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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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What topics will the lessons cover?

Throughout this five-lesson course, you will examine diverse topics and complete a variety of learning activities to achieve the course learning objectives.

Select the headings to read about the specific learning objectives that you will achieve by completing each lesson.

Lesson One: Defining Mental Health and Trauma

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.

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.
Lesson Two: What Can the Bible Teach Us about Mental Health?

In this lesson, we reflect on Bible passages in the Old and New Testaments that reveal God’s perspectives on mental health, and how God desires us to experience optimal mental health.

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

  1. Express God’s intention and desire for the state of individuals’ and people’s mental health in wider society.
  2. Evaluate your perspectives on mental health in comparison to what you learn from biblical characters’ experience and management of mental health.
  3. Reflect on your current mental health status and your attitude towards managing your and others’ mental health.
Lesson Three: Strategies for Managing Mental Health

The third lesson focuses on how God has given us His Holy Spirit and resources via the church to manage our own mental health and to help others manage theirs. We also explore personal mental health management strategies (e.g., a regular self-check-up using an inventory-type questionnaire) to maintain optimal mental health.

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

  1. Identify decisions and actions you will take to attain optimal mental health yourself.
  2. Evaluate how you can maintain optimal mental health in your specific personal and professional contexts.
  3. Adapt personal mental health management strategies to help others in your ministry/community.
Lesson Four: Supporting People to Overcome Mental Health Challenges

This lesson examines different types and forms of professional counseling, and the variety of professional mental health counselors available to help people overcome mental health challenges. We also explore the importance of active listening and cultural sensitivity when supporting people with mental health issues.

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

  1. Differentiate between formal counseling and being equipped to confront mental health issues in the church/ministry constructively and effectively.
  2. Appreciate the importance of cultural sensitivity when helping others overcome mental health challenges.
  3. Practice active listening skills to understand and minister to individuals in your context.
Lesson Five: Equipping a Ministry to Address Mental Health

In the final lesson of the course, we learn how to create a support system for people overcoming mental health issues, and determine and share our commitments to address mental health in our specific personal or ministry contexts.

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

  1. Build a repository of resources and/or a corresponding action plan to support people in your church/ministry manage their mental health.
  2. Determine your next steps for upskilling yourself and/or building the capacity of others in your church/ministry in mental health management.
  3. Identify professional and non-professional resources in your community context who can help address mental health in your church/ministry.
Note

This course does not offer training in professional counseling nor claim to provide professional psychological advice or training. Rather, it shares hard-earned advice from experienced professionals in ministry, and findings from academic research from various disciplines, that can assist learners to understand and manage mental health and trauma-related issues in their unique personal and professional contexts.

 

All Scripture quotations in this course, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Maximizing Your Learning

In order to maximize your learning through this online course, you are encouraged to make use of all the learning opportunities presented to you. To take full advantage of the wealth of knowledge presented in the course content, we recommend that you do the following:

  • Watch all of the videos.
  • Read and use all of the essential resources that are marked as such.
  • Complete the practical activities.
  • Share your ideas and ask questions in the discussions.
  • Enrich your learning by reading some of the additional resources provided.

Online learning is an excellent way to bring large numbers of participants together to learn and share about God’s Word. Although this course is asynchronous and therefore other participants may not complete the course at the same time, there are interactive opportunities to share your learning and to gain valuable, unique insights from individuals with a diverse range of backgrounds and life experiences.

What online course engagement means

Full engagement in this course further means the following:

  • Working through the learning activities of this course in the suggested order—they’ve been arranged for a reason and the course has been designed with a logical sequence. Jumping ahead without completing the previous sections may give you a disjointed learning experience.
  • Reading and listening across a variety of learning activities—some of which are text-based, some with audio media (transcripts are provided with audio-visual resources for those learners who require or prefer the written format).
  • Sharing your learning with other course participants in discussion opportunities.

Successful completion of this course will allow you to address and manage the impacts of mental health challenges in churches and communities, and to create a mental health support system that is suitable for the context in which you live and minister.

Note

When engaging in social learning activities, such as sharing ideas or commenting on other learners’ ideas in discussions, be mindful of how you express yourself in writing. In written communication, we do not have the advantage of interpersonal cues (e.g., facial expressions, voice tone, and gestures), so it can be difficult to express intended meaning. Remember that other learners may have different perspectives, opinions, and life experiences than you. Therefore, when communicating online, it’s important to assume the best intentions of others and use polite and respectful language.

Further engagement with the Lausanne Global Classroom

This course has used many of the freely available resources from the Lausanne Global Classroom, an educational initiative of the  Lausanne Movement. The Lausanne Movement connects evangelical influencers and leaders from across the world around key global missiological opportunities, challenges, and ideas to make the gospel known to all people and to have a kingdom impact in every sphere and sector of society. 

Approximately every 15 years, there is an in-person conference, the Lausanne Congress on Evangelization, which sees evangelicals meet to address new challenges facing the global church. During the Cape Town 2010 conference, certain missiological issues (e.g., workplace ministry, creation care, media and technology, mental health and trauma, etc.) were identified. The Lausanne Global Classroom has produced several video-based episodes highlighting and addressing these missiological issues. 

Each episode consists of short videos in which global leaders, theologians, academics, and other experts introduce and discuss critical ideas, biblical foundations, and best practices for effective ministry and awareness related to these missiological issues. Other resources that are provided in the episodes are syllabi for small groups, individual and academic study, and references for further exploration. All the resources can be shared with churches, ministries, and any other groups. 

Note

Should you be a facilitator or ministry leader wanting to engage with more resources for small group use, and/or individual study about mental health or trauma (or on other missiological issues that the global church is addressing), follow this link to explore the episodes of the Lausanne Global Classroom:

Course Completion Requirements

Understanding Mental Health and Trauma is currently a stand-alone course for ODBU subscribers. As initiatives with the Lausanne Global Classroom progress, this course may become one in a series of courses providing valuable knowledge and skills to help Christians address key missiological issues facing the church today. Watch for upcoming courses such as this one!

To successfully acquire the knowledge, skills, and values this course aims to equip you with, you will need to do the following:

  • Engage with all of the pages in every lesson.
  • Comprehensively complete all of the reflective and practical activities.
  • Watch all of the videos.
  • Contribute to the discussion boards.

Earning a certificate of completion for this course

Should you wish to receive a certificate of completion as evidence that you acquired the intended knowledge and skill of this course, you will need to submit a final assignment. Note that while you will need to submit a final assignment as evidence of your learning, you will not receive personalized feedback or a grade for your submission. Rather, your submission will be used to indicate whether you earn a certificate of completion or not.

Earning a certificate of completion for this course is entirely optional. Therefore, the submission of a final assignment is also optional. However, completing the final assignment will help you consolidate your learning.

You will find the requirements of and submission instructions for the [OPTIONAL] A Short Reflection and Action Plan to Manage Mental Health in My Ministry Context at the end of Lesson 5.