16. Question: How to correlate mental (treatment) and spiritual help to the sick?

The task of the priest is to tune the pastor to patience and humility, to pray for him. The task of a doctor is to trust in God's help to treat mental disorders with the methods of modern medicine.

A psychiatrist, psychotherapist, influencing a person's will, his mind and emotions, helps to overcome the disease or its consequences. He tries to eliminate pathological symptoms and syndromes of the central nervous system, such as depression, anxiety, asthenia, etc., which have arisen not because of enemy temptation, but for biological and hereditary reasons. Upon recovery (when possible), the person returns to his normal state. He can soberly look at the life around him and at himself, attend the temple of God, pray, work for the good of his family and society.

As the patient recovers, the "specific weight" of psychiatric care will weaken, and the spiritual one, on the contrary, will increase.

17. Question: What does pride produce in the soul?

I will point out a very important spiritual observation: "The enemy has fallen with pride. Pride is the beginning of sin; it contains all kinds of evil: vanity, love of glory, lust for power, coldness, cruelty, indifference to the sufferings of one's neighbor; the dreaminess of the mind, the intensified action of the imagination, the demonic expression of the eyes, the demonic character of the whole appearance; gloom, melancholy, despair, hatred; envy, humility, many have a breakdown into carnal lust; tormenting inner restlessness, disobedience, fear of death or, on the contrary, a search to end one's life, and, finally, which is not uncommon, complete madness. These are the signs of demonic spirituality. But until they manifest themselves vividly, they remain unnoticed by many" (Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), from the book "Elder Silouan the Athonite").

18. Question: Is it possible to bring a priest to a psychiatric hospital to a sick person?