Church Mental Health

Throughout our lives, Shamon and I have been in many different types of church settings and a part of various and denominations. Because of that, we have seen many church hurts and church traumas cross our paths for various reasons. Emotionally immature lay leaders, spiritual gifts being abused, and leaders driven by ego can all make for an unhealthy space. When a church is not healthy, it can affect many people. The result is public and private situations occur, gossip unfolds, and people leave the church. Thus, the church gets a bad reputation, and people begin to question the necessity. 

I’m a firm believer that the church can be an integral part of the therapeutic process (church and the mental health community can coexist). I’ve seen with my own eyes and witnessed by my own experience people finding identity, gaining a healthy perspective for the reason of suffering, all while being intertwined within a loving community through the church. As leaders, it’s our responsibility to make sure that our churches remain emotionally well. Here are some tools you can use to make sure that your church is whole and truly a safe space.