What is a Mental Health Coach? – Mental Health Coaching #3 - Purity 1345

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.com or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's photo of wildflowers along the shores of the Murphy Riverwalk on a pleasant spring day comes to us from Fred Dimmick, who shared this delightful scene on social media back on April 22nd, along with a bit of prose from Dickie Betts, which said, "Walk along the river, sweet lullaby. It just keeps on flowing. Don't worry about where it's going. No, no." According to Fred, Bets wrote this for his Native American wife whose last name was Wabagija, which means "clear blue sky," and with all of that I can see why that thought was running through Fred's mind. Well, it's Tuesday, and while I can't read people's minds, I can— I like to think that I can grasp an understanding about how they think when I get to know them and listen to their stories. As a Christian life coach, the best way I can help my clients is to understand what their strengths and weaknesses are, as much as what they— what goals they want to accomplish. So I will have a better idea what obstacles we may have to overcome to get them unstuck and to see progress and success. One of my roles as a Christian life coach, at least in my practice, will be that as a mental health coach. And as we are 3 episodes deep into our series on mental health coaching, I think it is high time I at least offered a definition for what that is exactly. One of the best articles I've seen on the topic is a 2023 blog post from Matthew Be— Matthew Boone on Lyra Health's website, and I will be sharing its content little by little to make sense of that is rather obscure in the general vernacular. I know that until this year I had never heard of such a thing, and it was only after becoming aware of the possibility that we can have a practice where we assist people with mental health concerns without a license that I made this— the decision to step out into the field of Christian life coaching. My educational background is is in psychology and Christian counseling. And even though I have the degrees to prove it, uh, my master's degree is from an unaccredited Christian Bible college and thus unrecognized by the state, or at least New York. I was under the false impression that I couldn't have a private practice helping others to overcome their negative states of mind without a license.— and I can't, at least not as a counselor. But even without that title or license, I can provide mental health coaching. So let's share the first portion of Boone's article to begin to understand what that is. Boone writes, "What is a mental health coach? The word 'coach' may evoke images of a friendly teacher who ran, um, who ran you through drills during high school soccer practice, a life coach who helps inspire clients to reach their goals, or a career coach focused on work-related challenges. Mental health coaches are also trusted partners who can help you achieve goals, but they focus on emotional health and wellness. So what is a mental health coach? They're specially trained professionals who help people develop greater self-awareness, implement tools to better manage their lives, and pursue specific mental health goals. Coaches can help people with a range of conditions, from stress, burnout, and anxiety to those who need support through life transitions, tough feelings like anger, or relationship issues. Mental health coaching is designed to get you back on track when you're feeling stuck and help you create a more rewarding life. Much like therapists, behavioral health coaches listen deeply to their clients to gain an understanding of their personal needs, challenges, and hopes. Based on each client's particular set of circumstances, mental health coaches also do the following: 1. Ask questions that help people see things from a different perspective and open up changes that'll improve their lives. 2. Introduce new perspectives and skills. Mental wellness coaches help people develop skills to help them overcome obstacles they may be facing. They also provide a fresh perspective to help their clients reframe thinking patterns, better manage emotions, and address problems more effectively. 3. Identify personal strengths. People learn to embrace their strengths as well as practice self-compassion and acceptance. 4, uh, improve relationship skills. 5, help clients design actions to facilitate behavior change and hold them accountable for putting them into practice. Clients rarely leave a behavioral health coaching session without establishing a personal practice to complete before their next session. This could mean a journaling exercise to clarify their values and goals, a new technique to try when emotions get the best of them, or another meaningful homework assignment designed to propel their transformation. That all came from Mr. Boone, Mr. Boone's article. Anyway, after discovering what, what mental health coaching was, And after reading Boone's article, I recall a line from the movie The Terminator and how mental health coaching applies to me. That's what he does. That's all he does. And just like the Terminator was designed to track, find, and kill people, I seem to have been programmed by the Lord to help people to discover new perspectives about their situations and about who they are in Christ specifically that can set them free from negative mind states and behavior patterns. Unlike the Terminator who brings death, I am a member of God's kingdom who only seeks to help people to discover their new life in Christ and to live it to the full, or to have it more abundantly. I, of course, am a Christian life coach, and instead of speaking in terms of psychological theories, although I could if you need to hear the truth presented that way, I will speak plainly and present things according to the truth of a Christian biblical worldview. After reading this portion of Boone's article, you might be asking, what do you even need a therapist for then? And we will address that specifically tomorrow, but until then, I'll just offer that mental health coaches don't prescribe medication or diagnose and work with clients that are forward-thinking and are willing to work and make efforts to make progress. We are coaches, after all, and if you aren't willing to do what the coach says, there is very little likelihood that you will experience free— well, victory, right? You can't win the game without the coach. That is one of the sad truths of the mental health industry in general. Many who suffer from mental health concerns are chronic and don't want to take responsibility for their mental health problems. The emphasis with this population is placed on care more than improvement or on maintaining the status quo of baseline functionality rather than developing a plan of action that would result in healing and freedom. I worked in mental health in limited capacities for years, and I know there is a need for medication and skilled workers in that field. But for those who have not been absorbed into the mental health system, who are highly— relatively highly functioning and willing to be responsible for what they think and do, Mental health coach offers the hope to be trained to become unstuck from their struggles and to improve their quality of life through plans and action. The Bible tells us to take every thought— tells us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. So we have to think about what we're thinking about and realize that we have a responsibility to monitor and guide our thoughts. A