ANXIETY AND SPIRITUAL PRACTICE IN YOUTH MINISTRY
The Modern Epidemic of Anxiety
by Kate Orr, Associate Director of the Student Ministry at Brentwood United Methodist Church in Nashville, TN
For Gen Z, mental health starts at home.
Support for young people in their homes is a vital part of their overall wellbeing. And parents and caregivers are a critical part of that equation.
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See also The State of Gen Z: On Demand Presentation, a 75-minute on-demand keynote presentation and discussion guide delivered by Springtide researchers and staff. Watch the trailer here.
This on-demand presentation gives your organization the insights you need, with easy-to-understand data, explained by our team, that will empower you and your colleagues to better accompany young people.
When you purchase The State of Gen Z, you’ll receive 365-day access to:
Learn more here.
Thirteen: A First Look at Gen Alpha is a free download with an 'up-close look at the newest generation; their hopes, their dreams, and their needs'.
Prepare for Mental Health Month - PC(USA) Store's list of Mental Health books for both children and adults - some excellent resources.
The Questions We Ask When We Love Someone with Addiction
Available as audiobook on libro.fm.
Can your congregation become a place for young people to process complex emotions and develop resilience and hope by participating - with adults who are passionate about climate care - in taking action to mitigate damage and restore health to all?
Gen Dread is a newsletter about staying sane in the climate crisis; written by Britt Wray, PhD, author of Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Anxiety, 'an impassioned generational perspective on how to stay sane amid climate disruption'.
Includes:
A Youth Workers Guide to Helping Teens With Anxiety
by Rev. Monica Harbarger, MA, NCC, LPC-S
This free, short guide, designed specifically for youth workers, gives practical tips and practices to help you journey alongside your teens through the difficulties of anxiety.
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ANXIETY AND SPIRITUAL PRACTICE IN YOUTH MINISTRY
The Modern Epidemic of Anxiety
by Kate Orr, Associate Director of the Student Ministry at Brentwood United Methodist Church in Nashville, TN
SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE ANXIETY PANDEMIC
Storm and Stress
by Dr. David White, the C. Ellis and Nancy Gribble Nelson Professor of Christian Education, Professor in Methodist Studies at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, TX
This 9 Uncomfortable Signs You're Healing Emotionally VIDEO is well done and can be a useful reflection on healing.
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How Making Art Helps Improve Mental Health
With depression and anxiety on the rise during the pandemic, more professionals may adopt art therapy as a treatment
The Curated Life
By Mary Kay DuChene
"Loneliness is pervasive in the U.S. If you can remember that one fact, then maybe it will be easier to reach out the next time you feel lonely. You’ll not only be helping yourself, you’ll be helping out a friend."
MHTTC New England offers Seasonal Affective Disorder: Responding to the Winter Blues in the Classroom online toolkit for care providers.
Offering Black communities resources, connections and support needed to help break the silence and stigma around mental health. The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation helps individuals find the pathway to their peace and wellbeing, to choose their Joy Over Everything.
Navigating Injustice: A Closer Look at Race, Faith & Mental Health
AND:
Watch what being a Black Christian woman means to a young person
A Snapshot of Black LGBQ+ Religious and Spiritual Life
What young BIPOC want faith leaders to know
Navigating Injustice Shares What Race, Faith and Mental Health Mean for BIPOC Gen Z
Bethany Teachman sites NAMI's page as a good spot to find culturally competent mental health care.
How to Decolonize Mental Health Treatment for BIPOC
Although things are changing within mental health communities, only a few mental health professionals have competent awareness of cultural and racial identity, let alone incorporate this awareness in clinical treatment.
by Gabes Torres
ILLUSTRATION BY GOOD STUDIO/ADOBE STOCK
by Jasmin Joseph
Focuses on Mental Health Issues Facing the Black Community and includes a List of Free Addiction Treatment Resources in Minnesota.
When Mental Health Crisis Responders Reach Rural Residents
Prepare for Mental Health Month - PC(USA) Store's list of Mental Health books for both children and adults - some excellent resources.
by Lisa Witherspoon, Director of Children’s Ministries, First Presbyterian Church, Greensboro, NC
Butterfly Prayer — The butterfly prayer in Traci Smith's Faithful Families is a simple practice that anchors us to breath, calm, and movement. She recommended it as a practice to teach children for times of stress and anxiety. This old VIDEO features Smith's boys sharing the practice.
The Yale Youth Ministry Institute offers a wealth of resources for those feeling stressed, depressed, or anxious. Their “Tending to the Mental Health of Adolescents” curriculum covers mental health issues with resources in scripture, video, discussion outlines, reflection questions, and so much more here.
