Tag Archive - therapy

Depression, Burnout & Ministry: Discernment in Pastoral Caregiving

February 6, 2009 in Marriage-Family, Ministry-Theology, Therapy-Psychology with 4 Comments

Discernment
As we talk and think about the issue of depression in ministry one of the most important factors that we have in helping us determine what exactly we are dealing with is discernment.

the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure

Discerning what type of help a person needs can be tricky. Should they see a therapist? A psychiatrist? Both? Is a recommendation for meds necessary? Are we dealing with depression, melancholy, burning out, etc? Maybe it’s all, maybe it’s some, maybe it’s none. But the act of discernment is a process and often involves multiple people helping one through their difficult journey.

In the book Depression and Hope: New Insights for Pastoral Counseling (which I mention quite a bit, is a great resource, and which I will reference and quote from heavily in this post), Howard W. Stone says:

Depression disturbs one’s most important relationships; for melancholics this may mean family members or close friends. For the mystic or hermit monk, and indeed for all faithful Christians, that most important relationship is with God. When people feel the absence of God, when they doubt, when religious ritual and service lose meaning, their experiences are very similar to the symptoms of depression.

Pastoral caregivers listen in a certain way to the words of those who are disconsolate, a way that is distinct from other helping professionals. To clergy and other professionals in ministry, despair, suffering, struggle, and adversity are laden with spiritual import, because reflection on the experience of melancholy and spiritual desolation can bring depth and meaning to those who are trying to be faithful to the call of Christ (Stone, 21).

When dealing with issues of such vital importance, you can see why discernment is key. One of the reasons I went back to graduate school again for my MFT (Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy) was because after 10 years in ministry, I was well aware of the fact that my Master of Divinity had not prepared me adequately enough to deal with such issues…In fact, I would say that it’s quite rare for most people entering into ministry to have a decent understanding of mental health issues and the role of the pastor in pastoral caregiving.

In his book Stone talks about four experiences that “compare strongly to depression: the dark night of the soul, ‘accidie’, desolations, and Martin Luther’s understanding of ‘Anfechtungen’”. Fascinating stuff! Let me just mention them briefly here:

Continue Reading…

Depression, Burnout & Ministry: Anne Jackson Interview, Part 2

January 29, 2009 in Ministry-Theology, Therapy-Psychology with 11 Comments

jacksona22This is Part 2 of my interview with author and blogger Anne Jackson.

Check out Part 1 here.

From your own perspective, what is at the root behind the stigma of counseling and therapy in the Church? What would you say to Christians who think that we should not take medications for depression and anxiety?

It has always been difficult for me to say I needed to be in counseling to the extent I was, or to say that I have been on a myriad of anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medicine because I’ve heard countless times people question my salvation or my authority to work out God’s calling in my life. Most people think that something is wrong with my spiritual walk if I have to use these “crutches.” I think that the people who are judgmental about these things live in a bubble that desperately needs to be popped. That means they have stayed safe and comfortable their whole life…and there is nothing about Christianity or redemption that is safe or comfortable.

What goes through your head when you hear Christians or church leaders tell people that they just need to pray more, or have more faith, or read their Bible more to overcome their depression and anxiety?

Honestly, I want to punch them. It makes me so angry (Yes, I have anger issues too!) ☺ There is a spiritual element to our emotional and mental health and we absolutely should practice those disciplines of our faith. But there is no magic pill to cure all. We are all uniquely designed and will each walk a different road for a different reason.

Continue Reading…

Depression, Burnout & Ministry: Anne Jackson Interview, Part 1

January 23, 2009 in Ministry-Theology, Therapy-Psychology with 13 Comments

Today I begin the first part of a two part interview I did with Anne Jackson.  I first heard about Anne around two years ago when one of my church jacksona22co-workers Matt Singley kept referring to some blogger named Flowerdust.  I was told that she was one of the most popular and influential bloggers on the internet.  Immediately intrigued I hopped onto her site and almost immediately felt a breath of fresh air as wrote with an authenticity, vulnerability and purpose that is sometimes hard to find–not only in blogging circles, but the “Christian” world.  Since that day Anne is one of my favorite daily reads and I  really appreciate her insight and passion that is obviously very contagious among her readership.

