Hope for Mental Health

Safe and Sound and FOCUS Programs Path of Life counseling is proud to be able to offer two home/office based programs.  We are planning to start a new group of interested families in September.  These programs last from 1 week to 60 weeks.  They can easily be integrated into a homeschool program or an evening ritual for the working adult.  The FOCUS Program includes physical activity using multi-modal input to help children/special needs adults learn better regulation and social behaviors.   One program is the Safe and Sound Protocol, designed by Stephen Porges.  It  works on the vagus nerve to move a person out of anxiety and depression and into the social engagement system.  It can take as little as 5 hours for some adults.  Children may need more time in the program, and may need to use all 3 portions of the SSP program.  The SSP is especially helpful for highly dysregulated nervous systems and adults or children who have experie...

  Emma's mission is to provide easy access to mental health resources with videos, programs, and her blog.  She is a Christian, and a licensed therapist. Her newsletter is a generous offering of videos on a wide range of mental health topics.  Here are some links from her most recent newsletter: How to help someone with depression How to help a child with anxiety Why do we dissociate? To Subscribe:   Therapy in a Nutshell *You'll also find lots of free resources as you scroll to the bottom of the page to subscribe.  Blessings! Berta Aronson, MSW Coordinator,  Hope for Mental Health, a ministry of Monmouth Christian Church

  Bottom line, yes!  After thoughtful, prayerful consideration and research. I still talk with people saying they've been told they just need to pray harder!  That idea is theologically bankrupt and just plain cruel, and it tells me that stigma is still alive and well. That said, I think medication is overused in our culture because we want a quick fix, and counseling and lifestyle changes are a long term proposition.  Research shows that counseling and medication together are your best bet for recovery, as there are often unresolved issues, lack of support, and lack of education.  (Unfortunately, counseling is often not available, but that's another conversation.) I confess, I find it hugely frustrating that modern psychiatry is mostly behind the times.  Psychiatrists are the only medical specialty that rarely look at the organ they treat!  There are now ways to figure out what's actually happening to your brain and to develop individualized treatment...

  How to Celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month: 1)  Take care of yourself Life has numerous ups and downs.  Some are solvable but others not so much.  When your mental health is a concern because it's interfering with navigating life,  thoughtfully and prayerfully  consider treatment.  Seek wise counsel and support from church, friends, family and mental health professionals. 2). Take care of your loved ones Check up on friends and family.  Many times, people just need a listening nonjudgemental ear and not to be alone with their suffering.  Stock up on tissues, and, really, just listen.  Offer support and encourage them to take care of themselves. 3). Talk about mental health Help de-stigmatize mental illness by normalizing the conversation.   This is one of the aims of Mental Health Awareness Month, as stigma creates delays in accessing help, funding for treatment, and research. 4) Know resources for people in crisis, ...

 Being kind of lazy today, I'll just share some information from the back cover of this amazing book: "Trauma is a fact of life.  Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat;  one in five Americans has been molested;  one in four grew up with alcoholics;  one in three couples have engaged in physical violence." In this book you will learn:  "how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain compromising sufferers' capacity for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust."  He explores "innovative treatments...that offer new paths to recovery by activating the brain's natural neuroplasticity. "  As someone who had undiagnosed PTSD for decades, and owes recovery to a number of the modalities he explores, I highly recommend this book! (Currently available on Amazon for $11.40.)

  Yes, it's 2023, but I couldn't find a graphic for this year's summit:)  It runs from May18-19, 2023. I did attend in 2021, however, and I found the presentations useful and engaging.    This summit focuses on mental health for church leaders, especially pastors. Areas of focus include:  Self-care practice that help avoid burnout, Fostering and supporting mental health for your team, and strengthening resilience for you and your team. As with most online summits, access is free for a limited time period, and you have the option to purchase the videos.  Even if you only watch the videos you're interested in that fit your time frame, it will be time well spent and encouraging. For more information and free registration: Thrive and Cultivate Registration

One of the best free resources I've found online is Therapy in a Nutshell.  Emma McAdam is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist , (LMFT) and a Christian.   She has, at last count, about  30 educational videos on YouTube focused on how to process your emotions , and  a FREE mental health course, Grounding Skills for Anxiety on her website.   There are also  3 Free Downloadable Tools:  a Habit Builder, an Emotion Tracker, an Emotion Processing  Overview in PDF form. I've posted about Therapy in a Nutshell before, but having run into some new videos, I thought I'd pass along some links: The Physical Symptoms of Grief And near and dear to my heart:   Emotional Eating Check out her website:   Therapy in a Nutshell If you're not familiar with Emma, her videos are short, fun to watch, and easy to understand.   Most important is that you can learn skills!  Blessings! Berta Aronson, MSW Coordinator, Hope for Mental Health, a minis...

