Mental Health and Your Church: A Handbook for Biblical Care (A Ministry Guide to Mental Illness, Anxiety, Depression, Trauma and Addiction)

Mental Health and Your Church: A Handbook for Biblical Care (A Ministry Guide to Mental Illness, Anxiety, Depression, Trauma and Addiction)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

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, who worked in psychiatry and then as a pastor and is now 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.

Publisher: Good Book Company
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9781784987787

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Steve Midgley is executive director of Biblical Counselling UK and a pastor at Christ Church Cambridge. Steve is a conference speaker, a board member for the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation, and a council member of the Biblical Counseling Coalition. He and his wife, Beth, have three adult children. Helen Thorne-Allenson is Director of Training and Resources at Biblical Counselling UK. She formerly worked with the London City Mission and has written Hope in an Anxious World, Purity Is Possible, Walking with Domestic Abuse Sufferers and 5 Things to Pray for Your City. She is married to Nick, lives in Hampshire, UK and very much enjoys Korean food.

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‘What can ordinary Christians do to help fellow church members who struggle with mental illness? A great deal, according to Thorne and Midgley. Without sidestepping the important roles of mental health care professionals and medications, they highlight, through worked examples, what the church can and should do to become a welcoming, wise, Christ-centered community for strugglers.’ Michael R. Emlet, Faculty Member, Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation; author, CrossTalk: Where Life and Scripture Meet and Descriptions and Prescriptions