and encourages believers to prioritize Scripture over culturally promoted self-focus in their mental health approach.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Difference Between Biblical Counseling and Secular Psychology

Timestamps: 02:08–06:04; 62:17–65:07

• Dr. Gifford introduces biblical counseling:

  • Uses the Bible as the foundation and authority for helping people, distinct from secular approaches that often disregard the soul and spiritual aspects.
  • Critiques Christians seeking counsel from non-believers:

    “This should be really weird to a believer that I would go to an unbelieving therapist who doesn't believe in the soul, doesn't believe in the gospel, doesn't believe in redemption, forgiveness…” (05:00, B)

• Distinction clarified:

  • Christian counseling may add Bible verses atop secular frameworks.
  • Biblical counseling builds its entire methodology, understanding of people, and solutions from Scripture.

    “The difference comes down to what's the source and the authority...biblical counseling is attempting to take God's word as both the source and the authority” (62:31, B)

• Finding biblical counselors:

  • Look for training and Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) certification. (64:02, B)

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2. Mind vs. Brain: Why the Distinction Matters

Timestamps: 06:04–18:49

• Biblical teaching:

  • The mind is the immaterial aspect—intellect, will, emotions—that persists after death; the brain is a physical organ.
  • Scriptural support: Romans 12:2 speaks of the “renewing of your mind,” not your brain (06:34–07:47).

    “Our brains are deteriorating ... and when we think of the way that the outer man can waste away, my brain can deteriorate and my mind can be renewed, even though I may have an organ of my brain issue.” (07:47, B)

• Implication:

  • Many modern psychological issues are “medicalized” problems of the mind, not brain diseases.
  • Healthy discernment is needed: Is the issue physical or spiritual in nature? (18:49–20:39)

• Memorable quote:

  “You have medical sounding terminology that is starting to be used of an immaterial entity, which is our mind: mental illness or mental disease. But think of it this way…when you go to a psychiatrist, what kind of medicine do they actually do?...They're not empirically diagnosing you.” (19:03, B)

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3. Critiquing the Secular Diagnostic Model (“Medicalizing the Mind”)

Timestamps: 18:49–22:20

• Key critique:

  • Secular psychiatry often labels emotional/spiritual distress as medical illness without physical evidence (e.g., depression as serotonin deficiency without testing).
  • Danger: Treating non-medical problems with powerful drugs, especially in children.

    “What other form of illness do we have where the doctor is like, oh, I can just hear it in your voice. You're vitamin D deficient. ... But for mental illness, they just, I don't know, feel it in your aura, which is superstitious, right?” (20:04, A)

• Result:

  • Overdiagnosis of ADHD, depression, anxiety, especially among young children, without objective criteria (21:47, B).

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4. The “Self-Focus” Trap in Modern Therapy

Timestamps: 22:32–32:32

• Secular psychology’s remedy:

  • Focus on self, be authentic, “love yourself more”—positioned as solutions but may fuel the problem.
  • Biblical warning: 2 Timothy 3, “lovers of self” marks the last days.

    “The Bible sets us free from self worship… so instead of saying self love is the remedy, think of it as the problem that I'm trying to repent of.” (24:44–24:53, B)

• Difference from Christianity:

  • Christian life calls for denial of self, focus on God’s glory, and service to others.
  • Modern focus on self ties to higher depression/anxiety rates among youth.

• Notable quote:

  “If my therapist, counselor is telling me to love myself more ... I'm going to be more miserable. And just like, let's watch it unfold. The generation under 25 have never had so much depression and anxiety, right?” (25:04, B)

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5. Understanding and Responding to ADHD, Depression, and Anxiety Biblically

ADHD
Timestamps: 35:01–43:15

• Much of what’s labeled ADHD is energetic, “rambunctious” behavior—often among boys—and may represent strengths or gifts rather than disorders.
• Medication is a matter of Christian liberty, but first, pursue maturity, discipline, and suitable environments for the child’s gifts.

  “Is hyperactivity a disorder? ... Or do you find the area to set your giftedness free?” (37:12, B)

Depression & Anxiety
Timestamps: 44:54–54:19

• Both are real experiences, but careful discernment is needed:

  • Rule out medical/physiological causes (e.g., thyroid, deficiencies).
  • If no physiological cause, evaluate for spiritual/mind causes—hopelessness, misplaced trust, self-focus.

  “You can be hopeless, and that's not a body problem. And what is the solution to that? ... God draws people out of the mud and the muck and the mire, and he sets them on a firm rock, which is Himself.” (46:23–46:41, B)

• Anxiety:

  • Biblically, usually rooted in a lack of trust (“little faith”—Matthew 6, Philippians 4:6).

  “Anxiety is a mild form of atheism.” (51:53, B quoting Kevin Carson)

  • True contentment comes from obedience to God and being freed from self-focus.

• Notable moment:

  “Worrying about the future is like picturing the future without God's grace in it.” (53:07, A paraphrasing C.S. Lewis)

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6. The Role of Suffering and Sanctification

Timestamps: 32:32–35:01

• Christian sanctification doesn’t mean God always removes hard circumstances; rather, He uses them to build perseverance and Christlikeness.
• The primary goal is to glorify God—not simply relief from emotional pain.

7. Potential Dangers of the Modern Therapeutic Culture

Timestamps: 67:01–68:24

• Growing trend of self-diagnosis, pharmaceutical marketing directly to consumers.
• Broad consequences when medication is prescribed based on subjective, non-medical self-assessment (parallels drawn to gender identity controversies).

  “We diagnosed ourself. We just need the doctor to write the prescription.” (68:09, B)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On secular therapy:

  “Why would I go to someone with a hardened, calloused, defiled mind trying to help you with your most personal, intimate problems? In what world does that, like, make sense?” (60:45, B)

• On Christian responsibility and hope:

  “Feel the freedom that you can change. Transformation is the idea that you are completely new. … You behold the glory of Jesus, not the glory of your sin.” (59:26–60:15, B)

• On childhood diagnosis and identity:

  “Kids self-conceptualizing as their diagnosis from very...So you would have learned from puberty that you can't do things. So your parents gave you that sweet gift of saying, nope, we're going to protect her and we're going to help her thrive in what she's good at. And then here you are.” (43:59, B about Allie’s childhood experience)

