It's hard, sometimes, to see the value of something outside the Christian world-view, I think. But I'll just say that science does not "prove", it only points to a possible correlation between variables. The higher the correlation, the more reasonably sure science is that a relationship exists. Blogs and personal opinions are just that.
Taking time to look at the other side of things can be telling about the nature of mental health. Those who specialize in child development suggest that an attachment bond begins to form during the second trimester of pregnancy between an infant and the mother. The mother's mental health during pregnancy and following birth can have a significant effect on the infant's brain development and attachment to a primary care-giver. A mother who is healthy in that respect will have more of a positive effect on the child's own mental health and brain development, than a mother who struggles with her own ability to cope with anxiety, depression, or stress.
In Canada, there is an emphasis on taking a "trauma-informed" approach to working with those who deal with mental health or substance misuse (Canadian preferred term) issues. So it's emphasized that the 'symptoms' are not the issue, but what are the conditions/circumstances that create these "maladaptive" ways of coping. Much of the time, a person identifies issues of trauma, whether family, abuse, abandonment, PTSD, any number of things.
Another significant "push" in Canada (especially here in the metro-Vancouver area) is a "harm-reduction" approach. I'll say now that I don't agree with all aspects of harm reduction. I think (in some cases) it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy where those who can fully get well, don't, because of the influence of certain programs that have significant sway in policy development.
Having said that, there is significant benefit to the approach as well - looking at what inherent strengths a person has to get well. And the Christian church - those who engage - see miraculous turnarounds. But what about those who don't engage? The goal is still to discover those strengths and help identify ways of coping that work for them and reduce the harm to them and those around them. Those mom's who have the broken attachments with their kids, can gain the skills to be great moms (and they do!). The Opiate user may have periodic relapses, but he's not using every day. Is that a failure? The abusive couple can learn skills for effective communication to decrease harm in the home and reunite the family. The depressive/anxious/schizophrenic can engage with their physician or mental health therapist to learn ways to manage effectively, and how to deal with a crisis situation - so they're not just hanging out at home all depressed and posting nasty stuff on Facebook. They may even come to that Pentecostal service that we want so badly for them.
