Resurrecting the Person: Friendship and the Care of People with Mental Health Problems

In Resurrecting the Person, John Swinton argues that while mental illnesses are often biological and genetic in origin, the real handicap experienced by individuals is imposed by the types of reactions, values, and attitudes which are typical of contemporary western society. In other words, how a mental illness is experienced has much to do with how it is socially constructed. How will the church react to this suggestion? Swinton suggests that the key to the effective pastoral care of individuals with severe mental illness lies not only within the realms of psychiatry, therapy, and pharmacological intervention, but in the rehumanization which is borne within the relationship of friendship.


About the Author
Swinton, John: - John Swinton is a lecturer in practical theology in the Department of Divinity and Religious Studies, King's College, University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Previously he worked as a nurse for 16 years, specializing in the areas of psychiatry and learning disability. He also spent a number of years working in the field of hospital chaplaincy, most recently as a community psychiatric chaplain.