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Understanding Mental Health and Trauma

  1. Lesson One
    Defining Mental Health and Trauma
    10 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  2. Lesson Two
    What Can the Bible Teach Us about Mental Health?
    8 Activities
    |
    2 Assessments
  3. Lesson Three
    Strategies for Managing Mental Health
    10 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  4. Lesson Four
    Supporting People to Overcome Mental Health Challenges
    8 Activities
    |
    2 Assessments
  5. Lesson Five
    Equipping a Ministry to Address Mental Health
    7 Activities
  6. Course Wrap-Up
    Course Completion
    3 Activities

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Welcome to Lesson 1: Defining Mental Health and Trauma

With one in five adults in the US living with a mental illness (CDC 2023), and similar statistics assumed to be true globally, the status of our mental health as a society is a growing concern. With increasing global socio-political change and turmoil, growing economic pressure on individuals and families, and stress-inducing phenomena (such as the COVID-19 pandemic), how to stay healthy both physically and mentally are considerations no matter the context in which we find ourselves. However, arguably, the term ‘mental health’ has in recent years been overused or misconstrued to describe a multitude of behaviors and issues, and our understanding of what this term means may be unclear.

Lesson Overview

In the first lesson of this course, we define mental health and trauma and how they are related, and consider the importance of understanding and destigmatizing mental health challenges in church contexts.

Lesson Objectives

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to:

  1. Explain key terms and concepts related to the issues of mental health and trauma as a societal and ministry concern.
  2. Articulate how trauma impacts mental health.
  3. Reflect on personal traumas and the effect of these on your long-term mental health and on your family and community.

Why understand mental health?

Before continuing with Lesson 1, watch this video which describes why it is important for Christians and ministry leaders to understand and address the issue of mental health in today’s world.

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