Council of Counselors: Counseling Myths / Marriage & Child Loss / Burnout / Brain & Mind / Trauma & Children

This is a weekly post that highlights resources from other counselors that I have found helpful. The counselors may be from the biblical counseling, Christian psychology, integration, or secular counseling traditions. By linking to a post, I am not giving it my full endorsement, I am merely indicating that I believe it made a unique contribution or raised an important subject for consideration.

Five Counseling Myths in the Church by Ed Welch

Pastoral care and counsel—that is what we are considering. It is the word counsel that leads to some confusion and differences of opinion. With that in mind, here are a few myths I have heard.

• Here is a resource page from my site devoted specifically to pastors wanting to know how to use these resources.

5 Best Tips to Help Your Marriage Survive the Death of a Child by Rachel Lee

“We’re not going to make it.” I said aloud, through broken sobs. I was both shocked and horrified by the words that had escaped my lips, that hopeless September day.

• The acute, complex pain of losing a child is both an experience of grief and trauma, here are resources for both.

Burnout Is Coming. Here’s How to Prevent It. by Jeremy Linneman

In the helping professions, burnout can seem almost inevitable. The thing we want to give—deep, sincere compassion for others in their time of need—runs dry. We want to help, but we can only take so much suffering. We become victims of our own giving.

• If you are experiencing burnout, here is a resource to help.

More Than Material Minds by Michael Egnor

How does the mind relate to the brain? This question is central to my professional life. I thought I had it answered. Yet a century of research and 30 years of my own neurosurgical practice have challenged everything I thought I knew.

• I am always grateful for those who raise good question, here are 18 Questions about Faith and Mental Illness.

What’s Going On In the Brain Of A Child Who Has Experienced Trauma? by Katrina Schwartz

Trauma-informed teaching has become a popular topic of conversation in recent years, as teachers try to adapt their methods to best serve the kids in front of them. It all starts with understanding what kids who have experienced trauma might be feeling. This TED-Ed video lays out the biology and reminds viewers of some of the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

• Here is a list and description of 13 Types of Impact Frequently Experienced After a Trauma

What I’m Reading

Caring for One Another: 8 Ways to Cultivate Meaningful Relationships by Ed Welch. Imagine . . . an interconnected group of people who  entrust themselves to each other. You can speak of your pain, and someone responds with compassion and prayer. You can speak of your joys, and someone rejoices with you. You can ask for help with sinful struggles, and someone prays with you.

The goal of this book is that these meaningful relationships will become a natural part of daily life in your church. With short chapters and discussion questions meant to be read in a group setting, Ed Welch guides small groups through eight lessons that show what it looks like when ordinary, needy people care for other ordinary, needy people in everyday life.

Tweets of the Week

Meaningful Meme

On the Lighter Side

Because, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones,” Proverbs 17:22.