Mental Health Ministry
Hope, Knowledge, Prayer & Support
Monthly Focus
Be Trauma-Informed with Dr. Elaine Heath
On Sunday, October 19 we will welcome Dr. Elaine Heath a theologian, author, speaker, retreat leader, former Dean of Duke Divinity School, who currently serves as the Abbess of Spring Forest, a United Methodist monastic community near Hillsborough.
- Info Session at Noon in The Commons: Dr. Heath will provide a short lecture followed by Q&A, about how trauma affects the brain, body, and spirituality, and how we can lovingly neighbor others who are traumatized, in light of that knowledge. Light snacks will be provided. Please register to attend the info session.
- Message Focus in Morning Services: The Bible is filled with stories of healing from trauma, but often we do not read them with trauma-informed understanding. Dr. Heath will preach from the story of Peter and Cornelius found in Acts 10, guiding us to see and hear this powerful narrative with a trauma-informed understanding.
NAMI Family & Friends - Wednesday, November 12 from 7:00 - 8:30 pm
This free 90-minute seminar with National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) informs and supports people who have loved ones with a mental health condition.
What You'll Learn: The seminar is led by trained people with lived experience of supporting a family member with a mental health condition. They will walk you through the following topics.
• Understanding diagnoses, treatment and recovery
• Effective communication strategies
• The importance of self-care
• Crisis preparation strategies
• NAMI and community resources
Annual Topic Outline & Schedule
Congregational Depression Awareness Program (CDAP)
Date TBD
We are launching a program to disseminate valuable information about depression to individuals directly and indirectly impacted by depression. Participants will receive instruction, resources, and ongoing support on the following topics:
- Recognizing the signs and symptoms of depression
- Strategies to overcome the stigma associated with depression and other mental illnesses
- Medical and psychosocial treatments for depression
- Assisting individuals who need help identifying and accessing mental health services
- Providing informal (i.e., non-professional) support to complement the professional care individuals suffering from depression are receiving
- Providing guidance and support for individuals who have a loved one suffering from depression
- Recognizing and responding to suicide warning signs
Local and national resources (e.g., National Alliance on Mental Illness, Mental Health America, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention).
Some homework between sessions.
Mental Health Resources
- Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology and How You Can Heal - By Donna Jackson Nakazawa
- Grace for Afflicted - By Matthew S. Stanford
- Out of the Darkness and Into The Light - By Daniel Hale, Ph. D.
- Resurrecting the Person: Friendship and the Care of People with Mental Health Problems - By John Swinton
- The Deepest Well - By Nadine Burke Harris, M.D.
- Troubled Minds: Mental Illness and the Church's Mission - By Amy Simpson
- What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing - By Bruce Perry, M.D., Ph. D. and Oprah Winfrey
- The Noonday Demon: An Atlas Of Depression - By Andrew Solomon
- The Body Keeps The Score - By Bessel Van der Kolk
Annual Mental Health Symposiums
Past Education Series Topics
- Mental Health Overview: What do you think Christ would say about Mental Health challenges?
- Healthy Boundaries: What do boundaries have to do with Mental Health?
- Stigma & Shame:
Bipolar
Anxiety - Power of Empathetic Listening
- Healing Addictions: Yours & Mine with Janet Dagenhart
- Eating Disorders - Dr. Greer Mitchell from Hopeway
- Trauma & PTSD - King Jones from Carolina Family and Maternal Counseling
- Supporting Your Loved One's Mental Health - Christopher Weedom - NAMI
- Understanding Adolescent Mental Health with Brittany Collins, Therapist, Queen City Counseling
- "Depression - Out of the Darkness and Into the Light" - Worship & Luncheon Guest Speaker Dr. Daniel Hale
- It's OK to Talk: Mental Health in Our Community, Kevin Markle, Mental Health America
- Mental Health Issues in Children Ian Murray M.ED, LCMHC
- Broken Men, in God's Image Jay Cobb MA, LMFT, LCMHC
- The Beauty of Anxiety Rev. Bill Roth Myers Park Methodist
- Anxious Nation Documentary Viewing & Panel Discussion with Megan Yaho, M.ED, LCMHC & Ian Murray, M.ED, LCMHC, Southeast Psych
To find out more, please contact Kim Layton at 704-815-1913.
