Annual DeBakey Lecture Explores a Christian Approach to Mental Health Care
Dr. Kinghorn with this year's DeBakey Scholars
Dr. Warren Kinghorn, Professor of Psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine, challenged audiences to think differently about mental health care during the Annual DeBakey Lecture, “A Christian Approach to Mental Health.”
Kinghorn, who also serves as co-director of the Theology, Medicine, and Cultural Initiative at Duke Divinity School and practices psychiatry at the Durham VA Health Care System, brings psychiatry into conversation with theology and examines the role of religious communities in mental health care.
During his lecture, Kinghorn explored the social, moral and political dimensions of mental health care and encouraged healthcare providers to consider the circumstances surrounding a patient’s experience. He emphasized the importance of connection and relationships, noting that isolation can play a significant role in human suffering.
Drawing on the work of Thomas Aquinas, Kinghorn presented four affirmations about human life: people are fully and deeply loved; they are living creatures of the Earth; they are wayfarers on a journey; and their deepest fulfillment is found in wonder rather than control.
Humans are fully and deeply loved; humans are living creatures from the Earth; humans are wayfarers; and humans find their deepest fulfillment in wonder, not control.
Kinghorn encouraged physicians to view patient care as relational and transformational rather than transactional. He challenged healthcare providers to listen for stories rather than symptoms, attend rather than fix, and consider what each patient needs at a particular moment in their journey.
The Annual DeBakey Lecture Series honors the legacy of Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, a pioneering heart surgeon, innovator and medical educator. The series brings distinguished speakers to explore important issues shaping the future of healthcare, with an emphasis on innovation, ethics and compassionate care.
Dr. Kinghorn’s message reflected the spirit of the lecture series this year by reminding us that our lives are a journey, and sometimes the best course of action is for a healthcare provider to give the patient what they need right then in their journey.