Jessi Berger – Supporting the Mental Health of Church Members

HST alum Jessi Berger, a licensed professional counselor, joins Bob Turner to talk about supporting the mental health of our friends and church members during the time when people are in stay-at-home situations. Key Take-aways:

• Keep your routines and healthy habits. Meaningful work and meaningful rest are important.
• Don’t compare your productivity to others. Do what you need to do for your situation.
• Get outside if at all possible.
• If you at home with others, make sure you have alone time. If you are at home alone, make sure you are having conversations with others.
• Ask people specifically what you can do for them. Ex: Would it be helpful if I dropped a meal on your porch? Could I make you a mask?
• Facetime your friends’ kids to give parents a break.
• Those struggling with anxiety or depression really need human connection.
• People are often lonelier than you think. Call them rather than assuming their closer friends will call them.

Jessi R. Berger graduated from Harding School of Theology with a Masters of Arts in Counseling. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor with Mental Health Service Provider designation and is also pursuing an additional license as a Marriage and Family Therapist. Jessi’s goal in therapy is to help strengthen clients to solve their own problems, while providing an encouraging environment to facilitate that growth. Typical therapy models/interventions include Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Solution Focused Brief Counseling, Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and EMDR.

Bob Turner preaches twice each month at the Church of Christ at White Station in Memphis. He has been with HST since 2009. He publishes a newsletter of curated resources for ministers called Footnotes. Subscribe here.

Harding School of Theology (HST), a seminary in Memphis, TN, has been equipping ministers since 1958. Accredited by the Association of Theological Schools, and offering degree programs at the master’s and doctoral levels, HST equips Christian leaders to higher standards of ministry scholarship and challenges them to a deeper faith in God. Combining academic rigor and interpersonal connections, HST emphasizes student engagement in ministry as they study. HST is associated with Churches of Christ, is part of the Stone-Campbell Movement, and is part of Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.