Five Books on Mental Illness

Why Do Christians Shoot Their Wounded? Helping (Not Hurting) Those with Emtionals Diffculties, by Dwight L. Carlson, M.D. (1994, InterVarsity Press)
According to Simpson, this older volume, "rejects the idea that hurting people should be condemned for their pain, and it succeeds in equipping churches to provide more effective care."

Darkness Is My Only Companion: A Christian Response to Mental Illness, by Kathryn Greene-McCreight (2006, Brazos Press)
Greene-McCreight, a college professor and Episcopal priest who lives with bi-polar disorder, says Simpson, "shares her experiences and wrestles through theological questions pertaining to mental illness."

Grace for the Afflicted: A Clinical and Biblical Perspective on Mental Illness, by Matthew S. Stanford, Ph.D. (2012, Paternoster Publishing)
Simpson likes this book because it is a good reference for understanding the issues as well as giving guidence for helping people with mental illness, and contains "detailed information and biblical persepctives about various types of disorders."

When Your Family Is Living with a Mental Illness, by Marcia Lund (2002, Augsburg Fortress)
This brief booklet was created for church leaders to give to people affected by mental illness, referring them to other resources and assuring them that they are not alone in their walk with mental illness.

Ministry with Persons with Mental Illness and Their Families, ed. by Robert H. Albers, William H. Meller, and Steven D. Thurber (2012, Fortress Press)
In this volume psychiatrists, psychologists and theologians discuss mental illness from medical, theological, and ministry perspectives. Pastors and other church leaders will find themselves referring to this excellent reference regularly in their work in ministry. This book was reviewed on Disability Concerns blog last year