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Category Archives: Mental Health
First impressions of the DSM-5
The weakness is its lack of validity. Unlike our definitions of ischemic heart disease, lymphoma, or AIDS, the DSM diagnoses are based on a consensus about clusters of clinical symptoms, not any objective laboratory measure. In the rest of medicine, this would be equivalent to creating diagnostic systems based on the nature of chest pain or the quality of fever. Indeed, symptom-based diagnosis, once common in other areas of medicine, has been largely replaced in the past half century as we have understood that symptoms alone rarely indicate the best choice of treatment. Continue reading
Posted in Controversies, Mental Health
Tagged children, Dr. Thomas Insel, dsm-5, families, first impressions, mental health, NIMH, psychiatry, teens
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Review: Troubled Minds…A much needed catalyst for conversation
Troubled Minds: Mental Health and the Church’s Mission. Authored by Amy Simpson. Foreword by Marshall Shelley. Published by InterVarsity Press. Available at Amazon. Amy Simpson’s new book is a much needed catalyst to a long overdue discussion on the topic … Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, Mental Health
Tagged Amy Simpson, book reviews, church, Disability Ministry, Inclusion, mental illness, mission, Troubled Minds
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A Call to the Church…Guest Blogger Amy Simpson
I wrote my new book, Troubled Minds: Mental Illness and the Church’s Mission, to help the church better understand the needs of people affected by mental illness. I also wrote it to challenge the church—that’s everyone who follows Christ—to see this as part of our mission in this life.
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Posted in Advocacy, Families, Mental Health, Strategies
Tagged Amy Simpson, church, Disability Ministry, Inclusion, mental health, mission, Troubled Minds
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One mother’s journey…adoption and psychotropic medication
For my family, psychotropic medication provided a critical tool on the road to get her to where she is today, at a time when we desperately needed it, but it was neither a simple nor problem-free tool to use. Continue reading
A different way of thinking about kids with mental illness
Let’s think about church for a minute and consider the reality that folks with mental illnesses have disabilities that cause them difficulty in some environments but not others. There are lots of things about the environments in which we “do church” that pose major barriers for a parent or child struggling with common mental health disorders.
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Posted in ADHD, Advocacy, Anxiety Disorders, Families, Hidden Disabilities, Key Ministry, Mental Health, Strategies
Tagged ADHD, aggression, anxiety, Asperger's Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, church, Depression, Family Ministry, Inclusion, Joe McGinnis, Key Ministry, mental health, mental illness, ministry environments, Stephen Grcevich MD
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Children’s Mental Health Day 2013…a look at the data
I thought I’d keep it simple today and share this graphic for you from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry… Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, Key Ministry, Mental Health
Tagged AACAP, Children's Mental Health Day, Joe McGinnis, mental illness
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Contributing to a conversation about faith and mental illness
What if the environments in which we “do church” are distressing to large segments of our population who struggle with common mental illnesses? And what about the family members of a child or adult with a mental illness who miss out on learning about Jesus or growing in faith in Jesus because attending church or belonging to a small group or participating in a service ministry is too overwhelming to their brother or mother? It’s not unreasonable to assume that a significant chunk of people in any given community have some experience of church but don’t regularly attend church because of the subtle, but real ways in which mental illness presents a barrier to the environments in which we do ministry. Continue reading
Does your church inadvertently hurt people with mental illness? Guest blogger Amy Simpson
Unfortunately, many church leaders are ill-equipped to help people get the care they need. And while 25 percent of those who seek help from clergy have the most serious forms of mental illness, studies have shown that clergy refer less than 10 percent of them to mental-health professionals. On top of that, for every person who seeks help, many more stay silent, afraid to admit their illnesses to themselves or to risk the rejection of the people around them. Continue reading
Our kids (and families) aren’t defined by a diagnosis…
Your child is not defined by their diagnosis. They’re the same kid that they were when they got up this morning, with the same strengths, weaknesses, gifts and talents. As Christians, we’re defined by who we are in Christ. Their diagnosis is not their identity. Continue reading
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