In a new pastoral letter on mental health and wellbeing, Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, invites Catholics to reflect on how counseling, faith, and trust in Christ intersect in the pursuit of authentic happiness.
The letter, dated January 2026 and shared by Bishop Burbidge on X on Jan. 20, is titled The Divine Physician and a Christian Approach to Mental Health and Wellbeing. In it, the bishop says he is offering his reflections “as a pastor on the place of counseling in the Catholic life — when and in what manner we should make use of it in our pursuit of authentic happiness.”
The bishop frames mental health struggles within the Christian story of healing, presenting Jesus as the Divine Physician who tends to wounds of the mind, body, and soul. Drawing on Scripture, Bishop Burbidge urges believers to rely not solely on “our own strength” but also on “the grace of the Lord and his healing love.”
Bishop Burbidge says he has observed “with increasing pastoral concern” over the growing mental health crisis in the U.S. particularly among young people. The bishop says the crisis is “negatively impacting Americans, and especially young people, in terms of their spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing.” He cites national data indicating that one in five American adults experience mental health challenges, while many delay seeking treatment for years.
Loneliness and isolation figure prominently in the letter. Bishop Burbidge points to rising rates of social disconnection, especially among younger generations, and warns that digital forms of connection often lack the “essential embodied qualities of genuine personal encounter.” He links this isolation to depression, substance abuse and what he calls “diseases of despair.”
At the same time, the bishop cautions against defining personal identity by diagnoses or trauma. Christians, he writes, should remember their “true identity as a son or daughter of God,” even while acknowledging that all people experience wounds that can threaten peace and wellbeing.
The letter also addresses the role of counseling in Catholic life. Bishop Burbidge affirms that professional counseling can be an important and even necessary tool, particularly when mental health struggles become overwhelming.
“A mental health professional, anchored in truth and guided by faith,” he writes, can help individuals challenge “negative and false ways of seeing the world,” heal past wounds, and develop healthier habits.
But he also warns against viewing therapy as a cure-all or a permanent crutch.
“The purpose of counseling is neither to eliminate all hardships nor to establish a perpetual dependency on therapy,” he writes, adding that counseling should help restore freedom and equip people to carry life’s burdens with confidence rooted in faith.
Throughout the letter, Bishop Burbidge emphasizes a distinction between suffering and despair. While suffering can draw Christians closer to Christ and others, despair, he writes, isolates and “has no positive purpose.” Anyone experiencing “recurrent or unrelenting despair,” he says, should seek help and support.
As part of the diocese’s response to the mental health crisis, Bishop Burbidge announced the creation of a Mental Health Council to provide guidance and resources for those facing serious mental health challenges and training opportunities for counselors so that they are better able to “provide life-transforming services grounded in a Catholic anthropology that emphasizes the sacredness of all human life and the dignity of every person.”
The letter concludes with an appeal for prayer, sacramental life, and mutual support within parish communities, urging Catholics to both seek professional help when needed and place their hope in Christ, the Divine Physician.
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