Episode 268  |  August 6, 2026

When Mental Health Goes Too Far with Matt Loftus

A number of pastors I have talked to say that they feel pressure to be more like a therapist. If you try to make church do for people what therapy does for them, you're going to be frustrated and they're going to be miserable because that's not what the church is for. The church is to worship Jesus Christ, to preach the gospel, to administer the sacraments, and to bring people together.
— Matthew Loftus

How Does Therapy Culture Undermine True Healing?

Host Curtis Chang talks with physician and author Matthew Loftus about how therapeutic language can distort ordinary suffering, turn disagreement into “gaslighting,” and leave people feeling less capable of changing their lives. They examine the overmedicalization of grief and anxiety, the rise of mental health culture in schools, and why churches risk losing their purpose when pastors start acting like therapists.

This is not an attack on therapy or psychiatric medication. It is a provocative conversation about when mental health care becomes a worldview—and whether our relentless focus on feeling better is actually making us sicker.

Chapters
02:10
Therapy Practice vs. Therapy Culture
03:52
The Importance of Personal Experience
06:34
The Three Elements of Therapy Culture
10:09
The Problem with Focusing on Mental Health
13:22
The Suggestive Power of Diagnosis
15:30
A Christian Understanding of Suffering
17:57
Finding Solace in the Midst of Suffering
21:40
The Role of Medication in Mental Health
25:49
Knowing When Therapy Becomes Unhelpful
28:30
The Unique, Healing Functions of the Church
32:21
How Parents Can Counter Therapy Culture in Schools
35:01
A Final Word of Encouragement
Expand

The books and research behind this conversation.

Scripture from This Episode

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38–39
Please wait...