Today I post the last question in our conversation on mental health.  You will be able to read the answers to the first two questions in the following posts (I have not yet had a chance to collate the replies to the second one). You can also watch the recording of our video conversation with [...]

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My friend Justin Brierley is serving the global church well with debate podcasts. I have had the priviledge of being on his show several times, debating Rob Bell, Rachel Held Evans, and and a pastor who didn’t believe in the resurrection.  So, this apologetics conference he is hosting promises to be very interesting as well. [...]

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If you are near London this weekend, you are warmly invited to Jubilee Church’s International Day which will be a celebration of our diversity. This will take place at 11am in Lee Valley Athletics Statium (Postcode N9 0AS) For more information see the church website’s page on our International Day.

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Today I share the second question in our broad conversation about faith and mental illness. Last weeks question is still open for you to post your replies. Today’s question is very sensitive and requires great tact. But it is not possible to speak about mental illness without speaking about this. Please see my previous post [...]

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The folks here at Patheos asked me to host a broad conversation about mental illness which is inspired by the release of Amy Simpson’s book Troubled Minds. In this post I will share some quotes and excerpts from the first week’s question which was really two questions: How has your religious community historically seen mental illness? [...]

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Join us LIVE here At 12:00 Eastern Time on Wednesday 15th May 2013 To check your local timing for this event or to add it to your diary click here As part of our ongoing conversation about Mental Illness, I am thrilled to announce that we will be hosting a video discussion right here on [...]

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I realized recently that I totally missed the ten year anniversary of this blog! I would love to take the opportunity that such an anniversary  provides to get to know some of your better. I have a new discussion system in place to help facilitate that. I am pleased to announce that Disqus has been [...]

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Several things seem to have come together to make the subject of mental illness and people of faith very topical. One month ago tragedy struck the family of Rick Warren, one of America’s best known pastors. Since then many have been writing about mental health with a new conviction. Also, Amy Simpson has released her [...]

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Schizophrenia is a serious, often highly disabling mental illness. It is characterized by the presence of psychotic symptoms, and the absence of significant mood symptoms. People can get some psychotic symptoms with the Mood Disorders (Depression and Bipolar Disorder). These should only be present during the mood episodes, and are supposed to be consistent with [...]

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In her new book, Troubled Minds, Amy Simpson bravely shares her own story of how her mother’s mental health affected her upbringing. She speaks of not feeling she could tell any of her friends about her mother’s mental illness.  Troubled Minds also weaves in experiences shared by other Christians, and shares the results of a [...]

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Last week I spoke about what psychiatrists call “Major Depressive Disorder.”  Today I want to speak about Bipolar Disorder, the condition formally known as Manic Depression.  This post should be read in conjunction with a few others in this series in particular.  Here are the key ones that are important for understanding this article: What [...]

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My friend Frank Viola has just released a new book called God’s Favorite Place on Earth that highlights the massive benefits that come to us from accepting Jesus, rejecting bitterness, and being freed from a guilty conscience, fear and doubt. You can read a sample of the book for free. This is a book should [...]

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One thing I like about Patheos is it gives us a chance to read what others think of us. It isn’t always pretty, it isn’t always comfortable reading. But listening to other’s perspectives is often of benefit us. Sometimes they may prompt us to say something we wouldn’t have otherwise, as the “Friendly Atheist” did [...]

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I have been speaking about mental illness for a while now on the blog. I want to now turn to some specific illnesses and look at how they are treated, and what Christians can do to support those treatment efforts. Remember first of all, to always be alert to the risk of suicidal thoughts or actions. If [...]

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As psychiatrists we are taught the biophsychosocial model for the cause of mental illnesses. Note that this is written as one word, which is intended to indicate the unity of each of these aspects. As Christians we would include  spiritual as a forth aspect of the model. When approaching mental illnesses, one major reason for the [...]

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One of the most important ways we can reduce the incidence of suicide is become more willing to talk about mental illness. If people are identified early, before their illnesses get so severe, they may respond to treatment and this whole post might be unnecessary in their case. We need our communities to become places [...]

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I began to explain the distinction between mental illnesses and disorders (including developmental disorders) last week.  Today I will return to this discussion, with an explanation of how we can be a part of screening for mental illnesses, even if we have had no formal training. This post has as its aim to encourage you [...]

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Somehow the personal tragedy Rick and Kay Warren face, compounded with the atrocity committed in Boston has brought into renewed focus for me how broken our world is. A viral illness has silenced me for a day or two but I am back now with a vengeance! Truth be told there is a great need [...]

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They say a picture speaks a thousand words, so surely a movie speaks a million. I know that due to what happened to Matthew Warren, there are large numbers of people currently seeking to better understand Mental illnesses and disorders. I will be continuing my series of posts on the subject, but before I get [...]

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“Have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire” (Jude 1:22-23). Today I want to share an excerpt from one more article before returning to my own posts on this subject after the Weekend. This one is from Ann Voskamp. If you would like to find some more material, Ed [...]

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