May is Mental Health Awareness Month.
Video: Cumberland Community Church Family Moment | Pastor Courtney Harkness w/ Alexandra Thompson, LCSW
Did you know that counseling is one of the healthiest things you can do for your mental health? And did you know that there is no total health unless you also include mental health?
Therapy is not:
passive.
a conversation with a friend.
a place where someone tells you what to do.
a venting sesh.
Therapy is:
active collaboration.
an intimate, completely non-judgmental therapeutic relationship with someone who helps you identify problems, set goals for yourself and monitors your progress.
for absolutely everyone, at times.
Designating one month out of the year to be Mental Health Awareness Month is important because it’s all about reducing any remaining stigma around treating your mental health. In fact, some Christians still believe that reaching out for therapy is communicating that Jesus isn't enough, as if God hasn't always used people to help carry out his plan for healing in our lives. Or that because we Biblically understand God as our Great Counselor, we shouldn’t need any other counselor. But if you think about it, we don’t tell our doctors we don’t need them because Jesus is our Divine Physician. We don’t tell our pastors we don’t need them because Jesus is our Good Shepherd, am I right?
A few of the foundations for self-control, an important Biblical principle, are self-awareness and self-care, topics we discuss in therapy. You see, it's not negating God's power to go to a therapist, it's giving you more opportunity to be confronted by it.
We believe that counseling is actually one of the most intimate forms of discipleship. Think about it! Discipleship is: loving people with intention, helping them grow and leading them into a deeper relationship with Jesus.
As we come to the end of Mental Health Awareness month, let’s flip that old script.
Let’s talk about how therapy is absolutely a sign that you are among the strongest people. And that therapy is, at times, for everyone. Including you.
Let’s encourage people to be fully healthy, both physically and mentally.
And let’s remind them of how therapy is intimate discipleship.
Do you know what Cumberland Counseling is all about? We help churches have on-site, fully functioning, Clinical Mental Health Centers at their communities’ fingertips. Our counseling services are designed to not just serve Church-goers, but all community members! And though our sessions are self-pay the way any community mental health center would be, we do offer a sliding scale fee so that we don't turn people away just for income.
Reach out so we can come together. Let's draw more awareness to our mental health this month and all year long!
Warmly,
Cumberland Counseling Team
