As a Christian Counselor I have listened to many stories of shock, trauma and abuse from both males and females. The issue, IMO, is a lack of personal relationships that are open, genuine, and private, if not confidential. I focused almost my entire 40 years of professional work on equipping Peer Helpers to provide careful, caring, confidential counsel. Until a multitude of churches equip Helpers to do that, the shock, trauma, and abuse suffered by so many members, the pain will stay stuck in the subconscious and bring more havoc on generations of people.
Ministers cannot and ought not try to counsel everyone and it is impossible to hire Clinical Counselors for every issue because costs and availability are prohibitive. Plus, it is not necessary.
We ought not focus on "Mental Illness" because that term is a big barrier. It causes hurting people to hide rather than seek assistance for shock, trauma, or abuse.
The very best way to help individuals and church groups become mentally, relationally, and spiritually healthy is to "Equip the saints to DO the ministry of healing and renewing the mind."
See our web page and the materials in our book store.
The books Breaking Free and Power Christian Thinking for teaching on how to heal hurting hearts.
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