75 books on faith and mental health

75 books on faith and mental health

A friend recently asked me for recommendations of book resources addressing issues of faith and mental health. With a bit of scouting on my part, and the wisdom of my social media hive mind (thanks, everyone who contributed), I came up with this list of 75 titles covering a range of themes, problems and issues.

What books would you add? Is there an issue related to faith and mental health not represented here?

Albers, Robert H., Ministry with Persons with Mental Illness and Their Families (2nd edition; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2019).

Andrews, Jonathan, The Reconnected Heart: How Relationships Can Help Us Heal (Westbow Press, 2020).

Arel, Stephanie N. (ed.), Post-Traumatic Public Theology (Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016).

Armstrong, Karen, The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness (New York: Knopf, 2004).

Baldwin, Jennifer, Trauma-Sensitive Theology: Thinking Theologically in the Era of Trauma (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2018).

Biebel, David B., New Light on Depression: Help, Hope & Answers for the Depressed & Those Who Love Them (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004).

Brett, Mark G., Political Trauma and Healing: Biblical Ethics for a Postcolonial World (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016).

Carson, Marion L. S., The Pastoral Care of People with Mental Health Problems (London: SPCK, 2008).

Coblentz, Jessica, Bipolar Faith: A Black Woman’s Journey with Depression and Faith (Christian Century Foundation, 2016).

Coleman, Monica A., Bipolar Faith: A Black Woman’s Journey with Depression and Faith (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2016).

Colwell, John, Why Have You Forsaken Me? A Personal Reflection on the Experience of Desolation (Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2010).

Cook, Christopher C. H. (ed.), The Bible and Mental Health: Towards a Biblical Theology of Mental Health (London: SCM Press, 2020).

Courson, Ben, Flirting with Darkness: Building Hope in the Face of Depression (Minneapolis: Harvest House Publishers, 2020).

Crafton, Barbara C., Jesus Wept: When Faith and Depression Meet(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2019).

Eenigenberg, Susan E. & Blyss, Robynn, Expectations and Burnout: Women Surviving the Great Commission (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2010).

Eswine, Zack, Spurgeon’s Sorrows: Realistic Hope for Those Who Suffer from Depression (Christian Focus Publications, 2014).

Fallot, Roger D., Spirituality and Religion in Recovery from Mental Illness(San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1998).

Finnegan-Hosey, David, Christ on the Psych Ward (Church Publishing, 2018).

Finnegan-Hosey, Grace is a Pre-Existing Condition: Faith, Systems, and Mental Healthcare (Church Publishing, 2020).

Gingrich, Heather Davediuk, Restoring the Shattered Self: A Christian Counselor’s Guide to Complex Trauma (Downers Grove: IVP, 2013).

Grcevich, Stephen, Mental Health and the Church: A Ministry Handbook for Including Families Impacted by Mental Illness (New York: Harper Collins, 2018).

Greene-McCreight, Kathryn, Darkness is My Only Companion: A Christian Response to Mental Illness (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2006).

Groves, J. Alasdair & Smith, Winston T., Untangling Emotions: God’s Gift of Emotions (Wheaton: Crossway, 2019).

Harrower, Scott, God of All Comfort: A Trinitarian Response to the Horrors of This World (Lexham Press, 2019).

Helsel, Phillip Browning, Pastoral Power Beyond Psychology’s Marginalization: Resisting the Discourses of the Psy-Complex (AIAA, 2015).

Hill, Harriet et al, Healing the Wounds of Trauma: How the Church Can Help(American Bible Society, 2015).

Hunsinger, Deborah van Deusen, Bearing the Unbearable: Trauma, Gospel, and Pastoral Care (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2015).

Johnson, David & VanVonderen, Jeff, The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse: Recognizing and Escaping Spiritual Manipulation and False Spiritual Authority Within the Church (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 2005).

Jones, Serena, Trauma and Grace: Theology in a Ruptured World (second edn; Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2019).

Kehoe, Nancy, Wrestling with Our Inner Angels: Faith, Mental Illness, and the Journey to Wholeness (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2009).

Kessler, David, Capture: Unraveling the Mystery of Mental Suffering (New York: Harper Perennial, 2017).

Koenig, Harold George, Aging and God: Spiritual Pathways to Mental Health in Midlife and Later Years (New York: Haworth Pastoral Press, 1994).

Koenig, Harold George, Faith and Mental Health: Religious Resources for Healing (Philadelphia: Templeton Foundation Press, 2006).

Koenig, Harold George, Handbook of Religion and Mental Health (Academic Press, 1998).

Lockley, John, Practical Workbook for the Depressed Christian (Waco, TX: Word Publishing, 1999).

Lund, Sarah Griffith, Blessed are the Crazy: Breaking the Silence about Mental Illness, Family and Church (Chalice Press, 2014).

