It’s designed to raise awareness and reduce stigma by starting conversations about mental health in youth ministry settings. By the end of this series, young people will have:

• Increased their mental health literacy;
• Reduced social and self stigma surrounding mental illnesses;
• Learned how to care for their own mental health;
• Developed positive attitudes towards help-seeking;
• Cultivated a greater understanding of God and explored what it looks like to follow God in seasons of flourishing and languishing mental health; and
• Engaged in spiritual practices of companionship.

This series is for:

• Young people with questions about mental health and mental health challenges;
• Young people living with mental health challenges;
• Young people supporting family and friends with mental health challenges;
• Youth ministry leaders who want to engage their students in conversations about mental health, mental health challenges, and faith.

 Our target demographic is youth ages eleven to fifteen years old.

This resource is written for a Christian audience. It provides a theological framework for understanding mental health and explores key questions through theological, psychological, and social perspectives. That said, it assumes low biblical literacy so that young people at different places in their faith journey are able to engage with the content.

• It’s designed to be led by leaders in youth ministry. It could also be led by a chaplain, school teacher, or other adult who works with young people.
• This resource does not require the facilitator/leader to have any special knowledge about mental health; it only requires a willingness to create a welcoming space for conversation and learning.
• Everything needed to run the series, including a facilitation guide, will be downloadable from Sanctuary’s online resource portal.