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Timestamps of Important Segments

| Segment | Topic | Timestamp | |----------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------|--------------| | Introduction & Theme | Overview; Issues with modern therapy | 00:00–02:08 | | Guest Introduction | Dr. Gifford's background | 02:08–02:56 | | Bible vs. Psychology | Essence of biblical counseling | 03:14–06:04 | | Mind vs. Brain | Distinction, scriptural proof | 06:07–08:39 | | Medicalizing the Mind | Critique of secular diagnosis, chemical imbalance myth | 18:49–22:20 | | Self-Focus in Therapy | “Loving yourself” vs. biblical self-denial | 22:32–32:32 | | ADHD | Diagnosis, treatments, Christian response | 35:01–43:15 | | Depression & Anxiety | Root causes, biblical remedy | 44:54–54:19 | | Practical Application | Suffering, sanctification, grace | 53:07–54:19 | | Summary of Therapeutic Lies | Recap and biblical approach | 56:15–57:57 | | Biblical Counseling vs. Christian Therapy | Definitions, credentials | 62:17–65:07 | | Dangers in Modern Therapeutics | Self-diagnosis, overreliance on medication | 67:01–68:24 |

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Final Thoughts & Resources

• Christians should approach mental health issues with robust discernment, seeking first spiritual and biblical wisdom while not ignoring possible physiological factors.
• Seek counselors whose primary authority is Scripture and who acknowledge humanity’s spiritual core.
• True hope and transformation are rooted not in discovering and loving self, but in loving and glorifying God.

Dr. Gifford’s Book:
"Lies My Therapist Told Me" – available wherever books are sold.

Podcast:
Transformed (part of the Fortis Institute)

Resource for Biblical Counselors:
Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC)

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This summary reflects the episode’s original tone—thoughtful, faith-driven, and practical, focusing on challenging mainstream psychological narratives with scripture-centric Christian counsel.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Yep. Well, thank you for having me. First of all, my name is Greg Gifford and I'm a professor at the Master's University in Southern California. I teach primarily in the School of Biblical Studies, but we do languages, theology, biblical studies, and biblical counseling is my specific emphasis. So that's. It's like a field where we use the Bible to try to help people in the counseling process. And I'm sure we'll talk more about that. But yes, I also am a pastor at Faith Community Church in Santa Clarita. I've been there for 12, almost 13 years. I love that fellowship. And that's my people yeah. And I think probably the best thing, like the personal stuff is married my high school sweetheart, and we have been together 20 years with three boys.

[A]

That is awesome. Okay, so Dr. John MacArthur was on this show a couple times, and he made waves a few years ago, and he probably said this multiple times whenever he would talk about psychology or psychiatry, and he would talk about things like depression, anxiety, ptsd, and all of that.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And of course, he believed that there were, you know, spiritual applications and spiritual remedies that could be given to someone. And also really criticize secular psychology. Since psychologists typically, in general, deny the existence of a soul, they don't have the fullness of understanding of what a person made in the image of God needs.

[B]

Right.

[A]

What is your take on that? As someone who is an expert in biblical counseling, you've also talked and written a lot about things like ptsd. How should we think of that?

[B]

Yeah, I mean, there's a couple of categories in that. First of all is the reality of what's being called mental illness. And, you know, you have to think through can your mind get ill? And the ubiquitous nature. So it's everywhere. What we're. What we're facing right now is an epidemic of one out of five people are diagnosed with a mental illness. One out of five, the top are depression, anxiety, adhd. So as a Christian, to be discerning, we have to say what really goes into that? Like, what is depression, biblically speaking, or what is anxiety, biblically speaking? Are they diseases of your mind? And what is your mind?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So that for the listener and for us, like, we just have to start to say, okay, so is depression a medical issue, or is there something else that could be contributing to it? Is anxiety a medical issue, a disease that needs treatment, or is there something else that could be going into that? And that's the first category of that conversation. And that's where I've tried to speak truth graciously from the Word. There are people that are suffering, and we want them to hear the truth of scripture that can set you free. The second is the category of psychologists that you mentioned. This should be really weird to a believer that I would go to an unbelieving therapist who doesn't believe in the soul, doesn't believe in the gospel, doesn't believe in redemption, forgiveness. And I would go to them with the most personal details of my life, and it's like, wait a minute, they have some fundamental worldview problems. How am I going to be truly helped? Like, helped at the root level? So Dr. MacArthur did at times he critiqued that whole ball of wax. And what I've tried to do is to parse out. Okay, which category do you want to talk about? Is it the mental illness stuff? Is it. Do Christians go to secular therapists? And in each of those, the Bible is the answer. So trying to point people back to what does the scripture say? And for a lot of believers, we're kind of fed up with the secular therapeutic, like wedging its way into my life and then wedging its way into my kids lives. So we're wanting better answers right now. And I think the Bible has those answers.

[A]

Yeah. Do you distinguish between the mind and the brain?

[B]

Oh, please. Oh, absolutely. Like that is my mantra and I appreciate you asking the question. So. Absolutely. As. As the mind and the brain go, as your understanding of the mind and brain go, so goes your treatment of all the mental illness and mental health issues. So biblically, it's really easy to settle. And most Christians are familiar with Romans 12, verse 2.

[A]

If I read it.

[B]

Yeah, please, I brought the word that I spilled coffee on the Spirit.

[A]

Is that the renewing of the mind verse?

[B]

I love this verse because most Christians are familiar with it. Like, take us back to our awana days.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And here it is. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. That by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Okay, so God is actually transforming Christians presently. And that is the work of sanctification. Here it says, by the renewal of your mind, the reconformity back, the restoration. But mind, here is the immaterial mind. It is the seat of your intellect and cognition. It's where reason and thoughts come from. What is God actually doing? When you were saved and when I was saved, God is capacitating us and our minds to be renewed and transformed. But our brains are different from our minds. Our brains are part of our outer person. They are housed in our cranium. We can study them like any other organ. But your brain and your mind are not the same thing. And biblically, what's God doing here? He is not renewing your brain. He is renewing your mind. And this is an odd thought, but it's true. We're both in our 30s. Our brains are deteriorating, mine probably faster than yours. And when we think of the way that the outer man can waste away, my brain can deteriorate and my mind can be renewed, even though I may have an organ of my brain issue. So Christians have to start to think through brain versus mind. What are we talking about first of all? And then you can start to connect the dots to chemical imbalances, mental illnesses or diseases. Is this an issue of my brain or is this probably more an issue of my mind? Foreign.

[A]

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[B]

Yeah, it does. So what does the mind do? Let's start with that. The mind is immaterial. Your mind will continue to exist after your brain has deceased. So when I am brain dead, there are diagnosable criteria to establish that my mind will continue to exist until the resurrection. So then practically, we know my brain is not the source of my thinking. Yeah, I almost wish it were, because you could, like, medicate it or you could treat it, but my brain is not the source of my thinking. That comes from our immaterial person. So just consider the implications of that for a second. It's like your reason, your intellect, all of that comes from your mind.

[A]

But we do have the science of the brain that tells us how thoughts are formed and how memories are formed, Right?

[B]

Yeah. Can they demonstrate causation, or does the brain respond to what the mind is doing? Chicken or the egg?

