Ministry with persons with mental illness and their families

258 Pages·2012·3.39 MB·English

by  Robert H. Albers & William H. Meller & Steven D. Thurber

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Caring for those afflicted and affected by mental illness—
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“A fascinating and insightful book that draws together theology and professional mental , M
health care in ways that are creative and deeply illuminating. For pastors who need to e
understand how to deal effectively and compassionately with mental health issues, this is lle
an ideal book.” —John Swinton, University of Aberdeen r, T
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“Defying social and religious stigma, many of the authors write of living with or loving e
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someone with psychiatric illness, openly using their first-person experience as a resource.
This excellent guide goes way beyond the norm—use it for classes in your congregation and
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in your school!” —Kathleen Greider, Claremont School of Theology
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Those who are afflicted as well as those who are adversely affected by mental illness often t
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live lives of “quiet desperation” without recourse to appropriate assistance. Most caregivers y

confronted with these illnesses in the work of ministry have had no training or accurate w
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information about mental illnesses, so frequently they do nothing, resulting in further t
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harm and damage. Others may operate out of a theological system that does not adequately
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account for the nature, severity, or treatment of these illnesses. e
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In Ministry with Persons with Mental Illness and Their Families, eighteen psychiatrists and n
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pastoral theologians come together in an interdisciplinary, collaborative effort to ensure
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accuracy of information concerning the medical dimensions of mental illness, interpret i
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these illnesses from a faith perspective, and make suggestions relative to effective ministry. h

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Readers will learn how science and a faith tradition can not only coexist but work in tandem
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to alleviate the pain of the afflicted and affected. n
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Contributors l
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Donald W. Black, MD Sarah J. Meller William Sheehan, MD
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Hollie Holt-Woehl Christie Cozad Neuger Sheila Specker, MD s
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Elayne Lipp Stephen Olson, MD Dianna Thierry a
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Thomas Mackenzie, MD Lawrence M. Pray Ruth Marie Thomson d
Joretta L. Marshall Janet Ramsey William Yates, MD T
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Robert H. Albers is Distinguished Visiting Professor of Pastoral Care at United Theological
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Seminary of the Twin Cities. William H. Meller, MD, practices psychiatry in Maple m
Grove and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Steven D. Thurber, PhD, LP, ABPP, practices clinical il
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psychology in Willmar, Minnesota. e
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Religion/Pastoral Care and Counseling
fortresspress.com
Ministry with Persons
with Mental Illness and Their Families

