All Christians

Editor’s note: This article came out of an email correspondence about the Mandatory Reporting for Churches ebook and what more could be discussed. If you want to start educating and equipping your church to protect your congregation, go get the ebook here.

My years at work in the domestic violence field prepared me for my work as a Victim Assistance Coordinator (VAC). Many adult survivors of incest or current victims came through our area domestic violence shelter and we were mandated reporters. As a VAC, I met with victims of child sexual abuse (past or current, clergy-related or not), did referrals, provided the required safe environment training for church staff/volunteers about child sexual abuse prevention, and supplied data for our yearly audits on this training.

Editors Note: HHS The Partnership Center reached out with some clarification on other activities that are shared below.

This past week, I got the opportunity to be invited to attend the US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) The Partnership Center conference in Washington DC. It’s an annual conference to promote a conversation about faith and mental health across the nation. Christianity was fully represented, but there were also representation of Jews and Muslims.

Below, I want to share some of the thoughts of what I heard from Christian leaders and some quotes that I feel are important to the message of integrating mental health within the Church.

Depression is a widespread mental health condition that affects millions of individuals worldwide. While there are many secular therapeutic approaches to managing depression that are evidence-based practices clinicians utilize, one often overlooked resource for healing can be found within Scripture. The practice of biblical lamentation, a form of sacred expression and grieving, offers a powerful tool for those seeking to improve their mental health and find solace amidst the darkness of depression.

Within the clinical work of mental health and substance use, there is a growing idea called Bio-Psycho-Social-Spiritual Model that discusses how people are more than just biological cells or rational thought. When we are happy, this may initially be because we had our favorite cup of coffee or talked to a friend, but we know this also includes the health attachments in relationships, that we have been getting enough sleep, eating enough nutritional food, have been regularly tending to our mental health, and have a strong belief in their higher power with regular faith traditions. So it is no surprise that a recent study shows a strong correlation between stronger faith belief systems with overall better mental health.

There is no defeating addiction. For those who subscribe to the disease model with substance use, we know that remission of symptoms does not mean it cannot flare up again in the future. For someone struggling with cancer, they may still have just as many doctor’s appointments to see if cancer has come back in the first five years of their post-treatment due to relapse with cancer. The same is true with those struggling with substance misuse. We know even Church leaders struggle with addiction.

[This article is part of a series of books we have reviewed over the years. Click the link to check out all the other books we’ve reviewed here.]

For those that do not know, Beth Moore I am a fan of hers. I respect her work, agree with her stance about the #MeToo movement, and even the politics about faith echo in my heart. She has created several Christian books, devotionals, prayer guides, and bible studies. I have fond memories of my mom reading some of her books, seeing women at college doing over her devotionals to improve their faith lives, and being challenged to grow stronger in my faith from sermons that quoted her.

The world of mental health has a strong, healthy reliance on evidence-based practices that has led to some very effective therapy models. Christianity historically has not relied on research, but tradition, culture, and values. When we marry the two into Christian mental health, we need to hold both in reverence that I believe furthers the other. That’s why we have created a whole page to the research we have found on faith and mental health that furthers the cause of better data to inform better mental health practices for individuals within a faith tradition and support faith within mental health.

I recognize this topic is not as fun, inspiring, or motivating as much as other topics, including the actual research topics themselves. But the necessity of fundamentally good research data and interpretation of the research is imperative to making lasting change beyond our casual observations.

[Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from one of the counselors that is part of my church’s mental health team as part of an article written for May’s mental health awareness month for the congregation members. Enjoy!]

Although I have not experienced an unexpected death in my family, I have experienced loss and grief in other areas of my life.  As my husband and I have led the “Grief Share” groups at Crossroad’s Community Church, my heart has ached for the difficult emotions, questions, and feelings of helplessness the attendees share.  

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