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Right. Think about that.

[A]

You know, I think I understood this more. I remember as a child thinking about the people who don't believe in a soul and don't believe in God. And I remember having this just like. It just hit me. How could you not believe this? Because then who would I be? I wouldn't have this personality. I wouldn't be who I. Who I am without a soul. And I kind of had forgotten about that. But it almost seems like that's what you're saying. Are you saying that the mind and the spirit are two very similar things, if not the same thing?

[B]

Right. I am.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Because that's. First of all, it doesn't matter what I say. But that's what the Bible says. Yeah, the Bible's gonna say your soul, your spirit, your mind, and your heart are all part of your immaterial person.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And the most used term is heart, especially in the Old Testament. So your entirety of your immaterial person uses those terms interchangeably. And I am not a person who thinks you can divide them out. I know some people, it's dichotomy or trichotomy or something like that. But it seems like the Bible is more talking about your inner man versus your outer man. So your inner man is the source of those things. And it's just so. It's easy. So if I died right now, my brain would cease to work, but my mind would still be functioning in my soul and my immaterial soul as I'm in the presence of the Lord. Second Corinthians 5. So the brain, then. Like, what is the brain? Well, I do my Best not to dabble in medical science. So I'll try to stay at, like, the 30,000 foot category. But it is that organ that is responding to your inner person. It's the control center of your outer man. It's like your physical heart in that way. So what is it doing? It's not causing my thoughts. It's not determining my thoughts. It is more like a filter, biblically, of what is happening in my thinking. So this was a fascinating thing to me. I was talking with a guy after an ACBC conference, and he had to use sign language. I don't speak asl. There's a translator in between us. And I didn't do a good job of articulating what does the brain do. And he said, but what about Alzheimer's, dementia, traumatic brain injuries? Like, what about those, Gifford? And I was like, well, what those are, is those are. Your brain is damaged and it is affecting or influencing the way that your mind expresses itself, but it's not causing it. Causation comes from the mind. So can you experience a concussion or a TBI or something and it influences the way that your mind is expressing itself?

[A]

No.

[B]

Problem.

[A]

Problem.

[B]

Or maybe we've kind of met that person in Alzheimer's where they start to become kind of mean or agitated. Biblically, they were that all along. And what Alzheimer's is doing is removing the filter. What dementia is doing is removing that filter of your brain. So where does it come from? Biblically, where does it come from? It comes from your inner person. And the outer person is rested, well, unrested. Your physical body is healthy, prepared, unhealthy. Yeah, I see the wheels turning. So what you got?

[A]

Well, I'm curious about that, and I don't have as much expertise as you do, but different things like dementia and Alzheimer's, I mean, things that happen in our brain can affect the things I think can affect the things that we say. I know that hormones can affect our moods and can even affect our perception of things so that we react in a particular way that might not be in alignment with the Bible or in alignment with reality. So when you say the WHO with Alzheimer's becomes irritable, and that was who they were all along, I. It's hard for me to believe that that is necessarily true. Maybe it is true in some cases, but is there not something about Alzheimer's that would make a very typically sweet and kind person, just that it would irritate something in them that would actually make them seem more bitter than they actually are? Does that necessarily mean. Yeah, that their mind is totally.

[B]

Let me share a couple of thoughts with you, then answer that directly. So where does our thinking come from? You know, the Bible teaches the mind. Where does our actions come from? Proverbs 4:23. Our heart. So we guard it, we keep it from it for the wellsprings of life. What's the epicenter of why I do what I do? It's my immaterial self and I have to reckon with that. But to your point, can those physiological things be an extreme encouragement? Absolutely. Like, absolutely. Can Alzheimer's, dementia, hormones, even sleeplessness, poor nutrition, pain, can those things be an encouragement? Yes. But those things are never the determiner because my actions, my emotions, or think of my words, those are all an overflow of what's coming from my heart and my inner person. So I want to make sure that we give a space and say, yeah, totally. A person can be really, really, really, really encouraged to be irritable by a.

[A]

Physiological force, by a physiological thing.

[B]

Totally. But not caused. If we're using anger in the biblical if we're using irritability as anger in the biblical context, a Christian cannot be caused to sin by their body.

[A]

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[B]

Yeah, good, because in 20, whatever we're in now, 20, 25, we can thank Darwin for naturalism becoming the dominant Western worldview. And everything has a medical explanation. And we default to body must have an issue. And we don't always default to what's happening in my inner person, in my soul. So we have medical sounding terminology that is starting to be used of an immaterial entity, which is our mind, mental illness or mental disease. But think of it this way, Ali. And those watching, like, when you go to a psychiatrist, what type of medicine do they actually do? Just like, don't trust me, Like, Google it, go to a psychiatrist. Seriously, they're going to have you verbally describe what's taking place. And they are not empirically diagnosing you based off of vitamin deficiencies, brain scans. So you can leave a medical doctor's office with a medically sounding label about your mind. And there was no medicine that was practiced to diagnose you for that.

[A]

That's a really good point. And I've had a lot of people on who are skeptical about this whole chemical imbalance thing that we hear, like a serotonin deficiency, but they're never measuring that. Like, they're not doing blood work to say, oh, yep, you're low on serotonin, right? You talk to someone and they tell you, and like, what other form of illness do we have where the doctor is like, oh, I can just hear it in your voice. You're vitamin D deficient. Like, no doctor does that. They test your blood 100. But for mental illness, they just, I don't know, feel it in your aura, which is superstitious, right?

[B]

So if you were like, hey, doctor, I think I have thyroid issues, right? Then they would be like, okay, well, let's look. And then they're going to test. But when you go to a psychiatrist and you say, hey, I think I'm depressed, they're going to say, well, do you feel sad? Do you struggle with motivation? And it's like, wait, wait a minute, you're a medical doctor. Like, don't you want to do a scan? Don't you want to study my brain? You want to look at neurotransmitters? So we're how did. The real question is like, how did we become okay with that?

[A]

Right?

[B]

Because that's more interesting. Like, why don't we just laugh at that person doing that? And that gets back to the naturalistic worldview that we start with, that we think in terms of there must be a Body problem. This medically trained doctor is telling me that I have an illness of my mind or a disease of my mind, so I must have that.

[A]

Yeah, that's interesting. And it's actually a lot more dangerous to give someone potentially psychosis inducing drugs than it is to give someone thyroid medication that they don't need.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And yet we accept that is totally scientifically right, a viable option.

[B]

Right. Or think of our kids too.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

School psychologist says, I think they have this thing. Usually for guys it's adhd and it's like, for girls it's anxiety. And then now all of a sudden, like, we have no medical evidence, no medical testing, no medical proof. And now I'm putting my kids on psychotropics. And I haven't just paused to think, like, wait a minute, like, how did they actually diagnose? And how do they know this is a problem of the body and not the immaterial self? Like, that is the crisis that we're at. So how could we not have diagnoses growing?

