Rural & Semi-Rural Mental Health Care

Addressing The Unmet Need, with Brain Stimulation and Faith

Your editor, Owen Muir, here. I am an atheist. But sometimes, I doubt my lack of faith. I have some degree of envy for those who feel the sense of the divine, in all honesty. I think that healthcare often does a bad job of interfacing with faith. We emphasize science, but we don't emphasize existential dread, thoughts and prayers, and the whole shebang that is getting sick and suffering. People want to be delivered from suffering; they don't necessarily want a 50% reduction in symptoms. I've been friends with Ben, the author of this article, for several years now. When he asked me to help him start a not-for-profit in his home state of South Carolina that would provide faith-informed care (to people who want it) and accessible care to everyone else— this sounded like a good idea. Thus, I agreed to help, and what follows is the story of that journey. Ben asked me if he should tone down the “faith in God and belief in Jesus” part of his story. I told him no—because his real story is his story. He has every right to his experience, Jesus and all. So, if the following reads like the work of a believer, that is because it is.

Read Ben's article on Owen's popular Substack.