By: Katie Dale

1. The first place Christians with mental health issues go for help is to their church

Think about 25% of your church. One in four Americans suffers from a mental health challenge in their lifetime. If the staggering number of 1 in 4 doesn’t quite hit home, think about times in your life you have had a meltdown, a breakdown or an experience of large enough proportion that you couldn’t function 100% because of an emotionally and mentally challenging time. Then think about the guidance many of us seek out from our pastor or other church member who appears to have it more “together.” According to a Lifeway Research poll, the percentage of churches that are actually equipped to respond to such distress is 3%.

The church is a beautiful body of redeemed souls, yet our minds are still subject to the effects of sin in our fallen world. This is a truth we can’t ignore. Which is why it is so crucial that the church proactively and appropriately responds to hurting members that are in need of attention and proper treatment of their mental health conditions.

Fresh Hope for Mental Health is such a way to assist in the healing process. Having a Fresh Hope group in place in your church will empower participants to live a full, rich and faith-filled life in spite of their mental health challenges.

2. Fresh Hope empowers your church to reach out and minister many at one time

Fresh Hope groups are offered through local churches and online mental health support groups sponsored by local churches and ministries. As part of their mission, Fresh Hope also supports and encourages faith leaders to help their faith community through resources for pastors such as webinars.

Churches that facilitate these groups are trained and certified by Fresh Hope in a 8-hour online training course with quizzes followed by a personal interview. They also offer free phone and online support and a facilitator website to help troubleshoot problems and receive peer advice on leading a group. They provide promotional materials (videos, press releases, sample articles) and curriculum for facilitators and participants. New content is offered regularly to help empower group participants in their recoveries.

Groups usually meet weekly for up to an hour and half each session and are not limited to a specific number of participants. Both those with a diagnosis as well as their loved ones attend the group together for the first half of the meeting.

3. Fresh Hope leads to healing and a better quality of life

The proven track record of Fresh Hope groups’ success is shown in that:

• 96% of weekly participants attribute their participation as the reason they now feel more hopeful than prior to their participation in Fresh Hope
• 92% who have attended other mental health support groups say that Fresh Hope has been more positive and helpful in their recovery than any previous groups
• 86% of those who were suicidal prior to coming to Fresh Hope report that they have not been suicidal since participating
• 88% say that Fresh Hope has been extremely important in their recovery
• 71% who have been hospitalized prior to attending Fresh Hope have had no returns to hospitals since attending the support groups

 

4. Fresh Hope is created by a pastor who has been there, experienced that

Pastor Brad Hoefs was diagnosed with Bipolar I himself, and drawing on his first-hand experiences, has been able to relate to lead others to a place of healing through six tenets that he has composited based on Scripture that have been foundational for living well in spite of a mental health diagnosis.

The tenets are for both the person who has the diagnosis and the loved ones of those who have a diagnosis. Each tenet is based upon a Scripture, read at the beginning of each meeting. They are not “steps,” but rather building blocks of wellness. They have not been created by a doctor or therapist but by Pastor Brad Hoefs who “discovered” these faith-based principles on his road to wellness.

5. Fresh Hope is facilitated by peers who have mental health issues

Fresh hope support groups are peer-led, where members encourage one another under the guidance of a facilitator, and have up to 4 facilitators, with at least one with a mental health diagnosis. The meeting format includes both a large and small group experience, where members can share as little or as much of their “journey” as they desire.

6. Fresh Hope is more than just a peer support group – they are not a constant vent session

Fresh Hope has a high regard for the processing that goes on in a support group that is not curriculum-driven (considered as short-term interventions which research shows is only helpful in the short term) but rather is an ongoing peer-to-peer support which allows people to actually process together mental health recovery approaches as adults truly learn through interaction, not being taught. (If recovery could be taught in 12 weeks, A. A. would have been doing that years ago).

They also have a high regard for how the majority of adults learn and that is by them interacting, which is what happens in an authentic safe support group setting. While venting is a necessary thing in recovery, it cannot be the only thing; otherwise those in the group simply get worse and not better.