[A]

Right.

[B]

How could we not have children being diagnosed as early as 3, 4 years old with mental illness? Like, how could you not? Because you have no objective criteria by which you can diagnose mental illnesses.

[A]

Yeah, that's so interesting. And another consequence of the psychology world in general just not believing in the soul and not believing and at least a higher power and objective morality is that everything goes back to the self. Like, everything goes back to, like you are both the problem and the solution at the same time, which is completely illogical. And I'm wondering what you think about this. I saw this quote in east of Eden, the John Steinbeck book for those out there who don't know that. And he was talking to someone who was very depressed after they had a loved one die. And he said, I'm paraphrasing, but basically you have to go about your life as if it is a play. You don't feel it, but you have to do what you have to do and eventually it will become real. And I just thought how different that is from most of psychology, which tells you that the most important thing is to, like, be authentic, to feel what you really feel and then to tell people how you really feel and to constantly focus on your emotion. And that's the only way to heal. That's the only way to get better. It's all about empowering the self, knowing the self, discovering the self, and like presenting the true self to the world. And east of Eden is not the Bible, but I just thought maybe, maybe that does just go to show how wrong we've been when it comes to healing and dealing with the brokenness inside ourselves in the world. Maybe the self can't be both the problem and the solution.

[B]

Yeah, we can definitely be the problem for sure.

[A]

Yeah. But at the same time.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's humanism. And so now, okay, so unbelieving psychologist doesn't believe in God, doesn't believe in Jesus, doesn't believe in the gospel. What is it that they're going to help a believer do? Seriously, like just. Let's make it that easy. Focus on yourself and your problem now. Iatrogenesis. Think of iatrogenic. I can create my own problems unintentionally. You want to create your own problems? Focus on how you feel every day. The Bible sets us free from self worship. Lovers of self. 2 Timothy 3. I gotta read this for you.

[A]

Okay. In the end times, they will be lovers of self. That's the only place we see self love.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

It's an indication of evil, right?

[B]

So instead of saying self love is the remedy, think of it as the problem that I'm trying to repent of. So the days are going to get worse. Timothy, you be faithful, hold fast to the word. People will be lovers of pleasure, lovers of self. Okay, so then carefully start to think that through. If my therapist, counselor is telling me to love myself more and they're trying to make me the solution here, I'm going to be more miserable. And just like, let's watch it unfold. The generation under 25 have never had so much depression and anxiety, right? So it's like a self. We are creating the problem and then we're trying to come up with solutions to fix the problem. And the solutions themselves are making the problem worse. Focus on yourself. So from a Christian angle, we are here to glorify God and make much of him. Our life is not for ourself. In fact, the call to discipleship is to deny yourself, to take up your cross and to follow Jesus. Luke 9:23. So what is it? Self denial is an integral part of being faithful. And if I focus on self, of course it's going to get worse. Of course I'll have more problems. And then now I'm going to someone with a naturalistic worldview. And they're, they're using medical sounding labels when it's not really a medical issue in the first place.

[A]

Next sponsor is Cozy Earth. All right, related bros and related gals, but especially related bros who are listening or watching for Christmas. Your wife. I Promise she will like comfy pajamas. There are some women who might not like flowers. There are some women who might not like a bottle of champagne. I don't know a single woman who doesn't like comfy pajamas. Maybe you get her something else that's on her list too. But I promise she will thank you for comfy pajamas or loungewear from Cozy Earth. I've got my pajamas from Cozy Earth. I've got my loungewear from them. I love them so much. They're so soft, so luxurious, so breathable and well made. That's true of their sheets. That's true of their towels. I know when my bed doesn't have my Cozy Earth sheets and I don't like it. And I always pick my Cozy Earth towels. Their products are just top notch. They're amazing. Go to cozyearth.com use code relatable and you will get 40% off. 40% off. That's amazing. Cozyearth.com code relatable. I think Christians buy a lot of that stuff too, because we hear a lot, especially in like the women's Bible study world and this is what I wrote my first book on. We hear things that sound almost biblically true, like, you're enough. You're perfect the way you are. Give yourself grace. All of these things that like almost sound good. Well, Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself. So that's a command to love yourself too. It almost sounds right and of course it feels good. But you end up at the same place where the secular world ends up, which is the self. And believing that this path of self discovery and self fulfillment is going to make you happy. And you're saying it does the opposite. Yeah.

[B]

And just think how seductive that is though. It's like Jesus came to save me, God loved me so much. And you're like, wait, like hang on is the emphasis God's glory and you being restored through the work of Christ to glorify God or that God couldn't live without you and that is why he sent Jesus. So it's like who's being exalted in the narrative of the gospel? It is the glory of God in the name of Jesus Christ. It's not me. So then I can Christianize self love and say, God loves me, I am so valuable. And if I'm not careful, then it starts to be an exaltation of me again. And it's so seductive because it's like legitimized. You're seemingly legitimized with scripture. So if you're going to love your neighbor, you have to first love yourself. If I'm going to love my neighbor like I love myself, I have to love myself. But the inherent problem is that who is getting the glory? Do we get the glory or does God get the glory?

[A]

Yeah, right. And it's not really a command to love ourselves. It's a given that we love ourselves. We're born loving ourselves in the same way that we're born seeking our own interests. Like, we cry for food, we cry to be held. From the very first moment, we are interested in what we need. And that's not a bad thing. I think God created us with a survival instinct. We know what we need to survive. It seems to me that Jesus is saying in the same way that you naturally seek to meet your own interests and needs, seek to meet the interest in the needs of other people and not, you know, as high as your self esteem is, make sure that other people's self esteem is just as high. And that I think is how we're interpreting it. And if that's the case, you're going to be waiting a really long time until you love someone else. It's like, oh, I hated what I looked like in my outfit this morning. So sorry, kids, like, breakfast is on you. Like, it's just we, like you said. I think the point of glory is so important because I can say, okay, I woke up this morning not feeling great about myself and maybe I'm not in a good mood or whatever it is is like keeping down. But because Christ is in me and because his love never changes and because he died on the cross and his sacrifice, like is is fixed, like, that gives me the power to love other people. It's not about how I feel about myself. That's actually a lot more freeing than thinking that my love for other people is dependent on my own love for myself.

