Faith, Therapy, & Mindfulness: Embracing Mental Health in the Church

Have you ever felt like seeking therapy means you lack faith? It's a common feeling in the church, tune in as your Host Ciara, shares her personal journey of overcoming DA, you'll learn how therapy was crucial to her healing process and how evidence in the Bible proves that mental health struggles don't equate to faithlessness. 

Join Ciara on this episode of the Space and Grace podcast, where we unpack the biblical principles that support the use of therapy and support groups. With verses like Proverbs 27:17 and Matthew 5:4, we challenge the stigma around mental health in the church and discuss the transformative power of gratitude as a mental health tool rooted in scripture. This episode is a call to action for church leaders to embrace the God-given hope and support that professional help can provide.

In another insightful segment, we dive into the practice of mindfulness and its impact on mental health, particularly through Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Discover how MBSR, integrating ancient contemplative practices with Western medical and faith-based approaches, can reduce suffering and build resilience, balance, and peace of mind. We'll discuss practical techniques like body scans, attentional focus practices, and mindful movement, offering you a comprehensive guide to incorporating faith and mental health practices into your life. This episode provides a treasure trove of resources to help you start your mindfulness journey. Don't miss out on these valuable insights and practical tools to enhance your mental well-being through the lens of faith.

*Skip ahead for the trigger warning to 3:38*

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Disclaimer: This episode is intended for entertainment and educational purposes and should not be used to replace mental health counseling or advice from your own mental health counselor. If you live in Florida and are interested in becoming a formal client of Ciara's for mental health counseling, visit her private practice website link below.

Chapters

• 0:00 Biblical Principles in Mental Health
• 2:30 Trigger Warning- DV
• 3:37 End of Trigger Warning
• 3:43 Story of Hope

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

I bet you didn't know that there are so many biblical principles that are used in mental health and have been proven effective through common tools and evidence-based methods. You're probably saying, yeah right, mental health is in the Bible. Where? When? One of the biggest mistakes in the church is when it perpetuates the stigma around mental health and promotes if you struggle with mental health or go to therapy, then you don't have enough faith or there must be sin in your life. Well, I'm here to tell you that there is nothing further from the truth, and today I'm going to break down some of my favorite mental health tools that are totally biblical principles. You're listening to the Space and Grace podcast, where faith and mental health connect. Hey there, church leaders, and welcome back to the Space and Grace podcast, where we find space for grace by connecting our faith and mental health. I'm your host, sierra Helm, a licensed therapist and retired minister who's passionate about breaking the mental health stigma in the church and empowering church leaders like you to do the same. I was so surprised to learn, when I stepped down from full-time ministry to go back to school and become a licensed therapist, that if faith is believing in things not yet seen, mental health is kind of like the science of God you know the parts of his design that we can prove Before we dive in. You're going to want to stay until the end of today's episode because I'm going to give you a practical tool to help you connect this proven science to your own faith.

Speaker 1: 1:33

I'm going to start by reading an interview from the Washington Post by a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The story in the article reads Doc, I'll be honest with you. A new patient in the therapy room practice said I don't really want to be here, but I've tried everything else and my sister finally pushed me to come see you. She said that she had been trying to stay stoic in the face of hardship and accept God's decree for her life, but many nights she spent in prayer. They didn't seem to heal her from her childhood trauma that was re-triggered by a recent incident. Prayer they didn't seem to heal her from her childhood trauma that was re-triggered by a recent incident. In her session she shared that her reluctance to seek therapy was stemmed from a belief that it would complicate her relationship with God. It would be as though she was asking for help from someone other than him and let me tell you, her story is not unique. That's why we're here today. Let's start with one of the biggest pillars of the lie that mental health issues equal sin or faithlessness, and that is therapy and support groups. Trigger warning. I want to take a minute to give a domestic violence and depression trigger warning. You can go ahead and fast forward in the show notes. I have when to pick back up. To pick back up Now.

Speaker 1: 2:47

I can recall, after finally getting out of a very abusive relationship when I lived far away from family or anyone that I knew I was just so glad to be out of it that the aftermath felt smaller in comparison One of the worst nights of the abuse. I can remember running out of my house with no shoes and going to Walmart trying to work up the courage to talk to the police officers that were on security, and while that was happening, my abuser called some leaders from the church and they convinced me to come back to talk with them. I, truthfully, was in shock and instead of asking me questions, they got me a hotel for the night and the wife stayed with me and spent the entire time convincing me that if I stayed, god could fix this and we just need to put our faith in him and put him first. Well, I stayed and guess what? My abuse continued. He just stopped throwing me and started throwing things at me. But I remember feeling so hopeless and every night I would lay in bed praying that I felt ashamed and these feelings must have meant that I just didn't have enough faith. But the reality was that I needed help and the leaders in the church who weren't informed about mental health or domestic violence, who I truly believe were doing the best that they could, but really they silenced and isolated me further.

