Mental Health and the Church, with Mark Eastburg

Mental, emotional, and spiritual healing requires more than clinical technique—it demands sacrificial empathy, institutional trust, and a profound affirmation of the image of God in every human being. In this episode, clinical psychologist and Pine Rest CEO Mark Eastburg joins Mark Labberton to discuss the rising need for mental health care—especially for children, adolescents, and those recovering from severe trauma.

Eastburg offers insights about the post-pandemic mental health landscape; psychological and emotional resilience; trauma-informed therapy; deep listening; and the theological, moral, and social commitments that drive Eastburg’s approach to mental and spiritual health. They also discuss the systemic injustice underlying many mental health disparities, inviting us to see mental health care as a vital form of justice work rooted in compassion, dignity, and Christian witness.

Episode Highlights

1. “We’re in the healing moments business. That’s what we do … and I think those healing moments are the building blocks of the kingdom of God—just like atoms are the building blocks of the material world.”
2. “We’re in the healing moments business. … Those healing moments are the building blocks of the kingdom of God.”
3. “Mental health work is justice work … especially when we’re helping people who’ve been victims of injustice get back into community.”
4. “If you just react to people’s symptoms, you’ll get more symptoms. But if you can see the beautiful human being underneath, you’ll see more of that.”
5. “A Christian approach to therapy starts with the belief that every person is made in the image of God—and they are someone’s favourite brother or sister.”
6. “Jesus’s care for the outsider, for the downtrodden, the excluded—that has to define what we mean when we say we express the healing ministry of Christ.”

About Mark Eastburg

Mark Eastburg, PhD, is president and chief executive officer of Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, one of the five largest free-standing behavioural health organizations in the United States. With a doctorate in clinical psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary, Eastburg has served in both clinical and leadership roles at Pine Rest for over three decades. He is a passionate advocate for trauma-informed care, access to mental health services, and a faith-integrated approach to healing grounded in human dignity and Christian compassion.

Helpful Links and Resources

• Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services
• American Rescue Plan

Show Notes

• Mental Health Landscape post-Covid
• Surge in mental health needs for children and adolescents, especially after pandemic lockdowns
• Dramatic increase in psychiatric crises among youth: anxiety, self-harm, aggression
• Tele-therapy rose during Covid, but adolescents strongly prefer in-person care
• “The post-Covid world—everything seems to have become more intense.”
• The symptoms of the adolescent mental health crisis
• Rise in social media use and marijuana legalization amplifying symptoms
• Anxiety, substance abuse
• “We are really shaped and developed by practices.”
• The experience of children in foster care
• Trauma-informed care essential for children with abuse and neglect histories
• Empathy requires the therapist to engage in “sacrificial vulnerability”
• Human mutual vulnerability—”The therapist, to express such empathy, has to themselves be prepared to manifest their own vulnerability to the person who has their own underlying vulnerabilities.”
• Sage advice for therapists: “If you just react to people symptoms, you’re going to get more symptom