[B]

Right. And I don't fault people. First of all, I don't want to sound like just a curmudgeon. That's like, you know, stop focusing on yourself. Because we're, we're raised in a culture that has exalted our feelings.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And you know you best and who am I to judge you? Like, that is the zeitgeist of our age. Truth is in you. Your feelings are authoritative. So then that starts to be kind of the solution as well. It's like, well, I want to feel better and I want to feel better about myself. That's, that's the singular next step for me to thrive. Okay. But we know, according to the Scripture, that God's word is the truth, not what's going on in my inner person. And my feelings matter, but they're not authoritative. In fact, I can have wayward emotions and feelings. So then you turn that corner and you say, God sets me free from myself to worship him. And when I do that, I am the most satisfied person I can be. Psalm 16:11. Like, the pleasures are not at my right hand, they are at the right hand of the Lord. And when you think of contentment as a Christian, it is not where you've learned to be true to yourself and listen to yourself. You learn contentment by being obedient to the Lord, and then he changes your will. Philippians 2:13. So you really, you want what God wants. That is true contentment for us. So I'm never satisfied when I focus on myself? Yeah, never. It's. I'm more miserable. I am grumpy. You know, like everything has to make me happy. And then it never does. I hit traffic again. I get woken up early, like it never does. But whenever I'm living for the glory of God, I'm free, because it's not about me, it's about making much of him. And all those inconveniences to my life can actually help me better glorify the Lord than if I lived at perfect ease with no problems at all. I mean, that's the, that's the beauty of the gospel and the Christian worldview.

[A]

And it is so counter to what modern psychology tells us. And by the way, people are accessing modern psychology not necessarily by going into a psychologist's office and paying them a hundred dollars an hour, but on Instagram, on TikTok. Because they're chatbots too. Yes. Yeah. Which is scary to think about. But there's a lot of psychology influencers out there too, or memes or whatever. And people are imbibing this idea that, you know, there are two things that you can do if you're depressed. And one is to lean more on your own understanding and to lean more into how you feel about yourself, but then also cut out all of the things that are making you sad. Oh, this person you know, is asking too much of you. Your boss expects you to work hard and come into the office. Well, all of these toxic things. Or it's the patriarchy or it's capitalism, or it's advertising, or it's this system or this person. And it makes sense when you think that it's an anti Christian worldview for Christian. The sanctification is not necessarily asking God to remove all the hard things from our lives. It's asking God to help us endure them with grace and perseverance in a way that makes us look more like Christ. We're denying ourselves, as you said earlier, whereas modern psychology is asking us to deny everyone else.

[B]

Right. And just to make sure my position is clear, and I'm very open to your thoughts on this. My reading of the scripture is that it is God centered and our life is about glorifying him. And God can even use my emotional struggles to help me depend on him more. Whenever I'm anxious, I have to fight to trust him. Whenever my mood is depressed or melancholic, like I have to cling to the promises of scripture and hold to them, to use bridges, Jerry Bridges words. So I am not saying be miserable, but just grind in glorifying God. But me being free of depression and anxiety is a secondary goal. It's not the primary goal. The primary goal is to glorify God. And then I have to think through what does the Bible say about those issues and how can I respond to anxiety or depression or ADHD according to the scripture? So it's still there. It's still there. I don't want anyone to hear this or listen to this. Be like, Gifford just believes that you should be miserable and glorify the Lord. No, I'm saying that glorifying God is number one. And then addressing whatever emotional relational struggle you may have, that is your secondary goal.

[A]

Yeah. Okay. Well, let's talk about what that looks like specifically and if we can start with adhd, because I think that's the most, like, interesting one. The Bible has a lot to say about being sad and distressed and fearful and anxious. But I'd be interested to hear, like, how would you work through with someone with ADHD using Scripture?

[B]

Okay, so first of all, think of what we're calling adhd. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

[A]

Lots of symptoms in one umbrella.

[B]

Fidgety, hard to focus. Seriously, it's like kids that get up and they're kind of rambunctious.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You have girls, I have boys. And boys are just different. Like, I've never. My boys are a little maybe rambunctious. Like, I don't walk in on them playing house and, like, neatly building a Lego set. Like, they're wrestling, they're bouncing the ball in the house. And those that are most diagnosed with ADHD are boys. And it's junior high. So then you think through that, it's like, oh, that's an interesting thing to consider 11, 12 years old. Where do they struggle most? School, Sitting in one place for six, seven hours a day. Okay. Then you think through the girls that are their age. Some have already gone through puberty. They're like a foot taller, as weird as that may seem. You pick up your son in fifth grade, and you're like, you guys are in the same class. Like, what's happening here? So then you have these boys that are rambunctious, wily, not sitting still. And the immediate leap is, well, they must have a disorder. Let's have them talk to the school psychologist. Let's get them tested. Okay. I don't fault school psychologists, and I don't fault trying to find resources for boys that are rambunctious. But do they have a medically verifiable problem? That's the real question. Can we scan the brain? Can we do lab results? And there will be some watching this that says, yes, there's brain chemistry that corresponds to those with adhd. And then I would say, great, so let's diagnose based off of brain scans.

[A]

And not symptoms, which some doctors do. Very few, but some do.

[B]

Let's do it. Okay. So is hyperactivity a disorder? Is being fidgety a disorder? Or is that a gifting that you have? So think of 1st Peter 4 in Romans 12. Everyone in the body of Christ is given gifts, strengths, weaknesses that we have. There are some that are just not the school type. That's not them. They don't thrive in that environment. They're very active. They are very like, go, go, go, go, go. And their mind never rests. Looking back, I see a lot of CEOs or executive directors, and it's like, man, if they had ADHD whenever you were a kid, you would have been diagnosed with it because you're bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing.

[A]

Yeah, I've definitely seen that in some, like, very successful people. They can hardly even look you in the eye sometimes because they're thinking about a million things, but they're very good at what they do.

[B]

Yes. Right. So is that something that has to be labeled and treated right? Or do you find the area to set your giftedness free? It's like, you're probably not going to be a librarian, in all fairness. Is that a sin? No.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Would you be miserable if we made you go to a cubicle and type in Excel all day? Yeah. You would be absolutely miserable.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So go be a park ranger. Go be an entrepreneur. Go work with your hands. Go build your own business or nonprofit. So how do you work with someone with adhd, I think for a lot of the diagnoses, give them time to mature, give them a time to grow up, encourage them to do things that are hard and to persevere. And you can't always do the things that you love and eschew the things you hate. But do you have to take meds?

[A]

Right.

[B]

It's a Christian liberty and I'm not going to say you absolutely cannot. But I am going to say you want your sons and some daughters, you want them to learn the life skills that go into denying yourself and not depending on a medication that's going to help them focus. Yeah, but can you use it? Totally. You can use it in a God honoring way. When you've obtained those meds legally, you could do it. Yeah, but help them mature first and help them grow and then steer them towards somewhere where they can really thrive with their giftedness instead of the librarian, the accountant, the very sedentary positions that will just probably make them crazy. Seriously.

