Our Recommended Reads for Your Mental Health

As Christians, it can be tempting to self-isolate in our mental-health struggles. We sometimes feel that we should have it all together so we can better serve our church family. But while it is important to cling to our joy in the Lord, it’s equally important to recognize and seek help in our struggles as we do so. 

If you, a loved one, or your church body is battling with mental-health struggles of any level of severity, we encourage you to seek support and counsel. We’ve also put together a list of our books that discuss mental-health issues. Read on to discern which is right for you—we pray whichever book you pick up is a blessing to you!

For the church that wants to help its struggling members:

According to the Mental Health Foundation, one in six of us worldwide experienced a mental-health struggle in the past week, and serious depression is the second-leading cause of disability.

How do we, as local churches, support and nurture those of our congregation who are battling with serious mental-health issues? This compassionate and practical book by Steve Midgley, who worked in psychiatry and as a pastor and is now Executive Director of Biblical Counselling UK, and Helen Thorne, Director of Training and Resources at Biblical Counselling UK, will help readers understand and respond with biblical wisdom to people who are struggling with their mental health.

This book is especially helpful for church leadership teams, including small-group leaders, but will help anyone who wants to better understand and support those who are struggling in their church. 

For the anxious and depressed:

Depression and anxiety can leave us feeling condemned and alone. In Down, Not Out, author and pastor Chris Cipollone shares his own experience with depression and anxiety, unpacking several areas of depression to show us how our gospel identity reframes our experience with mental illness.

Whether you have struggled with your mental health or want to understand depression and anxiety to care for somebody you love, this book provides a personal and theologically-thoughtful reflection on the challenges facing Christians in this area. 

Whether clinical or mild, many of us struggle with anxiety. 

This short, sympathetic book is designed to help both Christian and non-Christian readers understand anxiety better, learn some useful techniques to cope with it, and show how our loving Father can help us through it.

Many people don’t know how to actually stop worrying, even if they want to. Occasional negative thought patterns and fears can quickly turn into cycles without us even realising it.

In this revised and expanded new edition of Living without Worry, author Tim Lane helps readers to identify when godly concern turns into worry, and how we can use Scripture to bring our cares to God. Christians will discover how to replace anxiety with peace, freeing them to live life to the full.

For the parent of an anxious child:

This beautifully illustrated and empathetically written book walks children through a calming activity that focuses their attention on God and helps them manage their emotions.

Through a combination of slow breathing, prayer, and focusing on five things about God and his good gifts, children will learn to count themselves calm. Children can practise this calming activity while you read them the book and then use it when they feel upset, sad, angry, worried, anxious, or scared.

This resource is a great tool to equip children 4-7 years old to regulate their emotions and calm down. Written by Eliza Huie, Director of Counseling at McLean Bible Church, Arlington, who has worked with children in a biblical-counselling capacity.

For the one who feels alone:

As Christians, we sometimes go through dark periods where we can’t feel the presence of God. During those times, what do we cling to? How do we continue trusting in God when we can’t feel him in our suffering?

Using the book of Habakkuk, as well as his own personal experience of deep suffering, Adam Mabry examines the art of lament—how to cry out to God in desperation from a place of faith and hope. Whether you are deconstructing your faith or simply going through hard times, this book will offer practical ways to keep faith even in times of darkness and doubt.

For the grieving:

Author Melissa Zaldivar talks honestly about losing everything that once defined her and how God used unexpected opportunities, like working at Orchard House, where Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women, to spark a journey of working through her grief and encountering the all-sufficient love of Christ.

Weaving inspiring passages of Scripture and insights from Little Women into her personal story, Melissa encourages readers with her discovery that it’s when we have nothing left to offer that we can receive God’s love the most. And that’s something that can never be lost.

For the overwhelmed woman:

More than ever, we need sanctuary, not only as a refuge from the noise around us but also as a place where God’s truth can be clearly heard.

This 31-day devotional explores what it means, and what it looks like in very practical ways, to lead the “quiet life” Paul speaks of in 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12. Readers will come to see that a quiet life doesn’t mean escaping from the world around them but centring their hearts on Christ so that they can live with a clear focus, a quiet confidence, and a steady peace.

This book is for those who…

• feel overwhelmed and long for quieter spaces that allow for thoughtful reflections and honest conversations.

• want to balance time spent online with non-digital activities and invest in real-life relationships.

• desire a deeper quality of life beyond the online culture of noise, outrage, and self-promotion.

For the struggling mother:

There are many books on motherhood but not many that talk about how hard it is—physically, mentally, and spiritually—and what to do when you reach your limits.

When Liz Wann became a mother, she was unprepared for how hard it would be. In this book, she writes honestly about these deeply challenging aspects of motherhood and how God works through them to make us more like his Son.

This short, easy-to-read book encourages mothers to depend on Christ when they reach their limits. They will find that God will supply what they need to cope with the daily sacrifices and challenges of motherhood, and that he will use these struggles to make them more like Christ.

For the burdened ministry worker:

Life is disappointing. And disappointment can so easily come to dominate our life—the nagging thought in the back of our minds and the constant 'but' colouring all our pleasures.

In this realistic, hope-filled book, John Hindley shows how to deal with disappointment—what disappointment is, what it does, and how to learn to live with the disappointments while also knowing joy.

If your life isn't perfect… you need this book!

Browse our mental-health category for more books to support you or a loved one as you battle with mental-health struggles.