Helping churches understand mental health is a process. It can start from the beginning when people do not understand mental health, other than “people get sad sometimes.” It can also be very easy because many congregation members and pastors already have a grasp on mental illness and substance use as they have seen it in their community and congregation. Sometimes it can be difficult due to the Christian stigma that creates more barriers for Christians struggling with mental illness than secular people.
So how do you teach this to churches? Well, we have already shared one great resource that you want to check out in Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries which talks about church mental health wellness that individuals who understand mental health can take to your church.
Where to Start?
But another resource comes from Gloo and the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) who have partnered to help advance the role of the Church across our country to address the mental health crisis. For those who do not know, AACC is a for-profit organization that trains everyone from counselors to primary care physicians, pastoral counselors, and church laypeople. They have partnered with Gloo to create FREE Mental and Behavioral Health resources.
There are a lot of options for learning, but I would suggest the one called “Intro to Mental Health” which has a 45-minute recorded webinar and a 24-page eBook to go with it. From there, they have other short ebooks on topics including loneliness, grief, anxiety, and more.
If you end up watching the webinar and looking through the various ebooks, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
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