As you will see from the two-part interview, my main desire behind interviewing her was because of her often “lone voice” in the Christian blogging circles to openly talk about issues of depression, anxiety, mental health and medication.  I think her willingness to talk so openly about these things has resonated with many, many people as is witness by the tons of comments she receives on a daily basis.

51exizsjwkl_sl500_aa240_Oh, and lest I forget, she’s the author of the new book Mad Church Disease: Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic.

Anne, in a sentence or two, what was the impetus behind writing Mad Church Disease?

It was twenty seven years in the making…from watching my own parents burn out in ministry, to my own stress-induced hospital stay, I realized that left and right church leaders are being taken out – yet nobody is talking about it.  I hope this book will catalyze conversations about not only our brokenness, but our health.

As you address the issues of burnout and self-care I was wondering if you have seen a correlation between burnout or lack of self-care and depression?  Do you have any personal examples you could share?

Stress, when accumulated over time, can cause chemical changes in our bodies.  It increases bad hormones and decreases good ones.  As time goes on, these changes can lead to semi-permanent or permanent damage.

Over the two years I allowed the stress to run my life, I noticed how I went from feeling “stressed” to feeling hopeless and unmotivated.  At its worst, there were days when I didn’t even leave my bed.  Ashamed (and again, unmotivated), I withdrew from my relationships and my responsibilities.

Continue Reading…

New Blog Look…New Blog Focus…A Work In Progress

January 12, 2009 in Marriage-Family, Ministry-Theology, Technology-Social Media, Therapy-Psychology with 13 Comments

penAs some of you have been reading on Twitter, I have been in the process of creating a new blog look. In reality, I just watched John Saddington help me create a new blog look. John went above and beyond what I expected…I was looking to just change themes, upgrade my WordPress to 2.7, but John was interested in helping me shape a new direction for my blogging as we spent time talking about my interests, passions, gifts, etc.

There are a few things I still need to fix (i.e. About page, add some more page tabs, clean-up some duplicated comments, add images to my 8 categories section at the bottom, clean up some minor bugs, etc, etc.)…so it’s a work in progress, but I might as well not let my moments of perfectionism handicap me. That being said, what you see will be in the process of refining, and I will let you know about some of the cool features as time goes on.

So this blog not only signals a new look for me…it also will signal a change in the direction of my blogging.

As many of you know I’m pretty passionate about 3 things:

  1. Theology: Ministry, Church
  2. Psychology: Therapy, Counseling
  3. Technology: Social Media, Innovation

You will continue to see me blog about many things related to those topics, but I’ve decided to focus more of my writing in the future on issues that stem from my last run at graduate school and what I’m currently engaged in.  What that means is that you will see me address more issues related to the topic of psychology, specifically issues of pastoral counseling, as well as marriage and family (or more broad, relationships).  Not only will I be looking at these issues from a counseling perspective, but I will be looking at how they intersect with our lives in the church, ministry, pastoring, etc.

That’s one change…

Another change is that though I love blogging about ministry and the Church (and will continue to do so), I will be sticking (focusing) on areas that I have more training and expertise in (pastoral care, college ministry, leadership), and will bring more attention to those who are writing great things in the area of ministry and Church that I’m not as gifted in.

That’s another change…

Last, I love technology.  But technology expert I am not.  So I will continue to be a “technoevangelist” (see John Saddington) and write about those tools that I’m passionate about, and the ones that especially connect with those that I’m using in ministry and therapy.  But I desire to bring more attention to those who are much more knowledgeable in this area.

So you will continue to see my write about ministry, counseling and social media, but I hope by the end of the year you notice a much more focused approach to my writing that allows for a much more distinctive voice in areas that best fit my giftings.

And I hope that you learn a lot from what I’m learning and writing, that we can enage one another, and become partners along the journey.

But in the meantime, please be patient as I continue to transfer information over, change/update/create new pages, and fix some little bugs.  Thanks.
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