Emotional health

Candice Marie Benbow: Beyond brokenness — God wants us whole, well and thriving

In her new book, a writer and public theologian reframes God’s loving expectations for us using a vision of fullness and self-expression, right down to the lipstick.

What if we are all burned out?

Listening intentionally and responding to specific symptoms of burnout are good practices within churches — and can benefit their communities, writes the executive director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.

By David L. Odom Executive director, Leadership Education at Duke Divinity

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Growing beyond rage into hope and collective healing

The tragedies of the world provoke understandable rage. But focusing on existential gratitude and connection creates space for transformation, writes the director of the Thriving in Ministry Coordination Program at Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.

By Alaina Kleinbeck Director, Thriving in Ministry Coordination Program

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What Paul teaches us about coping with trauma

A clinical psychologist, poet and professor reads the letters of Paul through a psychological lens and identifies keys to his resilience and positive religious coping — and how those strategies might help Christians today.

By Luis Cruz-Villalobos Author and clinical psychologist

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Rediscovering rest in all its forms

We live in a culture of exhaustion and sometimes don’t even know what type of rest we need.

By Kerry McLeish Spiritual director

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Living into joy, late in the pandemic

A walk by a stream prompts a writer and spiritual director to wonder: Could a fresh understanding of joy help restore us?

By Samuel Rahberg Director, Graduate Certificate in Spiritual Direction at Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary

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'Trauma upon trauma'

The verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial does not undo the accumulated horror people of color continue to absorb, writes an expert on faith and mental health.

By Jessica Young Brown Assistant professor of counseling and practical theology, Virginia Union University

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Clinging to hope in pandemic times

Despair is an understandable response to the world around us, writes an author and independent scholar living with bipolar disorder. But she finds hope in her trust that God is with her through it all.

By Jean Neely Scholar and writer

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Rest can be hard work

The calls to work for justice and to make room for rest are significant and difficult to balance, writes a pastor and denominational executive from Michigan.

By Eliza Cortés Bast Pastor and denominational executive

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We are physical beings -- what if our ministries reflected that?

Physical labor and activity have been a boon to teens during the pandemic, leading a youth pastor to realize that the physical matters -- to us and to God.

By Matt Overton Associate pastor, Columbia Presbyterian Church, Vancouver, Washington

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John Swinton: Helping Christians with mental health issues starts with better language

Those with severe mental health issues are often misunderstood by people of faith, but churches have a responsibility to listen to and see each person as a person, says a professor and author.