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Category Archives: Mental Health
Why do kids become aggressive?
One contributing factor to aggressive behavior you can influence as a ministry leader is the environment in which your kids worship, learn and serve at church. You want to consider how you can create environments that help all kids to maximize their capacity to use all of their cognitive resources for the best possible experience at church.
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What Pastors Believe About Mental Illness
I would think that churches inclined to view depression or other mental disorders as conditions associated with a lack of faith in God would be most committed to efforts to reach and build relationships with persons suffering from these conditions. After all, to fail to do so would be analogous to building a hospital and subsequently deciding to do as little as possible to let sick people know that the hospital was open. Continue reading
Should Christian Parents Only Use Christian Mental Health Professionals?
I think the critical issue for parents who have a kid in need of mental health care is finding a clinician with a track record of demonstrating excellence in what they do, regardless of that person’s belief system. Continue reading
Posted in Mental Health, Parents, Strategies, Uncategorized
Tagged Christian, church, Inclusion, Key Ministry, mental health, Parents, spiritual development, Stephen Grcevich MD
7 Comments
Pediatric bipolar resources for church staff, volunteers and families
Here are four resources I’d recommend highly to anyone looking to learn more about bipolar disorder in children and teens: Continue reading
How the Church Can Help Families of Kids With Bipolar Disorder
Not every kid has to come to church to be ministered to by the church. Parents have far more time and opportunity to influence their children than the church does. Parents of a child with bipolar disorder are more likely to know the best strategies for communicating with them in different mood states. Continue reading
Posted in Bipolar Disorder, Inclusion, Key Ministry, Mental Health, Ministry Environments, Strategies
Tagged Bipolar Disorder, children's ministry, church, Disability Ministry, inclusion ministry, mental health ministry, pediatric bipolar disorder, Special Needs Ministry, spiritual development, student ministry, youth ministry
3 Comments
How might bipolar disorder affect church participation and spiritual development?
It’s more likely in our practice that a family of a child with an autism spectrum disorder will be involved with church than a family of a child with bipolar disorder. Continue reading
Posted in Bipolar Disorder, Families, Hidden Disabilities, Key Ministry, Mental Health, Spiritual Development
Tagged children's mental health, children's ministry, church, Gary Sweeten, Key Ministry, mental health ministry, pediatric bipolar disorder, spiritual development, student ministry
2 Comments
What Challenges do Families of Kids With Bipolar Disorder Face?
During a severe mood episode, kids or teens with bipolar disorder have problems with emotional self-regulation that are unimaginable to those who have never been through the experience. Continue reading
Pediatric Bipolar Disorder: A Guide for Children’s and Youth Pastors and Volunteers
I’m going to present a six-part series to help children’s pastors, youth pastors and ministry volunteers better understand and serve kids with bipolar disorder and their families. Continue reading
The Words We Use Matter
Most parents of a child with a mental health condition wouldn’t conclude a church had anything to offer their family if they were to see a wheelchair symbol on a church website or find a link offering “special needs ministry.” In my experience, the kids who come to a practice like ours desperately want to be seen as normal. Continue reading
Church, We’ve Got a Problem
How will the church serve a generation of families with kids who have issues with emotions or behavior that interfere with their ability to function on a day to day basis?
Kids with “hidden disabilities” like these are gradually becoming the new normal. Check out this study in the current issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. To summarize:
22 % of U.S. children entering first grade met criteria for at least one mental disorder. Continue reading
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