MENTAL ILLNESS

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MENTAL ILLNESS

• Bryan G. Stephens, MA, MBA, LPC

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Largest Inpatient Facility in America

• The LA County Jail is the largest mental health
  institution in the country.

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Bryan G. Stephens

• Director of Douglas Mental Health Clinic
• Licensed Professional Counselor
• 15 Years in Community Mental Health

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Overview

• What is Mental Illness and who is affected
• Types of Mental Illness
• Biblical Understanding

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What is Mental Illness?

• Disorder of the Brain that changes a persons
  thinking, feelings, and behavior that causes the
  person distress difficulty in functioning.

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Who has it?

• 20 Adults are effected by Mental Illness in a
  given year
• Around 9 of all U.S. adults have the mental
  disorders experience some significant
  functional impairment
• Mental Illness effects almost everyone, directly
  or indirectly

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Where are they?

• People with Mental Illness are in the
  community

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Types of Mental Illness

• Mood Disorders
• Depression
• Bi-Polar Disorder (Manic-Depression)
• Psychotic Disorders
• Schizophrenia
• Anxiety Disorders
• Panic Disorder
• PTSD
• OCD

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Types of Mental Illness

• Substance Abuse
• Addiction
• Substance Induced Disorders

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Effects on a Life

• Decrease in ability to care for self or others
• Self-destructive and immoral behaviors
• Physical and Mental separation from others
• Separation from God

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Understanding of Disease in Biblical Times

• No understanding of germs
• Illness as curse or divine punishment
• Mental Illness as possession

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Biblical Mental Illness

• Saul was tormented by an evil spirit, which David
  soothed with song (1 Samuel, 1614-23)
• Jesus cures a man with many evil sprits (Mark
  51-20)
• Elijah asked God to kill him (1 Kings 191-6)

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Ability to Treat is New

• Lithium Springs in Roman times
• Talk Therapy 1870s
• Thorazine first used in 1952
• Lithium in 1970s
• Modern anti-depressants 1980s
• Modern anti-psychotics 1990s

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What Can Christians Do The Example of Jesus

• Did not treat any disease as the fault of the
  person
• Went among the poor and the outcasts
• Compassion, Love and Forgiveness

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Summary

• Mental Illness is a disease of the brain
• Is effects 20 of the adult population, with
  about half of those seriously effected
• Mental Illness is treatable with medication and
  therapy
• Christians can treat it the same way we treat an
  illness