[A]

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[B]

Totally.

[A]

Is it because they are actually having a hard time or do you just feel awkward and uncomfortable? And is it also just making your job as a parent harder? Is it because maybe you don't wanna homeschool? Is it because it takes longer to discipline and talk to your child, longer to get out the door? And those might all be real difficulties, but they also may be opportunities for sanctification, not necessarily psychiatric drugs.

[B]

Right. On the parents part. Yeah, you're going as a parent.

[A]

Exactly. And I sometimes I think that's just, that's the most difficult part is the patience that's required of us, us as parents. And yes, it might make it easier for your child to sit through seven hours of school, but to your point, is that the goal? Like, is that really the goal? Is that something that's necessary for them or is it something that's necessary for you?

[B]

Yeah, and I don't fault schools because schools actually have to get a diagnosis to get them private tutors and more resources or an educational assistant. So the school's not trying to, you know, we could paint public schools as being evil and some are. But there's also a legal requirement to get tested and diagnosed with ADHD to get you a smaller room and less students in the class and an educational assistant or specialist there. So then the school's saying, well, we gotta get you tested to get you out of 30 person sized classes and get you the attention and resources that you need.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So they need that diagnosis to unlock all these resources. So I don't envy that position. But as a parent you should still be discerning and safe. But I don't know if that is the real issue. I don't know if that's really going to help.

[A]

And that could be hard to do. It's hard to assess how you're doing as a parent and all of the things that like, you might need to change in order to better accommodate the personality and the strengths of your kids. I love what you said about thinking about those differences as strengths and not something that needs to be stifled or medicated necessarily. I don't think that a lot of us probably think that way. Even about our own selves. But I had probably every teacher, my parents would say, tell my parents that I had ADD cause I couldn't stop talking in class. But now I talk for a living. And so, yeah, I'm really glad that I look back and I'm really glad that my parents said no to that because what if I didn't do what I do now?

[B]

Right? So think of your giftings, right? The Lord's obviously blessing your work and you have this huge impact through your words, through a mind that is sharp. What if at your earliest of years, you self conceptualized as having a disorder, adhd? So what if your parents said, okay, like if you want to get her tested, let's get her tested. And then you got a diagnosis. And then now you start to hear what you can't do because you have adhd. So that's a very. That's an extremely detrimental side effect of the mental illness movement over diagnosing is kids self conceptualizing as their diagnosis from very. So you, you would have learned from puberty that you can't do things. So your parents gave you that sweet gift of saying, nope, we're going to protect her and we're going to help her thrive in what she's good at. And then here you are.

[A]

Yeah. And I never did get an A in math. And that's okay.

[B]

Me neither.

[A]

Yeah. Because I don't use it. Okay, so depression, anxiety. So we talked through ADHD for those who are like, look, Dr. Gifford, I hear you, but they're thinking, I'm depressed. I can't get out of bed, I can't do it. You're telling me this is a problem of the mind? I don't know how to pray more and read the Bible more than I already am.

[B]

Good. Totally. No one should hear this. Watch this, listen to this and think. I'm saying depression doesn't exist because I'm not saying that. And no one should hear this. Watch this, listen to this and think. I'm saying anxiety doesn't exist because I'm not saying that. I've never said that in the book. I don't say that on my podcast. I don't say that. I've never said those things. What I'm saying is let's start to uncover what's going on in depression. If there are physiological issues, vitamin deficiencies, thyroid issues, there's something going on with my brain. Maybe there's actually a cyst or something growing on the organ and it's affecting me, me in some way. It's affecting mood regulation in that way.

[A]

Affecting, you would say affecting your mind in a way that encourages you to sin but doesn't cause you to sin.

[B]

Yep. Because we know Romans 6. We're set free, and we have God's spirit indwelling us. First Corinthians 6:19. So I can't. I can never once say my body made me sin.

[A]

Yeah. That's good.

[B]

It does get murky in terms of what is. Was that a true sin or was it not a true sin? You know, but we know. That line is clear.

[A]

Yeah. Okay.

[B]

So if I don't have any known physiological problems, doctors can't find anything. There's nothing going on in the organ of my brain. Thyroid looks great. All my blood work comes back, and it looks nice. Then maybe, just maybe, I should be open to what's happening in my mind. What am I thinking about? What am I putting my hope in? Why am I disappointed and so discouraged? Did something change in my life recently that was not physiological but was circumstantial and that's what triggered this depression? Then you're not talking about a biological problem at all. You're actually talking about a spiritual problem. Okay, so here it's like, okay, well, Gifford, like, kick people while they're down, man. That's not what I'm saying. I am saying you can be hopeless, and that's not a body problem. And what is the solution to that? We want to take you back to the nature and the character of God and his promises. We want to set you free. That God is faithful. Second Corinthians 1. He's the God of all comfort. That his mercy is unending for you. That even in the low point, if someone's watching this in bed right now, even in that low point, God draws people out of the mud and the muck and the mire, and he sets them on a firm rock, which is Himself. That is the hope that people need. An antidepressant can't touch that we need to behold the glory of God, not behold the glory of our problems, not behold the glory of ourselves, not behold the glory of psychotropics. So if there is no physical issue, would we at least be open? At least open. At least consider what may be happening in our inner person that's contributing to things like depression in that way. Does that make sense?

[A]

Yeah, it makes sense. Abigail Schreier, I don't know if you've read her book, Bad Therapy. She's great. She came on this show to talk about it, but she also went on Joe Rogan. And she talked about like one of the key features of depression is often just a constant dwelling on your own problems, which to me would be one of the problems of psychology. Because what I hear from popular psychology is that that's how you heal your problems, is constantly talking about them and thinking about them.

[B]

Right.

[A]

That's one problem I have, like with Sel in school, because especially for kids like this, focus on the feelings and the problems and the concerns that you have. I just don't know if that's healthy.

[B]

She brings that up in bad therapy. She says, start class every day by asking your students how they feel and you're actually going to make them feel worse.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it's like Schreier's not arguing for a biblical worldview, but there is something correct about that, which is a self centered worldview makes me more miserable, like we were saying a few minutes ago. So can you be encouraged to be myopic? Yeah, absolutely. And that's where some of our teachers are totally out of line by asking our students the wrong kind of questions. It's almost like you're leading the witness to a degree.

[A]

Yeah. And anxiety.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

How do we think through that biblically?

[B]

Okay, so I would.

[A]

Is it different than depression?