Ministry with Persons with
Mental Illness and Their Families
#
Robert H. Albers, William H. Meller,
Steven D. Thurber, Editors
Fortress Press
Minneapolis
MINISTRY WITH PERSONS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS AND THEIR
FAMILIES
Copyright © 2012 Fortress Press. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in
critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner with-
out prior written permission from the publisher. Visit http://www.augsburgfortress
.org/copyrights/contact.asp or write to Permissions, Augsburg Fortress, Box 1209,
Minneapolis, MN 55440.
Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are the author’s own translation or from
the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Chris-
tian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, and are
used with permission.
Cover image: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands/SuperStock
Cover design: Laurie Ingram
Book design: PerfecType, Nashville, TN
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ministry with persons with mental illness and their families / Robert H. Albers,
William H. Meller, Steven D. Thurber, editors.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8006-9874-4 (alk. paper)
1. Church work with the mentally ill. 2. Mentally ill—Pastoral counseling of.
3. Pastoral psychology. I. Albers, Robert H. II. Meller, William. III. Thurber, Steven D.
BV4461.M56 2012
259’.42—dc23
2011042713
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed
Library Materials, ANSI Z329.48-1984.
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Contents
Editors and Contributors vii
Introduction 1
Robert H. Albers
1. Depression 11
William H. Meller / Robert H. Albers
2. Anxiety Disorders 33
Thomas Mackenzie / Christie Cozad Neuger
3. Psychotic Disorders 59
Stephen Olson / Joretta L. Marshall
4. Personality Disorders 83
Donald W. Black / Janet Ramsey
5. Substance-Use Disorders 107
Sheila Specker / Robert H. Albers
6. Eating Disorders 131
William Yates / Diana Thierry
v
vi # Contents
7. Autism 157
Steven D. Thurber / Hollie Holt-Woehl
8. Acquired Brain Injury 175
Steven D. Thurber / William Sheehan / Lawrence M. Pray
9. Dementia 197
Ruth Marie Thomson / Elayne Lipp
Conclusion: Psychopharmacology 229
William H. Meller / Sarah J. Meller
Notes 237
Index 241
Editors and Contributors
Editors
Robert H. Albers received his MDiv from Wartburg Theological Seminary
and PhD from the Southern California School of Theology in Clare-
mont. The initial part of his career was as a parish pastor, and for the past
three decades he has taught pastoral theology. His current position is as
Distinguished Visiting Professor of Pastoral Theology at United Theo-
logical Seminary of the Twin Cities. He has published numerous books
and articles; his book Shame: A Faith Perspective (1995) received an award
from the Academy of Pastoral Clergy as one of the top ten books for
pastors published that year. He was also editor of The Journal of Ministry
in Addiction and Recovery from 1993 to 2000.
William H. Meller, MD, is an associate professor of psychiatry at the
University of Minnesota and has served as co–course director of Minis-
try to the Mentally Ill at Luther Seminary. He has published extensively
in the areas of affective disorder and consultation psychiatry. He is presi-
dent of the Itasca Psychosomatic Research Society. His daughter, Sarah
J. Meller, who assisted in writing the afterword on psychopharmacology,
does neuroscience research at Rockefeller University and has served as
a Howard Hughes Medical Institute scholar at Stony Brook University.
Steven D. Thurber received his PhD from the University of Texas at Aus-
tin with additional postdoctoral training in child development and early
interventions from the University of Minnesota. He graduated from the
vii
viii # Editors and Contributors
postdoctoral training program in pediatric psychology from the Uni-
versity of Oklahoma College of Medicine. He has been an academician
(Boise State University and University of California, San Francisco),
clinical director of two psychiatric hospitals, and is currently child psy-
chologist in a youth partial hospitalization program at Woodland Cen-
ters in Willmar, Minnesota. His published research has been in the areas
of autism, developmental psychopathology, and measurement. He is
associate editor of Archives of Assessment Psychology.
Contributors
Donald W. Black is professor of psychiatry at the University of Iowa. He
is a board-certified psychiatrist and is listed in Best Doctors in America. He
has authored more than three hundred publications, including, Bad Boys,
Bad Men—Confronting Antisocial Personality Disorder (1999).
Hollie Holt-Woehl is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA), specializing in ministry to people with
mental illnesses and developmental disabilities. She is an “intentional
interim pastor” in the Minneapolis Area Synod of the ELCA and an
adjunct professor at Luther Seminary, St. Paul.
Elayne Lipp is a retired pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of
America (ELCA). She served an inner-city parish in Minneapolis for
seventeen years. She has both professional and personal experience with
Alzheimer’s disease. She is a guest lecturer at Luther Seminary, St. Paul,
in pastoral care.
Thomas Mackenzie, MD, is currently the Distinguished Teaching Profes-
sor of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota. He is also the vice chair
for education and the program director of psychiatry residency and a
professor of psychiatry at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
Joretta L. Marshall is an ordained United Methodist clergywoman from
the Rocky Mountain Conference. She teaches at Brite Divinity School
Editors and Contributors # ix
in Fort Worth, Texas, where she shares a home with her family. She is
author of Counseling Lesbian Partners and How Can I Forgive? as well as of
numerous other articles and publications.
Sarah J. Meller graduated magna cum laude from Carleton College and
has several awards for academic excellence. She is currently a research
assistant in the Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Laboratory at
Rockefeller University, directed by Nobel laureate Paul Greengard.
Christie Cozad Neuger has served as professor of pastoral care at Prince-
ton Theological Seminary, United Theological Seminary of the Twin
Cities, and Brite Divinity School. She is currently a senior scholar and
founding director of the Institute for the Support of Pastoral Ministries
at United Theological Seminary. Besides numerous articles and chap-
ters, she has published four books.
Stephen Olson, MD, is associate professor of psychiatry at the Univer-
sity of Minnesota, where he is director of the Schizophrenia Specialty
Clinic, specializing in schizophrenia and related disorders, including
psychopharmacology, phenomenology, treatment-resistant psychosis,
and mood disorders. He received his MD from the University of Min-
nesota and did his residency in psychiatry at the University of Iowa.
Lawrence M. Pray is the senior pastoral scholar at Methodist Health-
care, in Memphis, Tennessee. He is coauthor of Leading Causes of Life
(2004) and author of Journey of a Diabetic (1982). His writing addresses
the issues of healing and living with chronic disease. He is ordained in
the United Church of Christ and lives in Minneapolis.
Janet Ramsey is professor emeritus of congregational care and ministry
at Luther Seminary in St. Paul. A pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA), a licensed marriage and family therapist,
and a diplomat in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, her
most recent book, Spiritual Resiliency and Aging: Hope, Relationality, and
the Creative Self, was published in 2011.