Category: Resource Spotlight

Do you wish people in your church understood mental illness? Would you love to lead a small group or Sunday school class to decrease stigma and begin some positive dialogue? You can and should do this, and I am proud to shine a spotlight today on my On Edge small group curriculum.

All you need to do is pick a time and a place and everything else you need is in the Leader’s Guide. Each group member will need a copy of On Edge: Mental Illness in the Christian Context and you’ll need just one Leader’s Guide. You’ll find tips on how to lead a group and handle sensitive topics along with how to format and structure the group. Free video links are included so that each week you can let me do the 20-minute teaching segment for you! Discussion questions, key Bible verses, and ways to follow up with group members are all provided in the Leader’s Guide.

I put out this curriculum because every church needs to do this group. We need to have conversations about mental illness. We need to understand the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of mental health disorders. If you are passionate about this topic, lead a group in your church. It’s only 8 weeks, but the positive impact of tearing through stigma in your church will last a lifetime.

I’m excited to bring a new feature to ChurchTherapy.com: the Resource Spotlight! About once a month I’ll feature someone who is making a great contribution to the conversation around faith and mental health.

This week, we feature Brittney Moses, a writer and mental health advocate who’s changing young lives one individual at a time. Brittney’s been featured in The Christian Post, The Huffington Post and Project Inspired to name a few. From 2012-2016 she led an organization called Unashamed Impact, which “encouraged young leaders to rise to their calling and be proactive in their cities through leadership development and community outreach.” This year she has shifted her focus to her studies and her writing. She has studied psychology and is working in the mental health field, certified in Mental Health First Aid.

Brittney’s website (and app!) are awesome resources for people who are thinking about faith and mental health. She offers journal prompts for every month to get her readers thinking about some important personal issues. This month is all about living beyond fear, with prompts such as “Is it better to risk failure knowing you tried or not risk at all? Why?” and “Write about an experience that grew you this month.” She’s sensitive to the complexities of faith and mental illness, asking questions about anxiety but not diminishing the physical aspects of mental health problems.

Her blog is found on the “Healthy Minds” tab of her site, and she tackles topics like depression and self-harm. She has a voice that clearly connects with young people and her site draws readers in. She launched the “Faith and Mental Wellness” app in April of this year, and it connects users to her blog features as well as to a Facebook community. App push notifications offer snippets of wisdom that are helpful reminders throughout the week. She also offers a “7-Day Anxiety Detox E-series,” which features biblical tools that work within a cognitive-behavioral therapy framework. In addition, she connects people with mental health treatment resources so that her readers can more easily find Christian counselors.

We need as many voices as possible in this conversation about mental health in the church. Let’s all lift each other up and tear down stigma together! Great job, Brittney!