[B]

Let's use the term that comes from the scripture. But then I do think there's a cultural term that younger people will use that's more like stress. The term from the scripture. Anxiety. Philippians 4, 6 Matthew 6. Jesus says do not be anxious. Okay. So it's pretty clear that Jesus is focusing on anxiety as a matter of having little faith. So what's the remedy to anxiety? Well, consider the lilies. Consider the birds. God feeds them, God clothes them. And God knows your needs as well. So what is anxiety? Definitionally? It's like an over concern. I'm too concerned. Worry, Some of you fear interchangeably. But worry seems to be a better modern day English equivalent. If that's what you're saying anxiety is, then the Bible would say that is a sin to repent of. And why is that? Because we're not placing our faith and trust in the Lord in practical things like food and clothing. So the solution is turn from that like we would any other distrust of the Lord. Repent from that. And then now behold God as your provider, who's good and wise and loving. And the grass of the field reminds us God's a provider. Seriously, the birds remind us that God doesn't forget us. So there's another category that I find younger people use, which is they'll say they're anxious in a way that older generations would say they're stressed. So it's like, how is your week? It's like, oh, just so anxious, so much going on. But they don't really mean, like, I'm failing to trust the Lord. They mean something like, I'm kind of overwhelmed. And in that way, it is kind of confusing. The first time I said in class that anxiety is a sin. Like, you could feel the breath of my students, like, gasp. Like, where is this guy from?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I was like, wait a minute. Like, is that a. Is that a thing? Like, do we have to tease that out? And we did. And I learned that they were using anxiety like overwhelmed.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So can you be stressed and not be anxious? I think you can. Can you be burdened? 2nd Corinthians 4, struck down, perplexed, all those things and not be anxious? Yeah, I think you can. But if we're talking about anxiety, the solution to anxiety is to learn to trust the Lord in the practical things you're struggling with. Is it your kids? Is it your health? Is it your career? Is it your money? Consider this atheism. When we talk about anxiety. Anxiety is a mild form of atheism. Kevin Carson, undergraduate Prof. Told me that, and I was like, yeah, that's it. You're totally right. Because I'm not seeing that. God's in total control and he's good and wise, and when I know that God's in control, he's sovereign, and I know that he's good, meaning he's not this evil dictator, then I trust him and I'm not anxious. Like, why would I be anxious? God's got this. He's in total control, and he's good and he's wise, and he knows. So your anxiety and my anxiety. And I could be a man who is prone toward anxiety. It's actually crushed by a big view, a transformative view of who the Lord is. And then I learned to practically trust him in the areas that I'm struggling with. Seriously?

[A]

Yeah. That's really good. I remember there's a quote, I'm going to paraphrase it, by C.S. lewis, who said something along the lines of worrying about the future is like picturing the future without God's grace in it. Because if God's grace is in the here and the now with us, everyone hears about those moments where some Christian goes through awful tragedy, and everyone around them is like, how are you so at peace? Like, obviously you're sad, but you don't seem distraught. You don't seem, you know, completely destitute. And obviously the grace of God met them exactly where they were. But when we picture some future event, some catastrophe, our spouse dying, our child getting diagnosed with cancer, one we can't control that. So that is, I think, a large part of where the anxiety comes from. Not only that it's going to happen, but that we can't do anything to stop stop it. But then also we're picturing that moment without God's grace there because we're thinking about a hypothetical and God's grace is only real. And so I think that also just stirs in us a lot of unnecessary worry, which I think Satan, you know, he likes. He likes that because of course, he likes to imagine a world without God's grace in it.

[B]

I also think 100% on all that you're saying. So when I'm tempted to be anxious, I want to know, like I just want to know.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then I co mingle that with the Lord blesses the plans that I establish. You want to be intentional. And then before long, I am trying to control things that are not mine to control.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So the worship of control becomes really who you functionally are living for. And it's not the worship of God. And then when I can't control it, I'm anxious or fearful.

[A]

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[B]

Ooh, what other lies have our therapists told us? So mind, brain is important. Medicalizing the mind is the next lie that we want to cut straight. As Christians, we are doing our best to then dissect what is it that we're facing with God's Word. So if it's depression, anxiety, adhd, take each of those seriously. Run them through what the Bible says about what you're experiencing. And if there's no physiological problem, then start to develop a worldview that the solutions are coming from the Scripture, not from the secular therapeutic.

[A]

And even if you do have a physiological problem, that doesn't mean it's only physiological. Right. Because it can intersect with the mind, which means, like, God's word has an answer for that.

[B]

Yeah. Think of stress, right? Like, there are those that respond to stress by sleeplessness, losing hair, can't eat. And you're like, is that a gastrointestinal problem? Yeah, I would love to think I could eat sweet potatoes. And I trust the Lord and my body's completely restored, but I have to learn that, no, I must grow in trusting him, so I'm at peace. And then that affects my body as well. So we want to emphasize, yeah, your body can encourage things, but your inner person can also encourage things within your body. So as Christians, we're not neglecting one or the other, but the current tendency, and this is the lie we have to face in the church, is it's not all a body problem.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Like that. Let's cut that straight. It's not all. If there's no evidence that it's a body problem, then let's just be open to the fact that there is soul. There's a soul problem here.

[A]

Yeah. I think that, like, it goes back so perfectly to the beginning of this conversation, because I'm thinking of some examples in my own life. Like, there might be a particular set of circumstances that actually makes you stressed. It makes your body stressed. It makes your palm sweaty. It makes your mind or brain start racing, whatever it is. Like, you really do feel you have butterflies in your stomach, like, all of this stuff. But it's not making me be irritable. It might encourage me to snap at my family or to be rude to someone or to cut someone off in traffic, because I want to get where I'm going. And from the outside perspective, it's totally understandable for me to act that way, but it is not making me sin. And I'm so responsible for that sin. Because, of course, one of the fruit of the Spirit is not Self love, but self control. And the Holy Spirit, it, you know, indwells us and can direct the mind no matter what's happening in our physiology. And like you said, doesn't mean that our physical circumstances and body doesn't matter and that it can't affect the mind. But Christians have to be thoughtful enough to remember the presence of the Holy Spirit, right? And the huge power it has in our lives. And we are not, you know, we're not dominated by the prince of the power of the air anymore.

