As a theologian and practicing psychiatrist, Warren Kinghorn shares a Christian vision of accompanying those facing mental health challenges. He reviews the successes and limitations of modern mental health care, suggesting that the current model of mental health care doesn’t see people: it sees sets of symptoms that need fixing. While modern psychiatry has improved many patients’ quality of life, it falls short in addressing their relational and spiritual needs. 

Kinghorn offers an alternative paradigm of healing. Based in the theology of Thomas Aquinas, this model of personhood affirms four truths: We are known and loved by God. We are creatures made of earth who are formed in community. We are wayfarers on a journey. We are called not to control, but to wonder, love, praise, and rest. 
 
Drawing on theological wisdom and scientific evidence, Kinghorn reframes our understanding of mental health care from fixing machines to attending fellow wayfarers on the way to the Lord’s feast. With gentle guidance and practical suggestions, Wayfaring is an essential resource for pastors and practitioners as well as for Christians who seek mental health care.

Warren Kinghorn is Esther Colliflower Associate Research Professor of Pastoral and Moral Theology at Duke Divinity School; co-director of the Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative; and associate professor of psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center. As a psychiatrist, Kinghorn's work centers on the role of religious communities in caring for persons with mental health problems and on ways in which Christians engage practices of modern health care