Share the Struggle, (STS), is a new mental and emotional health resource for churches.  STS is a non-profit organization that seeks to showcase God's redemptive power through media.  They've combined Biblical principles with the best practices of psychology to create a Christ-centered environment for life's greatest and most common struggles. A few months ago I got their free "check us out for a month" subscription, and watched all of their current videos and checked out their workbooks.   I was really impressed and encouraged! Current 6-8 week courses include: Helping the Helpers, Loss of a Loved One, Freedom from Anxiety, and Moving Through Trauma.   Those three alone could change the culture of the church and community!  However, there are a few more to pick from, plus a number currently in production. Another thing that I appreciate about Share the Struggle, is their view of our current mental health crisis as a mission's moment.  Gi...

"It's impossible to be spiritually mature, while remaining emotionally immature."  Quite a statement!  I recently listened to Pete Scazzaro's leadership podcast, where he talked briefly about the history of this idea.  (Actually, it's more than an idea, it's a way of following Jesus more closely.) In 1996, when he started out with this concept, it was most often considered off the wall.  Now, it's a buzz word.   It's also a course, and comes with the book, a workbook, and a Day-by-Day devotional book.  Part of the course is about exploring various aspects of emotional health and means of growing emotionally, and part is about contemplative practices that help you slow down your life.  Both parts aim at having a closer relationship with God.   I taught the course last year at Monmouth Christian, and it was as awesome to teach, (and per feedback from the participants, awesome to take:), as it was to experience when we used the course in my...

The effect of music on our brains is well researched, as is the effect of laughter on our mental health. Generally, children laugh lots more than adults - what does that tell you?  Well, one thing it tells you, is that in this hurting  world, we probably all ought to laugh more  - just to charge our batteries for those times when laughter is scarce. Recently, this song by Curtis Salgado, has been a go to for a guaranteed giggle and a tapping of toes.  It all also reminds me that watching to much commercial stuff on screen is a guaranteed downer, and led me to watching episodes of Dry Bar Comedy, which you can find on Youtube as well as on the Angel Studios website that hosts "The Chosen".  (Be patient and scroll down, though if you want an uplifting faith-based binge opportunity, watch The Chosen.) To catch some Dry Bar: Angel Studios To have a giggle and a wiggle thanks to Curtis Salgado: "I Want My Dog To Live Longe r"

If you've checked out the post about Dr. Amen's book, "Change Your Brain, Change Your life", you've discovered that his clinics offer a unique approach to diagnosing and treating mental health conditions that includes using a SPECT Scan of the brain. There are now 11 locations around the country, including the Seattle Metro area, where I went for my workup.  As much as I've traveled the Amen Clinic's website, I only recently found this page of video testimonials, which, frankly, includes a lot of young people I've never heard of.  Some names I recognized included country musician LeAnn Rimes, and Glee actress Amber Riley.  Included in the videos are NASCAR drivers, social media influencers, people from all walks of life. For a fun way to check out Amen Clinics, click this link:   Patient Testimonials

  A free workshop, 6-8pm Wednesday, March 8th at Community Life Church,  189 Monmouth Ave S, in Monmouth.   This is required training for all Warming Center overnight hosts, but it's open to anyone in the community who could benefit.  As the mental health, spiritual, and practical needs of our neighbors continue to grow, we need to be equipped to understand trauma and respond in Christ-like ways. This training is primarily secular in nature and will be facilitated by the Polk County Family & Community Outreach department, but we will come away with tools that translate into overtly Christian ministries as well. Feel feel to share the invitation and attached graphic widely.

 Physicians rarely look at the organ they're treating.  They choose psychiatric medicines for patients based primarily on symptom clusters.  It's a recipe for side-effects and failed treatment. For well over 20 years, Dr. Daniel Amen has been using SPECT scans as part of an integrative, whole-person work-up.  Spect scans can tell you what part of your brain is working too hard or not hard enough, or is functioning normally.  This information, combined with your history, and extensive labs that include tests not commonly given, can result in a truly personalized treatment plan. For those who can't come to a clinic, he wrote this book, and also has some free brain health assessments available on line.  If you would like to go to a clinic, he provides very reasonable payment plans. So, if you are scientifically inclined, put on your detective hat, and dive in.  You'll get a better understanding of what's happening in your brain, plus suggestions for treat...