[B]

So, Ali, some listeners are gonna hear them, like, are you serious? Like, traffic can't make me angry. Is that what you guys are saying? And they're gonna feel a burden by that. And I think we have to say, yeah, you should feel responsibility, but change can happen. God forgives if we repent. So instead of me saying, I'm controlled by my anger, and as men, we can feel legitimized in our anger, instead of me saying, like, I just have to be an angry dad, an angry husband, I can say, you know what? God calls me to bear responsibility for it. But then he promises that he will forgive me if I confess 1 John 8 and 9, and that he will give me the resources I need to change. I don't have to be that anymore. So don't feel the burden of, like, oh, man, that's a lot. Allie Gifford, you're killing me. It's like, no, feel the freedom that you can change. Transformation is the idea that you are completely new. That's. What a beautiful concept, not managing the symptoms of. You don't have to be that anymore. So don't hear, like, own your sin as this heavy guilt. Hear, like, own your sin. Yes, but you behold the glory of Jesus, not the glory of your sin. Hebrews 12. Look to him in your fight against sin. You don't focus on your sin, you focus on Jesus, and that brings you freedom from those things. Another thought for you lies that therapists are Christians. Just think this through. What is repentance? What does repentance mean? Practically, change of mind. Change of mind, not change of brain. If you're unrepentant. Romans 1:28, you have a calloused mind or you have a defiled mind. Titus 1:15, that said of false teachers. Scary thought, but your mind can actually be hardened. Your mind can be calloused. Okay, so why does that matter? Christians, let's just think this through carefully. If you're going to an unbelieving therapist for help about the most personal matters of your life, you could literally Be sitting across the desk from someone with a hardened, calloused, defiled mind trying to help you with your most personal, intimate problems. In what world does that, like, make sense? In what world? That's plan C or that's plan D. But plan A is that I could find somebody who would use God's word as the source and authority to really help me with the root of what's going on here. Yeah, I thought you had a.

[A]

Well, I was going to ask for those who don't know, what is the difference between a biblical. A licensed. A licensed biblical counselor and someone who is just a Christian therapist?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Good.

[B]

The difference between biblical counseling and Christian therapy or Christian counseling is a question that I get pretty regularly. So I host a podcast called Transformed and listeners will write in and say, does that mean anyone that uses the Bible as a biblical counselor? And the answer is, the difference comes down to what's the source and the authority. Love, Dave Ramsey. I've used his plan, but he'll typically grab a proverb and then use that one proverb to develop a whole structure of debt and managing your personal finances. In the counseling world, it's like that as well. It's like we have 99% Rogers, 99% Freud, and then a proverb that's kind of dropped in there somewhere and you're like, wait a minute. Like, that's Freud's anthropology. What he believes about people, that's his soteriology about salvation and sanctification. And then we have a proverb that's dropped in. That's Christian counseling. Because the counseling is not coming from the Bible. There's a Bible verse that's used. Whereas biblical counseling is attempting to take God's word as both the source and the authority. So the whole structure is built. You interpret people through the lens of scripture. You interpret their problems through the lens of scripture or the solutions through the lens of scripture. That is an outworking of our commitment to the sufficiency of scripture, which is the Bible has the answers that we need.

[A]

And will someone who is a biblical counselor have like licensed biblical counselor under their name? If there's someone out there that's looking for that, like, how do they find that person?

[B]

I think you do need to be discerning about that because some people will just kind of hang a shingle out and say, biblical counselor, I got a Bible. And that's great. We appreciate well intended, compassionate people. But you are looking for a level of training. You know, I teach at the Master's University where we have bachelor's all the way up to doctoral degrees in this. So training, education, that corresponds to being equipped for that. And then there is a certification process called the association of Certified Biblical Counselors. That's the organization, and they actually train you, test you, observe you in counseling to ensure that you can implement what you've done. So it is very possible to get a degree, but never have actually counseled people or met with people. So you have all the knowledge, but not the skill. So look for someone that has education. Yes, master's university, or I'm looking for someone that's ACBC certified. And if there's listeners that are interested, like, email me and I'll point you to the. There's a different. It's like a map, an interactive map that can show you biblical counselors in your area.

[A]

That's really good, I think, for people. I'm just thinking through this myself, like, if I were sitting across from a therapist, and maybe this can only be deduced over time. But someone who doesn't believe that, like, we are born simple and that we are sinners or that we don't need a savior or doesn't acknowledge the need for salvation or sanctification, like, once you start to see that. That a lot of psychologists believe that you are inherently good inside, that's when you'll see, like, the big difference in the wisdom that they're going to give you. And that's when you should walk out, if you haven't already.

[B]

Imagine being super, like, vulnerable. And then the therapist, psychologist says, yeah, you deserve better. You're great. And you're like, I am great. You know, like, they shouldn't treat me.

[A]

Like, this happens every day.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Yeah. Wow. I just thought about something else, and we don't have time to do it, but we don't have time to get into this. So maybe you'll have to come back and I'll leave everyone on a cliffhanger. But you're talking about how, like, okay, depression, anxiety. We were talking about how that's not typically diagnosed using blood work or brain scan. And yet they'll tell you, you know, unequivocally that you have low serotonin or something. And the only other thing I can think of that we do that with is, like, transgenderism, is that you hear someone talk and you're like, yes, your brain is a female brain. We're not doing brain scans. Like, we're not testing hormones. Not that that would indicate that they're born in the wrong body, but again, they are being given something to change their body based on a totally subjective and politicized evaluation. And I just am thinking now how much of the psychotropics that are given are based on that kind of politicized, psychologized, totally subjective reasoning and it actually is changing people's brain in a way that can affect their mind in very dangerous ways.

[B]

Symptom based diagnosing.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

I'll add one more for the teaser. There's also a group of people that have food allergies that do not have a medical proof. And you ask yourself, like, I didn't know that. If we talk about food allergies, a self diagnosed food allergy, I'm gluten free. I've never been tested. There's no test that proves it. That's interesting because I'm now describing my own health, I'm describing my own gastrointestinal problems. And yet there's not necessarily medical evidence for that. Like it's a fascinating concept of is that true or is that not true?

[A]

Or without pathologizing.

[B]

Right. The crunchiness.

[A]

Yeah. Well, that has been. Yeah. It's interesting. We could have a whole other conversation about that. That when like it does seem that nowadays when like the patient walks in, like we're able to self diagnose and then they can just give us the medication that we're asking for because we are directly advertised to by the pharmaceutical companies. And I'm pretty sure we are the only country, if not one of the only countries in the world where we get that direct to consumer advertising of.

[B]

Isn't that fascinating? Yeah, we diagnosed ourself. We just need the doctor to write the prescription.

[A]

Yeah. I saw this commercial for Wellbutrin or I.

[B]

Well, web MD it, you know, and this is what I have and if the doctor disagrees with me, then I reject that.

[A]

Yeah. Wow, what a dangerous world we live in. But all the more need for actual biblical counsel. That comes from the word of God. That comes from Jesus who doesn't change. Hebrews 13, 8. And that is a comfort when it seems like everything else is giving way. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

[B]

Amen.

[A]

Amen. Okay, everyone can buy your book. Lies My therapist told me wherever books are sold.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And you have a podcast that's called Transforming.

[B]

Yeah. So transformed. If you just Google transform. Yes, you'll find me. It's part of the Fortis Institute where I'm a fellow.

[A]

Okay, awesome. Thank you so much, Dr. Gifford. I really appreciate it.

[B]

Thank you.

[C]

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