mental health coach can help you with that, and a Christian mental health coach will have you focus, um, on the truth of God's word and help you develop a relationship with God who has been known to help people— to help and transform the lives of those willing to follow him. Ask me how I know. Anyway, that's it for today. Uh, tune in tomorrow as we will contrast the difference between therapists and mental health coaches to further define and understand what a mental health coach is and how they could possibly help you. Today's Bible verses come to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John J. Cruis. This morning's meditation verses come from the section on death and eternal life, and today's verses are from 2 Timothy 4:7-8. And the Word of God says, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. Today's verses fall under the 24th point of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on Death and Eternal Life. And that 24th point is: Every Christian who has fought the good fight of faith will, like Paul, receive the crown of righteousness. Today's verses encourage us that our hard-fought fight of faith and the miles we run for God's kingdom have eternal rewards. We will receive crowns of righteousness in God's kingdom when we faithfully follow Jesus. And we should remember that no matter how bad life on earth can be at times, we are not of this earth. And our hope lies in Jesus and the kingdom he will one day bring from heaven. As always, we invite you to go to mtforchrist.com, where we always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist our brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk according to— well, we continue, we continue sharing from today. We continue sharing from According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament by Stephen F. Allford.. And in Alford's devotional, he prompts us to read a chapter of Scripture. Today's chapter is Acts 16, and from Acts 16, he shares a portion of verse 14, which says, Lydia, the Lord opened her heart. And Stephen Alford writes, there are 3 steps to be observed in the experience of Lydia, an open heart. Here was the gradual work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of this woman. Her heart, like the flower, had opened to receive the spiritual dew, and she was saved. An Open Confession. She was baptized, and in this act of obedience to her Lord's command, she openly identified herself with her Master in His death, burial, and resurrection life. An Open Home. Faith without works is dead. James 2:26. But Lydia said, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." Acts 16:15. Here was living faith bearing true fruit. Here was true women's ministry begotten by true love to the Lord and his servants. Here was extravagant mercy. And Alfred ends his devotional by praying, open my heart, enlarge it, Lord. Amen. Amen. Yeah, so yeah, Lydia got saved and Lydia got baptized. And you know, Lydia is throughout the, the epistles of Paul, uh, as mentioned, um, you know, I believe she's mentioned in Acts and the epistles anyway, um, you know, get your concordance and find out where. But yeah, and, you know, and as Alfred points out, she had an open heart and an open confession and an open home. You know, we open our heart to the truth of the Lord, and we openly confess that we have been saved by the Lord Jesus, and we open our home to those who need a place for fellowship. You're welcome to come. Come visit, okay, but, um, if you don't pay rent, you don't stay in my house. Anyway, um, you are welcome to visit, um, when I'm around. I'm not here often, but I do have office hours now, so we can meet on Zoom if you can't stop by. Um, just go to mtforchrist.com, go to the bottom of the first page, the home page, and look for M.t. Clark Christian Life Coaching LLC. Christian life coaching practices or services, I believe it says, or prayer ministry services. And, um, well, and you can, you can basically sign up to get an initial conversation with me and we can discuss your mental health or spiritual or recovery or purity goals, whatever they are, and we can develop a plan of action to help you get unstuck, experience your freedom in Christ. And be free from your addictions or whatever, whatever it is that you have that you're willing to work on and release to the Lord. Yeah, I would encourage you and, you know, and guide you, but the Lord would be the one who's really going to help you. That's what I discovered. But when you're willing to follow him with the way you live your life, surrender to him, you know, empty yourself— that's why it's Empty for Christ. It's not about me. I mean, it is, but it isn't. The whole thing was a play on words. It's not M.t. as in M.t. Clark for Christ, even though I am for him. It was about emptying ourselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And, you know, empty, ha! And then we can, you know, see what he has to do in our life. When we let him in to guide us and we listen to his promptings, he leads us into repentance and he leads us into all truth, and he reveals things to us, and he guides us in the way we should go. So that's what we do, and that's— we've come to discover great benefit from it. It's called purpose, meaning in life, and joy and peace. These are the things when you, uh, you receive when you walk in the Spirit. If you don't know how to do that, I can show you, um, or at least I can tell you whether or not you do it. It's up to you. So that's what we're here for, to encourage. It wasn't— we were just a ministry of encouragement. Now we will coach you with our encouragement. Drop in, give me 20. Anyway, it's very encouraging. Anyway, today is another day in the kingdom, and no, we are not a full-time life coach yet, so we are going to our day job. Where we will dig ditches and be humbled. And that is not a joke. Yeah, that's one of the roles I have as a technician for telecommunications company. Sometimes wires go underground, and sometimes this guy has to put them there. Anyway, it's humbling good work, and I get to listen to the Christian audiobooks as I sweat and toil in this, in the earth. Today it's going to be a good day in upstate New York, and I believe I'll follow my good day with a nice round of running around the lawn today with a lawnmower, as the lawn grows quick and my lawnmower is small. And we have to only— we can't overwhelm the lawnmower. We have to work within its capacity, otherwise bad things happen. Ask my old lawnmower. Anyway, um, so don't, don't stress yourself out. Lean on the Lord and follow him, and he'll, he'll help you. So let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you for so much for the joy you've set before us and following you, and, um, how you've led us in the freedom and victory and real purpose for our life. And We thank you, Lord. We pray for anyone who's listening today, that they'd be encouraged and that they— you would come alongside them and bless them and their prayer requests and their walk of faith, because we all need your help, Lord. And I need your help too. So we're praying for that today. We pray for you to go before us today, open our eyes to the things you want us to see, and lead us in the way we should go. That's all we want to do is, um represent you in your kingdom, Lord. Lead other people to know the wonderful peace and joy they can have when they know they're saved and that they're, uh, they're following you and what you made them to be. So, Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we love you. And we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.