  Dr. Matthew Stanford, PhD, is the CEO of Mental Health Gateway, and the author of 5 books regarding mental health issues and faith.  His latest is "Madness & Grace: A Practical Guide for Pastoral Care & Serious Mental Illness." The mission of the organization is to educate faith leaders and communities about common mental health and substance abuse challenges, as well as providing an action plan to help faith populations. To find out more about their resources for Training, Support and Education, and about Gateway to Hope in general, click on the link below: Gateway to Hope Under "Support & Education" , you will find a wealth of information about specific disorders.  Each article includes Characteristic Symptoms, Types, Prevalence & Age, Treatment & Support, and A Spiritual Perspective.  As an example, check out their information on Bipolar Disorder: Bipolar Disorder

This blog post by Jolene Philo shares her and her husbands' experience as special needs parents from the birth of her son to the present.  Her son is now 40.  Their story is full of "unexpected setbacks, victories, sorrow, and joy", and discovering their "source of strengthen in God's faithful presence. To access the complete post, and to sign up for this blog, follow this link, where you can also access the full menu of Key Ministry resources, including their Mental Health blog: Special Needs Parenting blog

  Today, I'm featuring a post from their Church4EveryChild blog .   it's written by a pastor who is the dad of a special-needs boy with non-verbal autism.  Pastor Shannon Blosser is honest about his struggles in both of his roles, and offers tips for helping churches to be more inclusive. A quote:  "I am not perfect in this.  I get frustrated and exhausted with having to constantly express that my child is a valued member of the body of Christ.  I get tired of how the church struggles to see that reaching out to people like my son is holy work." To read the entire article, and to sign up for the blog, visit: Church4EveryChild blog Key Ministry, was founded to help churches welcome families of children with hidden disabilities.  They provide a variety of educational and support services for churches and families, and have expanded to serving those with mental health issues and trauma.  To explore their wide range of services and topi...

What I loved about this book is the raw honesty and willingness to trust God in healing from suicidal thoughts and major depression.  Like many of us, it took a crisis for her to confess her need for help.   Her crisis came in the form of a break down on national TV, and resultant hospitalization in a psychiatric program. Bottom line, no more secrets!  and blessed clarity about God's kindness and faithfulness, and His presence in every moment of the process.  Say goodbye to those parts of you that may think that salvation and sanctification require you to already be who God created you to be.  It's a joyous realization that being broken and needy and relying on God IS being who He wants you to be!   This book was published in 2017, so there are used copies available on Amazon, and also copies available at the library.   Sheila Walsh is a prolific writer of both non-fiction and fiction.  I'm looking forward to exploring more of her work!

I always figure that it takes until about January 15th for life to return to "normal", whatever that might be for us as individuals. Case in point, this blog is a week or so late - I have been aiming for the first of the month!  Oops! Fortunately, I've been able to summon up some self-compassion.  The holidays have always been an up and down experience, full of challenges for maintaining my mental health, and full of opportunities to have time to check in on my walk with Jesus. If you're a Chosen fan, you may remember the scene where Jesus is healing the leper.  The leper's plea is "please don't turn me away".  It's absolutely heart wrenching.  I now have that picture up on my computer screen.  It reminds me that despite depression, anxiety, difficulty with relationships,  or literally feeling like a leper, God loves, and God heals.   I also have the picture of Him holding a lamb, reminding me of how tender His love can be, and that all I hav...

This class is open to the community!  It's provided by the Polk County Family & Outreach Department free of charge. Did you know that much like CPR or the Heimlich maneuver, the fundamentals of QPR are easily learned?  Did you know that you may be able to save a life?        By learning QPR, you will come to recognize the warnings signs, clues, and suicidal communications of people in trouble, and  gain skills that may prevent a   tragedy . QPR is not a form of counseling or treatment.  It's intended to offer hope, both to you and to someone with suicidal thoughts or plans.  You will learn how to:                           Question...a person about suicide.                         Persuade...someone to get help and,                ...

When a child dies, at any age, the family suffers intense pain and may feel hopeless and alone.  The Compassionate Friends is a nonprofit  national organization that provides comfort, hope and support.   There is a wealth of free resource and educational information on the website.  Local Chapters are to be found in the Portland area, and there is also information on the website about starting your own chapter.  There are also online chat rooms. To access the main website for more information, go to: Compassionate Friends To receive a free customized bereavement packet, go to this page: Request a Bereavement Packet To learn about all the many aspects of grief, (including psychological, emotional, physical, family & social), go this page: For the newly bereaved