Lund, Sarah Griffith, Blessed Union: Breaking the Silence about Mental Illness and Marriage (Chalice Press, 2021).

McClintock, Karen A., When Trauma Wounds: Pathways to Healing and Hope (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2019).

Miner, Maureen et al (eds), Beyond Well-Being: Spirituality and Human Flourishing (Information Age Publishing, 2012).

Murray, David P., Christians Get Depressed Too: Hope and Help for Depressed People (Reformation Heritage Books, 2021).

Murray, David P., Reset: Living a Grace-Paced Life in a Burnout Culture(Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2017).

Murray, David P., Why Am I Feeling Like This? A Teen’s Guide to Freedom from Anxiety and Depression (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2020).

Newberg, Andrew B., How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings from a Leading Neuroscientist (Ballantine Books, 2010).

Norris, Kathleen, Acedia and Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer’s Life(Riverhead Books, 2010).

O’Donnell, Karen & Cross, Katie, Feminist Trauma Theologies: Body, Scripture and Church in Critical Perspective (London: SCM Press, 2020).

O’Donnell, Karen, Broken Bodies: The Eucharist, Mary and the Body in Trauma Theology (London: SCM Press, 2018).

Oakley, Lisa, Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse: Creating Healthy Christian Cultures (London: SPCK, 2019).

Olson, R. Paul (ed.), Religious Theories of Personality and Psychotherapy: East Meets West (London: Routledge, 2012).

Pattison, Stephen, Pastoral Care and Liberation Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).

Pearce, Michelle, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Christians with Depression: A Practical Tool-Based Primer (Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Press, 2016).

Piper, John, When the Darkness Will Not Lift: Doing What We Can While We Wait for God and Joy (Wheaton: Crossway, 2006).

Pound, Marcus et al (eds), Theology, Psychoanalysis and Trauma (Hymns Ancient & Modern, 2007).

Powers, Brian S., Full Darkness: Original Sin, Moral Injury, and Wartime Violence (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2019).

Rambo, Shelly & Keller, Catherine, Spirit and Trauma: A Theology of Remaining (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010).

Rambo, Shelly, Resurrecting Wounds: Living in the Afterlife of Trauma(Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2017).

Sabella, Casey, Spiritual Abuse: How to Identify and Break free from Toxic Churches without Losing Your Faith (independently published, 2019).

Sanders, Cody J., Christianity, LGBTIQ Suicide, and the Souls of Queer Folk(Lexington Books, 2020).

Scazzero, Peter, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: It’s Impossible to be Spiritually Mature, While Remaining Emotionally Immature (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017).

Scrutton, Tassia & Swinton, John, Christianity and Depression (London: SCM Press, 2020).

Simpson, Amy & Shelley, Marshall, Troubled Minds: Mental Illness and the Church’s Mission (Downers Grove: IVP, 2013).

Sperry, Len, Ministry and Community: Recognizing, Healing, and Preventing Ministry Impairment (Liturgical Press, 1999).

Stanford, Matthew S., Grace for the Afflicted: Viewing Mental Illness through the Eyes of Faith (Colorado Springs: Paternoster, 2008).

Swinton, John, Becoming Friends of Time: Disability, Timefullness, and Gentle Discipleship (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2018).

Swinton, John, Finding Jesus in the Storm: The Spiritual Lives of Christians with Mental Health Challenges (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2020).

Swinton, John, From Bedlam to Shalom: Towards a Practical Theology of Human Nature, Interpersonal Relationships and Mental Health Care (Peter Lang Publishing, 2000).

Swinton, John, Resurrecting the Person: Friendship and the Care of People with Mental Health Problems (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2000).

Swinton, John, Spirituality and Mental Health Care: Rediscovering a ‘Forgotten’ Dimension (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2001).

Thomas, Shannon, Healing from Hidden Abuse: A Journey through the Stages of Recovery from Psychological Abuse (MAST Publishing House, 2016).

Tietje, Adam D. & Hunsinger, Deborah van Deusen, Toward a Pastoral Theology of Holy Saturday: Providing Spiritual Care for War Wounded Souls(Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2018).

Toews, John & Loewen, Eleanor, No Longer Alone: Mental Health and the Church (MennoMedia, 1995).

Vacek, Heather H., Madness: American Protestant Responses to Mental Illness (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2015).

Vallieres, Robert C. & Howard, Jacqueline M., Wounded Warriors: A Soldier’s Story of Healing through Birds (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2014).

Van der Kolk, Bessel, Mental Health: The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma (London: Penguin Books, 2015).

Waters, Sonia E., Addiction and Pastoral Care (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2019).

Webb, Marcia, Toward a Theology of Psychological Disorder (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2017).

Rod Benson is an ordained Baptist minister presently working as Research Support Officer at Moore Theological College, Sydney. This piece was originally published on his blog. Read the original post here.

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