7. Fresh Hope has proven success

Self-reported results of those who attend Fresh Hope groups meetings for six weeks showed that:

• 78% of the participants say they are extremely hopeful about being able to live a full and rich life in spite of their mental health diagnosis since coming to Fresh Hope. Another 22% say they are “becoming” more hopeful about living a full and rich life. 0% say they don’t feel hopeful since attending.
• 97% say that the fact that Fresh Hope is faith-based is extremely important to them
• 94% report they have a better understanding of their diagnosis since attending Fresh Hope
• 96% report being more compliant to their medical treatment and using wellness skills in their recovery since attending Fresh Hope

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

What are the types of groups offered?

• Fresh Hope for Mental Health groups
• • • Churches or local ministries start and sponsor these groups
    • Facilitators are trained and certified by Fresh Hope
    • Local and online groups are offered

• Fresh Hope for Teens (FreshHope4Teens.com)
• • • Churches or local ministries start and sponsor these groups
    • Facilitators (usually young adults) are trained and certified by Fresh Hope
    • Parents meet in a separate group
    • Teens may bring their friends with them

• Fresh Hope for Living Free (FreshHope4LivingFree.com)
• • Fresh Hope for Living Free is both a curriculum that can be taught within the correctional setting and also includes a group that is on the “outside” for when inmate/prison is out of jail/prison
  • Chaplains in local jails, prisons, correctional facilities may use the curriculum and a local ministry or church starts the “outside” support group for those getting out of jail/prison along with their loved ones

Who can start groups?

Local churches, ministries (homeless shelters, half-way houses, etc.) start our groups

How to start a group?

Email us at info@FreshHope.us

Katie Dale is the mind behind BipolarBrave.com and the e-book GAMEPLAN: A Mental Health Resource Guide. She works full time at a behavioral outpatient clinic, ministering to those with mental illness. She can be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

By: Brad Hoefs

For the last six years, I have had the privilege to be a Fresh Hope group facilitator. I’ve had the opportunity to encourage others in living well in spite of their mental health diagnosis. I have also had the opportunity to see close up some issues that can impede one’s wellness. Certainly some of them I have struggled with and sometimes still struggle with myself.

So, for this post I thought I would share with you seven issues that I believe are significant issues that hold can hold you and me back from living well in spite of being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. These are not the only issues that can impede wellness, but they seem to be major ones that I see consistently as a group facilitator:

1. Isolation: Certainly we all need some alone time. In fact, it’s important to have it. However, too often those of us with mental health challenges will simply shut ourselves off from the rest of the world. Usually, we do isolate physically. But we can certainly be around others and still isolate ourselves emotionally; holding others at arms-length. It impedes mental health recovery when we isolate from everyone else around us. You and I were made to be in relationship with other people. And we certainly need healthy social interaction with others to come to a point of wellness.
2. No Support: It is sad, but true, all too often family members are not supportive for many different reasons. The truth is that when those of us who have a mental health challenge have the healthy support of family and close friends we do better in our recovery. So, what do you do when your spouse or significant other is not supportive? I believe that when you have no support at “home” then it is imperative to become active within a peer-to-peer support group. It’s important to find a group that is encouraging, is principled and offers hope. Research shows that while venting about one’s life and recovery is important, when it is the only thing that is done within a group setting it can make one sicker. No support at home? Find a health support group if you can’t change the situation at home. Sometimes you have to stop complaining about what you don’t have at home and find the peer-to-peer support that focuses on living well.
3. Self-Sabotaging Behavior: Again and again I have seen folks begin to get their lives back; beginning to live well. And then they will self-sabotage their wellness! Sometimes it is because they have not changed behaviors that are self-destructive. Sometimes it is because they fear to succeed in living well. And many times it is due to a lack of mindfulness; lack of self-awareness. It is so easy to live on automatic pilot not paying attention to our thinking, feelings, and mood. If you and I want to live well in spite of having bipolar disorder, then it is imperative that we are mindful of what we are thinking, feeling and doing.
4. Lack of Self-Discipline: Being self-disciplined can be very difficult. Being disciplined is something that I have to work on constantly. Whether it is due to having bipolar disorder or because of my personality type; I’m not very disciplined in most things and especially lack discipline with things I don’t interest me. So, there are a lot of important things like health eating and exercise that I have to push myself to do. Believe you me, I know what it is like to so depressed that to even shower is more than you can do. And I also know what it is like to be so manic that you have no time for discipline. But, it is key to your wellness and mine to be self-disciplined in all things. Self-discipline helps us to achieve balance in our lives. Sometimes you just have to just “push-through” even though you don’t feel like doing something. And when you do, you find that you will feel better for having done it.
5. A Victim Mentality: Let’s be honest, it is very easy to feel sorry for ourselves. Self-pity can impede living well in spite of having bipolar disorder faster than just about anything else can. Feeling sorry for myself has never moved me one step closer to living well. In fact, it has always moved me away from wellness. Yes, I have pulled the “bipolar-card” through the years. You know, where you use your bipolar disorder as the excuse for what is sometimes just bad behavior or an unchecked temper. If you see yourself as a victim, then you are the victim. But, not the victim of someone else’s actions but of your thinking. Of course, there are times when people are victimized by crimes and the abuse of others. But, those who recover from these types of things end up telling you that they don’t see themselves as victims but as an overcomer.
6. The Medicine Yo-Yo: Too often you and I are impatient for the medicine to work. And many times you and I don’t like the side effects or don’t take a medicine long enough for the side effects to subsided. So, we “play” with our meds. Some time ago, and I don’t remember where, I read that going off and on your medicines can cause your brain chemistry to cycle even more. If you believe your medicine is not working, contact your doctor. Don’t play doctor. If the side effects are troublesome, talk with your doctor. Sometimes you have to put up with the side effects until they subside and in doing so, it will be worth it. And if you are doing well, don’t go off of your medicine. Your medicine is why you are doing well! (By the way, a whole other issue with medicine is the use of alcohol and other street drugs; self-medicating, etc. The truth is, when you sabotage your wellness by self-medicating, you are cheating yourself of wellness. And a brief word about the use of marijuana- if you have bipolar disorder, and you use it, it can cause psychosis. If you don’t believe me, Google it! )
7. Hopelessness: Hopelessness can kill. Hopelessness happens when you and I believe that we have no future. When you and I have no dreams, hopelessness sets in and holds us in its grip. It is imperative to have dreams, goals for your future. Even the smallest of dreams and goals can give to you and me hope. If you feel hopeless, start setting goals that will help you achieve wellness. And when you reach even the smallest of those goals, celebrate it! Hopelessness is like a cancer of mood, motivation and reason to live. The only cure for hopelessness is to believe that you have a future. Do you have a future? Yes, you do! And it’s a good future! How do I know that? Because I’ve been to the point where my life was “over” and it seemed as though the best was behind me. I believed that I had no future. And I felt as though I could not go on. But, then little step by little step; day by day life continued, and I began to live again. It was not easy, and it was the single hardest work I’ve ever done. I began to understand that being a husband and dad that my family could count on gave me a purpose, a reason to live and move forward. I stopped focusing on me. Cause I couldn’t do it for me at first. So, I did “it” for them. And I made a decision, a simple to decision to believe that I had a purpose and a future in spite of how I felt. It was not easy. And at times, it was darn right painful. But, oh so worth it!

By the way, hope is something you can borrow from others. So, if you need hope as you are reading this, but you have none, then borrow some of my hope. Dr. Sean Lopez has done clinical research that proves hope is something that you can borrow. Plus, hope is catching. Hang around a bunch of hope-filled people and you will become hopeful.

Are any of these things that I have listed here impeding your journey to wellness? If so, how might you overcome them? What is your game plan? One are other issues that hold you back from wellness in your life? What are issues that you have faced and overcome that have moved you to wellness?

 

Fresh Hope is a faith-based non-profit that empowers people to live well in spite of their mental health challenge.

YOUR gift will provide a person with God’s Fresh HOPE for daily living. Click here to donate, today.