Mental Health and Your Church

Helping you and the whole church family understand, nurture, and support those with mental-health conditions.

Many people are struggling with mental-health conditions, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and life in our image-conscious culture. Statistics tell us that, worldwide, one in six of us will have experienced a mental-health struggle in the past week, and serious depression is the second-leading cause of disability (Mental Health Foundation).

That means there are brothers and sisters in our church families battling with thoughts, feelings, impulses, and even voices that distract, drag down, and nudge them towards despair. But when it comes to helping, it can be tricky to know where to begin, especially if we have very little knowledge of mental illnesses and are afraid of making things worse by saying and doing the wrong things.

This wise, compassionate, and practical book is written by Steve Midgley, psychiatrist and Executive Director of Biblical Counselling UK, and Helen Thorne, Director of Training and Resources at Biblical Counselling UK. It will help readers understand and respond with biblical wisdom to people who are struggling with their mental health.

While acknowledging the importance of liaising responsibly with medics and counsellors, this book focuses on equipping readers to play their part in making churches places where those who struggle with mental-health conditions are welcomed, understood, nurtured, and supported: a foretaste of the new creation.

This is a useful book for anyone who cares for others pastorally: pastors, elders, small-group leaders, and congregation members.

1. Opening Credits
2. Chapter 1: Life in the Local Church
3. Section 1: Understanding Mental Illness
4. Chapter 2: What's in a Disguise
5. Chapter 3: Developing a Biblical Understanding of Mental Illness
6. Chapter 4: Medication
7. Chapter 5: Talking Therapies
8. Section 2: What Can We Do?
9. Introduction
10. Chapter 6: The Call to Raise Awareness
11. Chapter 7: The Call to Relate
12. Chapter 8: The Call to Remember
13. Chapter 9: the Call to Refine
14. Chapter 10: The Call to Practically Resource
15. Chapter 11: Common Questions
16. Section 3: Caring in Practice
17. Introduction
18. Chapter 12: Anxiety
19. Chapter 13: Depression
20. Chapter 14: Addiction
21. Chapter 15: Psychosis
22. Chapter 16: Caring for Carers
23. Afterword
24. Closing Credits