SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) defines trauma broadly as an event, repeated events, or circumstances experienced as physically or emotionally harmful or life-threatening that have lasting effects on well-being.
Mental Health in the Church
Mental Health Care in the Church: Gentle Guides for Learning How to Carry Each Other’s Burdens
A selection of short posts in this article are written to help the church care well for people who are weary, anxious, or depressed. They can be used in newsletters or other communications as guides for how to carry each other’s burdens with wisdom and grace.
Helping People Who are Hurting: A 13-Part Series on Mental Health Care in the Church
Mental health challenges are present in every congregation, but many churches still feel uncertain about how to respond. This series is designed to help pastors, leaders, and members learn how to care well for people who are suffering—to think biblically, speak carefully, and act wisely. The aim is not to turn the church into a clinic, but to make the church a safer, wiser, and more compassionate place for people who are weary, anxious, or depressed, and for the people who love them.
Part 9 of 13. When Addiction and Mental Struggle Meet: Helping Our Church Care for the Person, Not Just the Problem
Many people in the church carry hidden pain: anxiety that keeps them awake, depression that makes every day feel heavy, or trauma that flares up in quiet moments. For some, that pain is tangled up with addiction—alcohol, drugs, pornography, gambling, or other patterns that feel impossible to break.
Part 2 of 13. When Faith and Struggle Meet: How Christian Faith Can Help People Who Are Suffering Inside
Many people in the church carry hidden pain: anxiety that keeps them awake, depression that makes every day feel heavy, or trauma that flares up in quiet moments. Some of them also carry a second burden: fear that their struggle means they don’t have enough faith, that they’re not praying hard enough, or that God is distant from them.
Part 3 of 13. Why Hidden Pain Matters in the Church: Learning to Care for People Bearing Heavy Burdens
Many people in the church carry hidden pain: anxiety that keeps them awake, depression that makes every day feel heavy, or trauma that flares up in quiet moments. They don’t always share this, because they fear being told they just need to pray more, have more faith, or stop struggling. Emphasizing mental health in our church is not about building a program; it’s about learning to care for people who are already hurting.
Part 1 of 13. When People Feel Ashamed About Their Mental Struggles: Creating a Safe Place in Our Church
Many people in the church carry hidden pain: anxiety that keeps them awake, depression that makes every day feel heavy, or trauma that flares up in quiet moments. Some of them hide this pain because they’ve been made to feel ashamed—told (directly or indirectly) that their struggle is a sign of weak faith, not enough prayer, or even sin.
Mental Health Care in the Church 