I was sitting at home on a Saturday talking with my parents, who were visiting from out of state. The phone rang, and I was shocked to hear the reason for the call. On the other end of the phone was a man from church, Don.1 “Jeff, it’s Don. Carol has flipped out. I don’t know what to do.” “Don, what do you mean by ‘flipped out’? What is happening?” “We were having a … [Read more...]
Why do people cut themselves? And how to help them stop
Self-harm behaviors can be a foreign concept to many of us adults, but they are on the rise among adolescents and young adults. The National Institutes of Health indicate rates anywhere from 7 to 24 percent in teenagers, but as high as 38 percent in college-age women.1 However, these self-harm behaviors are oftentimes misunderstood by those who seek to minister to them. Given … [Read more...]
Body or soul?
Psychotropic medications are a sensitive topic; most people you talk to will have fairly strong opinions about whether or not they should be used in treating a host of life’s problems. In thinking about this, though, it’s helpful to take a step back and consider who we are as human persons. In doing so, this helps us understand where life issues fall on the spectrum between … [Read more...]
Porn: Women struggle with it, too
Pornography addiction is typically classified as a man’s problem. But we recently interviewed Rachel Coyle, a certified counselor with the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, about the prevalence of pornography use among women. It’s more common than you might think, and here’s how the church can help. How common is pornography use among women? I suspect it’s … [Read more...]
Helping PTSD sufferers
Consider the following scenarios that someone in your congregation might face: James narrowly survives a terrorist attack. Janette witnesses a rape or murder. Melody is told that her child was killed in a car accident. Any of these events can count as traumatic events (in the technical use of that term) if these individuals respond to those events with emotions of intense fear, … [Read more...]