Speaker 1: 3:55

You know what? My story is not unique either. In fact, it would be years and years of suppressing and avoiding and shaming before I had the courage to actually accept that it was Holy Spirit that got me out of that relationship and it was Holy Spirit pushing me to seek professional help. It wasn't a lack of faith, it was God given hope that life could be different. And by starting therapy, I felt like I was stepping out onto that water where Jesus was calling me and meeting me. Where I was and, together with my therapist, I was open and honest and raw, and I was able to question God and be angry about all that I had survived from childhood and just wind up in another abusive relationship as an adult and then deal with all of the death losses that I had.

Speaker 1: 4:39

I needed to grapple with the Lord and myself. I needed to mourn my past pain, and I'm reminded of Matthew 5, 4. Blessed are those who mourn. These are the ones who will be comforted, which, if you dig deeper, is basically saying if you embrace and process your inner pain, you'll find true comfort in God's presence, and if you hold back, you may miss out on his comforting embrace. Needing the support of another person isn't a sin or a lack of faith. In fact, proverbs 27, 17 encourages us to lean on one another, because we learn as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. A therapist or a support group's purpose is to hold a neutral space for you to process things that you're struggling with, things that are impacting your ability to function daily or to emotionally regulate, and so many other things. We don't have the answers. We do have the tools as therapists, in a safe space, and together we find the answers.

Speaker 1: 5:32

The second mental health tool that is based on an already established biblical principle is gratitude. Now this may seem really simple. But did you know that practicing gratitude can actually boost your mental health and reduce feelings of envy, resentment and inadequacy? Gratitude intervention, which requires participants to engage regularly in brief activities, is designed to cultivate a sense of gratefulness and is known as one of the most effective and positive psychological interventions there are in mental health. Sounds 104 says enter his gates with thanksgiving, enter his courts with praise, give thanks to him and praise his name. Very often when we pray, we can have our own agenda ready, lined up what we want to say, that we don't take time to give thanks and listen to what God wants to tell us. When we open up space for gratitude, we open up space to look at God and all that he's done and we make room for us to be able to connect with him deeply.

Speaker 1: 6:24

You see, research consistently shows that practicing gratitude can significantly enhance mental health and well-being. So people who regularly engage in gratitude exercises experience increased happiness, have reduced feelings and symptoms of depression and anxiety, and an improved overall life satisfaction. This positive impact is due to the shift of focus from negative to positive experiences, fostering a more optimistic outlook on life. An article written by Harvard shares the supporting research that was conducted by psychologists Dr Robert Emmons and Dr Michael McCullough, who found that people who wrote about things that they were grateful for each week felt more optimistic and had fewer doctor visits compared to those who focused on irritations. Another study by Dr Martin showed writing gratitude letters led to a huge happiness boost. So next time you're feeling down, try jotting down a few things that you're thankful for. It could make a big difference.

Speaker 1: 7:44

Amen, focus on your calling by enhancing your care for those in your ministry and learning the skills of being mental health informed. Join my essentials course to learn how to give mental health informed care and support those in your life and ministry effectively. Not sure if this is for you. I totally get it because I thought the same thing and that's why I have a special preview for my first lesson Understanding Mental Health Through the Bible, and it's completely free to you when you visit the link in today's episode.

Speaker 1: 8:15

Our third of the three mental health practices that are pulled from scripture is mindfulness. Now, before you roll your eyes, hear me out. 2 Corinthians 10 5 says we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. And here's the part we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God. We take every thought captive to obey Christ. The Bible teaches us to take our thoughts captive and the benefits of being mindful of what we think through other scriptures, like Philippians 4.8. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any moral excellence and if there's anything praiseworthy, dwell on these things.

Speaker 1: 9:02

Mindfulness in the mental health field has a few definitions, but for the purposes of today, I'm referring to the intentional practice of attending to the details of one's present experience in a non-judgmental way. In fact, there's a whole type of therapy dedicated to mindfulness, known as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction or MBSR. It's a group therapy founded nearly 50 years ago. Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction is based on an ancient contemplative practice integrated with Western medical and faith-based approaches, and it's proven effective method for reducing physical and psychological suffering, while building resilience and balance and peace of mind. The goal of mindfulness is that greater awareness will provide more truthful perception, reduce negativity and improve vitality and coping. It achieves this through things like a body scan or attentional focus practice and mindful movement.

Speaker 1: 9:55

Listen, I get that. This was a deep topic full of nuances, and if you don't know where to start, let me help you. You can tap the link in today's episode and learn more about how to connect faith and mental health from last week's episode, or you can listen to one of the other links that will link you to Clinician's Corner, where I bring on other therapists and interview them about a different type of therapy and try it out for you, so that you don't have to. Either way, I've got you covered. I'll see you in the next one, amen.