Bipolar Saul? Anxious Moses? Mental woes are nothing new

Alana Riss Fine was sitting in a Minneapolis coffee shop one recent Friday, when she noticed a theme brewing around her. One patron was lost in a book titled: "Understanding Job." Three others were sitting nearby, discussing Biblical texts.

Coincidentally, Fine also had the world's best-selling book on her mind.

Fine is one of nearly two dozen mental health professionals who will speak Sunday at a Twin Cities-wide conference titled, "Coping in Challenging Times." To make her point that challenging times go back -- way back -- she'll pose an intriguing question:

If great Biblical characters sought therapy today, what diagnoses might they receive?

Samson, for example, consistently missed social cues by manipulative Delilah, who sought the source of his strength to do him in, Fine noted. A case of Asperger's disorder?

Joseph, who boasted about dreams that exalted him over his brothers before his siblings took him down: Likely a narcissist.

And tortured Rebekah, with Jacob and Esau fighting inside her womb, cries out: If this is true, why do I exist?

"Existential crisis right there," Fine said.

Little wonder that Fine and many others refer to the DSM, or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, as the "Bible of Psychiatry."

Fine, who has a doctorate in psychology from Yeshiva University in New York, is in no way making light of mental health issues. On the contrary, she said, positioning our modern struggles as age-old and universal can be comforting and instructive.

"The Bible looks at people with all their frailties, failures and strengths," said Fine, who moved to the Twin Cities four years ago and practices at Partners in Healing in Minnetonka. "It makes a lot of sense to compare the Bible to modern psychology."

The Mental Health Education Project conference, sponsored by Jewish Family and Children's Service of Minneapolis and Jewish Family Service of St. Paul, will be held from 12:30 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Temple Israel in Minneapolis. It is free and open to the public. Keynote speaker is Elyn Saks, a law professor at the University of Southern California and author of "The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey through Madness." Time magazine selected the book as a top 10 nonfiction title in 2007.

Fertile ground

Of course, biblical heroes and their struggles have provided fascinating pulpit fodder for centuries. Infidelity, infertility, jealousy, anger, confidence crises, sibling rivalry, in-law issues, sexual fetishes. But Fine wanted to go a step further, seeing just how much matched up with the DSM, which helps mental health professionals diagnose and standardize various psychiatric symptoms.

Polygamy or animal sacrifice aside, pretty much everything else lands somewhere in the constantly updated manual. Some Biblical heroes are clearly fighting for their lives or their sanity. Others fall into what the DSM calls "adjustment disorders."

Noah is one of Fine's most fertile subjects. "He had survivor's guilt," Fine said. "When he got out of the ark, it was so hard for him to go on. He froze, got depressed, turned to alcohol."

Adam got what some might consider a lucky break, with no in-law issues. But there was that other challenge, Fine noted: "Moving to a new town, having to start over."

The prophet Elijah had classic symptoms of depression. "He had no energy, he wasn't eating. He felt worthless. And he says, 'Take my life.' It's pretty blatant."

Then there's Moses. Cautious and suffering from a speech impediment, he was overwhelmed by the task of trying to get the Jewish people out of Egypt, she said. "He couldn't even go to Pharaoh by himself. He had to bring his brother along." Diagnosis: an understandable case of performance anxiety.

On Wednesday Fine was watching Glenn Close on Good Morning America talk about her sister's struggle with being bipolar. It's a disorder that Fine believes even King Saul endured.

So what's a Biblical figure to do? Many turned to God, others to action, such as moving to another town or finding a baby surrogate, decisions one might also make today. Others turned to trusted family members and communal leaders, pseudo-therapists of the day. Some tapped into inner strength.

One of Fine's favorite examples is Joseph, favored by his father, and thrown into a pit and then sold as a slave by his brothers. He overcame his siblings' betrayal to become a strong leader, Fine said. "All this baggage, and he developed into this person who forgave his family. The healing, the growth. It's such good drama."

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The conference is free and open to the public. Online registration is at www.jfcsmpls.org, or call 651-698-0767.

Gail Rosenblum • 612-673-7350 • gail.rosenblum@startribune.com