Encouragement, Inspiration, and Wisdom from Professional Christian Counselors
If our understanding shifts from mental illness being classified solely as sin and we create space to think about how it may also be the result of living in a broken world with bodies that get sick and break, that would mean there needs to be a different way of responding. So how does a counselor encourage you to respond if someone talks about their mental health with you?
Begin with recognizing your strong emotions and the thoughts and instincts that partner with them. Be still and notice them. Allow yourself to even be curious about them. Notice without reacting what this inner intensity produces in your thoughts without taking these thoughts too literally. As you quiet your reactions to them, you can pray for wisdom about what to do or think about them.
Shame was the topic that was addressed at our latest Frontlines: Counseling Conversations for Church Leader seminar. This blog series serves as a follow up to that event and is also an attempt to confront shame head-on.
Heritage Counseling Center Blog 