See also their Pastoral Care & Mental Health and YMI Director Jill Old's message on The Mental Health Conversation… Yes, Again.
For National Alcohol Awareness Month, they have resources for substance abuse, including videos, articles, scripture, and more here.
The Girls Are Not Okay - And evangelical theology bears a significant part of the blame
by Diana Butler Bass
Social Media Isn’t the Main Reason Teens Are Depressed
Studies that examine social media impacts in a nuanced fashion have found the large majority of teens benefit.
Politicians and media are in their latest wave of ascribing young people’s mental health problems to anything but their real source: dysfunctional adults.
BY Mike Males in Yes! Magazine
MAR 2, 2023
ILLUSTRATION BY NADIA SNOPEK/ADOBE STOCK
Navigating Injustice: A Closer Look at Race, Faith & Mental Health
AND:
Watch what being a Black Christian woman means to a young person
A Snapshot of Black LGBQ+ Religious and Spiritual Life
What young BIPOC want faith leaders to know
Navigating Injustice Shares What Race, Faith and Mental Health Mean for BIPOC Gen Z
"Mental health problems in teens can sometimes take unexpected forms. Depression and anxiety can manifest as irritability and noncompliance, which parents may reasonably view as disrespect and laziness. Understanding what is beneath those behaviors is challenging. Teens are quite secretive, so they may not disclose the extent of their struggles."
ILLUSTRATION BY MARY LONG
Parents and caregivers are a critical link in addressing the urgent mental health crisis among teens.
BY TORIA HERD & SARAH A. FONT
Comparisons: How social media impacts Gen Z mental health
By Springtide
(in Mental Health)
See also:
… So we can rewire schools for belonging and achievement
Tending to the Mental Health of Adolescents
Leading theologians and pastors explore adolescent mental health and the role of youth ministry and the youth minister in supporting...
Cultivating Resilience, Well-Being and Authentic Happiness in Youth
Theologians, psychologists and youth leaders discuss the importance of cultivating resilience in youth.
Leading theologians and youth practitioners explore the importance of sabbath-keeping for both youth and youth workers.
Offering Effective Pastoral Care
Theologians, philosophers, and pastors examine the importance of pastoral care to youth and their families as part of a robust...
Theologians and practitioners discuss the importance of supporting and walking with LGBTQ+ youth.
NAMI MN provides online tips and tools for supporting folx struggling with mental illness; speakers and trainers to engage your congregation; online counselors; and frequent events to break the stigma and widen the circle of compassion and understanding.
Mental Health Connect provides community-based resources, support and education to improve access to mental health services and to connect individuals and families with the services they need.
Their 'Educate Yourself' page provides links to sites that help define or describe several mental health concerns, including:
Their Community, Crisis Care, and Support Groups page lists Crisis Service Phone Numbers, Community Programs, Support Groups, and Low-Cost and Sliding Fee Scale Services lists.
Their Toolkit for Community includes numerous first-response pdfs, including a Crisis Line Card, with phone numbers for the Twin Cities Metro Area, a crisis text line, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and more.
Resources from M Health Fairview Interfaith Health Collaborative:
Preventing Marijuana Use Among Youth
The goal of this guide is to review the literature on prevention of marijuana use among youth, distill the research into recommendations for practice, and provide examples of the ways these recommendations can be implemented.
The Center of Addiction & Faith: Weekly Virtual Meetings
Yale Youth Ministry Institute provides an extensive list of resources for teens, parents, and other caring adults, including:
Emotional Wellness Month
Kids In Crisis: How To Take Action On Youth Mental Health
MARCH 8, 2023
Feb 22, 2023 By Angela Davis and Danelle Cloutier MPR News
How worried are you about the mental health of a young person in your life? Young people were more »
Telling the Story of Your Body for Healing and Wholeness
Our bodies have a story to tell. When we turn toward our bodies with curiosity and reverence, we honor those stories, embrace our inner dignity, and make space for more agency. Sharing our bodies’ stories helps us feel seen so that, little by little, society’s limiting master narratives can shift so that more bodies feel safe and beautiful and have a sense of belonging.
Resources include:
Apps and digital health resources reviewed by experts
To Improve Student Mental Health, We Need More Than Crisis Response
By Kevin Singer and Sam Ludlow-Broback
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
The NAMI website includes contact info for the NAMI Helpline and 24/7 crisis support
*Mental Health Reset Playlist: The team at NPR's Life Kit share some of their favorite episodes that help reframe what it means to be well.
*18 Comforting Reads for Mental Health Awareness Month (2024): Broadleaf Books
