Christian Theo Mental Health

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Mental health conditions and mental distress have become more visible in our public discourse today. Focusing often on depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, this course asks the following questions: How has the Christian theological tradition understood what we now name as mental illness? How do contemporary psychiatric and psychological approaches enhance theological approaches to mental illness, and vice versa? How and why do mental distress and suicidality especially affect LGBTQ people, indigenous communities, and white men? How can we cultivate proper self-love while processing shame in a healthy way?How do we talk well about mental health without obscuring the structural injustices bound up with imperialist, ableist, sanist white supremacist heteropatriarchy? In exploring these questions, we will articulate together what it means to do theology, to work for justice, and to build a society that serves everybody.