The Spiritual Guide to Mental Health presents a new universal paradigm of mental health treatment based upon energy and consciousness. This book will empower the reader with practical, holistic tools and methods that treat the root causes of most mental health conditions instead of simply band-aiding symptoms. It offers a new perspective and attitude towards all things related to mental health while empowering readers to remember who they really are beyond a label or a diagnosis. It also offers supplemental programs for depression and anxiety as well as rapid Self-realization.

Reflecting on the confusion, shame and grief brought on by her mother's schizophrenia, Amy Simpson provides a bracing look at the social and physical realities of mental illness. Reminding us that people with mental illness are our neighbors and our brothers and sisters in Christ, she explores new possibilities for the church to minister to this stigmatized group.

Research tells us that when most people suffer from a mental health crisis, the first person they turn to for help is not a physician, a psychiatrist, or a social worker, but a pastor, a priest, or a minister. In other words, a leader in their church. Unfortunately, many church leaders are not trained to recognize mental illness and don’t know when to refer someone to a mental health professional. The consequence—unintended yet tragic—is continued and unnecessary suffering. Madness and Grace is a comprehensive guide for church ministry to alleviate this situation. Written by Dr. Matthew Stanford, the book is carefully constructed to help build competency in detecting a wide spectrum of mental disorders, such as knowing when a person is contemplating suicide based on telltale patterns of speech. It also explodes common discriminatory myths that stigmatize people with mental illness, such as the myth that they are more prone to violence than others. Dr. Stanford has treated clients throughout his career who were afflicted with all manner of mental disorders. In Madness and Grace, he takes the full extent of his experience and makes it accessible and actionable for the lay reader. He begins by explaining what constitutes a mental illness and how these disorders are classified according to science. He next teaches how to notice the presence of a mental illness by listening carefully to phraseology, observing behavior, and asking discerning questions. He goes on to discuss methods of treatment, common religious concerns about mental health, and ways church communities can support people on the road to recovery. As a Christian, Dr. Stanford wants his fellow believers to know that acknowledging and seeking help for a mental illness is not a sign of weak faith. That’s why, in addition to sharing his medical expertise with church leaders, he commends pertinent biblical passages that underscore God’s concern for our mental wellbeing. These passages provide strength and comfort as complements to clinically-derived treatment and are essential to Dr. Stanford’s approach. “When working with those in severe psychological distress,” he writes, “compassion and grace are always the first line of pastoral care.”

With up-to-date research, illustrative examples, and a practical approach forindividuals and families, this handbook features an overview of mental healthdisorders, basic strategies for improving as well as preventing mental healthissues, and more.

An unapologetic exploration of the Black mental health crisis—and a comprehensive road map to getting the care you deserve in an unequal system. We can’t deny it any longer: there is a Black mental health crisis in our world today. Black people die at disproportionately high rates due to chronic illness, suffer from poverty, under-education, and the effects of racism. This book is an exploration of Black mental health in today’s world, the forces that have undermined mental health progress for African Americans, and what needs to happen for African Americans to heal psychological distress, find community, and undo years of stigma and marginalization in order to access effective mental health care. In The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health, psychologist and African American mental health expert Rheeda Walker offers important information on the mental health crisis in the Black community, how to combat stigma, spot potential mental illness, how to practice emotional wellness, and how to get the best care possible in system steeped in racial bias. This breakthrough book will help you: Recognize mental and emotional health problems Understand the myriad ways in which these problems impact overall health and quality of life and relationships Develop psychological tools to neutralize ongoing stressors and live more fully Navigate a mental health care system that is unequal It’s past time to take Black mental health seriously. Whether you suffer yourself, have a loved one who needs help, or are a mental health professional working with the Black community, this book is an essential and much-needed resource.

Religiosity and spirituality (R/S) represent a very important factor of daily life for many individuals across different cultures and contexts. It is associated with lower rates of depression, suicide, mortality, and substance abuse, and is positively correlated with well-being and quality of life. Despite growing academic recognition and scientific literature on these connections this knowledge has not been translated into clinical practice. Part of the expanding Oxford Cultural Psychiatry series, Spirituality and Mental Health Across Cultures is a timely exploration of the implications of R/S on mental health. Written and edited by 38 experts in the fields of spirituality and mental health from 11 countries, covering a wide range of cultural and geographical perspectives, this unique resource assesses how mental health relates to world religions, agnosticism, atheism, and spiritualism unaffiliated with organised religion, with a practical touch. Across 25 chapters, this resource provides readers with a succinct and trustworthy review of the latest research and how this can be applied to clinical care. The first section covers the principles and fundamental questions that relate science, history, philosophy, neuroscience, religion, and spirituality with mental health. The second section discusses the main beliefs and practices related to world religions and their implications to mental health. The third reviews the impact of R/S on specific clinical situations and offers practical guidance on how to handle these appropriately, such as practical suggestions for assessing and integrating R/S in personal history anamnesis or psychotherapy.

Discover the different types of spirit guides, how to communicate and work with them and how they can help you in every facet of life. Connect with your personal team of spirit guides, and draw on their ancient wisdom and healing to overcome challenges, unlock success and achieve your dreams. The Seven Types of Spirit Guide is the first-ever exploration of the cosmic helpers who have communicated with everyday people across cultures and throughout human history. Spirit guides take many forms, and in this book spirit guide medium Yamile Yemoonyah will introduce you to each of the seven types: angels, ancestors, nature spirits, star beings, animal spirits, ascended masters and deities. Each has specific characteristics, gifts and challenges, and you'll learn the unique reasons your spirit guides are here to support you on your personal path. Featuring an extensive quiz to help you discover which types of spirit guide, or guides, you have, and practical advice on identifying and communicating with them, this refreshing and inclusive companion will help you to further your spiritual development, manifest your dreams and live your purpose.

Research has indicated that spiritual and religious factors are strongly tied to a host of mental health variables, both positive and negative. That body of research has significantly grown since publication of the first edition 20 years ago. The second edition of the Handbook of Spirituality and Religion and Mental Health identifies not only whether religion and spirituality influence mental health and vice versa, but also how and for whom. The contents have been re-organized to speak specifically to categories of disorders in the first part of the book and then more broadly to life satisfaction issues in the latter part of the book. Hence 100% of the book is now revised with new chapters and new contributors.

Grief is a personal journey, never the same for any two people and as unique as your life and your relationships. Although loss is an inevitable part of life, how you approach this fact can make the difference between meaningless pain and the manifestation of understanding and wisdom. This book describes a mindful approach to dealing with grief that can help you make that difference. By walking this mindful path, you will discover that you are capable of transforming and healing the grief you carry and finding the spiritual and emotional resilience you need to move through this challenging time. These mindfulness practices, explained here in simple and practical language, will help you bear your time of grief. But they will do more than that, too. They will guide you to a life more fully lived, with more meaning. These simple practices will help you experience what richness comes from asking deeper questions about loss and about life.

This handbook has 23 chapters on aspects of spirituality and mental health wrriten by experts in the field. It promotes an understanding of people's belief systems rather than a mechanistic approach to mental health services and proves the increasing importance of spirituality in health and social care.