St. James’ has discerned a calling to address mental health and wellness. As we progress on this journey, we’ll share resources and information here. Scroll down to find our “Prayers on Demand” video series, where you can access a companion prayer video for various difficult or joyous times in life.
Crisis Help
988 – The National Crisis Hotline
Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7 for yourself or a loved one in need of support for:
- Thoughts of suicide
- Mental health or substance use crisis
- Any other kind of emotional distress
More Crisis Help and Resources
Montgomery County Crisis Center provides crisis services 24 hours a day/ 365 days a year. These services are provided over the telephone (240-777-4000) or in person at 1301 Piccard Drive in Rockville (no appointment needed).
Mobile Crisis Outreach will respond anywhere within Montgomery County to provide emergency psychiatric evaluations. Full crisis assessments and treatment referrals are provided for all crises, both psychiatric and situational. In addition, the program has six crisis beds as an alternative to hospitalization for those who are uninsured or are insured within the public mental health system.
NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness
NAMI Montgomery County
Find local resources for mental health support, education, and ways to raise awareness of mental health issues.
SAMHSA: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
US Department of Health and Human Services. Find treatment near you, mental health training, and crisis support.
Books, Articles, Apps, and More
Have you read something that helped you? Here are some sources that may help.
Please send email to kirsten@stjamespotomac.org if you’d like to share a resource. St. James’ does not endorse or promote these sources, and they are not a replacement for professional care.
Article: Best Mental Health Apps to Use, from Healthline
From the article: Many mental health apps can give you tools, activities, and support to help you manage your stress. There are apps available to help with general mental health concerns and specific conditions. This article covers the 10 best mental health apps for 2022.
Book: 
The Art of Calm: Spiritual Exercises for the Anxious Soul, by Roger Hutchison
A practical guide with exercises to manage stress and anxiety.
Perfect for Mental Health Awareness Month in May: the author shares his personal struggles with mental health to de-stigmatize these issues and let readers know that they are not alone. The exercises and reflections included at the end of each chapter encourage readers to try out a variety of creative practices to find their way to a more centered and peaceful life. These exercises and reflections also lend themselves well to a group context, where readers can share their projects and reflections with an encouraging community.
Support at St. James’
Find support and fellowship with “Stronger Together” on Thursday evenings
This St. James’ group meets Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m. by Zoom to discuss a new mental health topic each week (see our blog below for the latest topics). Drop by occasionally, regularly, or whenever you think this might be good for you.
The conversations are easy-going, positive, supportive, and often a lot of fun. Sometimes the topics are heavy, but more commonly they are about everyday issues affecting our mental well-being, or the experiences of living with or caring for someone living with mental illness. There’s never any pressure to share; some choose to spend the time together listening. We pray for one another and do our best to grow our empathy and listening skills.
Access to the meeting is shared here and in our weekly parish emails. To receive these emails, contact us.
More About Mental Health Ministries at St. James'
St. James’ Mental Health Ministries
Since 2018, St. James’ has discerned a call from God to a ministry with people living with mental illness and the people who love them. This ministry has included many initiatives, but underlying them all is an overarching understanding of how we are being called to the Mental Health Ministries that has developed.
We value and respect the contributions that mental health professionals and medications are able to offer people living with mental illness. Our ministries are not a substitute for them, yet we seek to find how we, as a church, might provide a positive addition to what they offer in ways that we are best suited to do so as a congregation.
This is what we have developed so far:
- We create a supportive community where people are able to be open, to the degree that they feel comfortable doing so, about their experiences with mental illness, knowing that they are fully loved by God and the community.
- We help reduce the silence and stigma that surround mental illness, and increase compassionate awareness and accurate understanding of it.
- We advocate for society meeting the needs of people living with mental illness and the people who love them.
The Leaders Group of the Mental Health Ministries meets monthly to help plan the year’s MHM Initiatives. If you have more questions about the ministries, contact The Rev. James Isaacs, james@stjamespotomac.org, or the parish office, office@stjamespotomac.org.
“Stronger Together” Topics and Prayer on Demand Videos
The blog below highlights the topics discussed at “Stronger Together” on Thursday evenings.
The St. James’ Mental Health Leaders Group has created some “on demand” prayer videos to accompany those who would like a companion or some guidance in their prayer time. Find the prayer videos at the end of this page.
Continuing to Challenge Our Assumptions
Hello friends, A couple of weeks ago we explored how culture can shape our assumptions about mental illness. This week we'll explore a related topic: how behavior and mannerisms influence our assumptions about mental health and well-being. This is a good time to...
Wednesday Thanksgiving Check-In
Hello friends, First off, thank you so much to Sampson for stepping in and facilitating last week's conversation. I am so grateful for the support! It's Thanksgiving week as you surely know, so instead of our normal Thursday evening discussion we'll have a brief...
“The next time you hear ‘mental,’ do not just think of the mad man, think of me”
Hello friends, We have many preconceptions about mental illness that we may or may not be aware of—who it affects, what it looks like, how it should be addressed—that are ingrained in us through the images we see, the voices that get (or don't get) elevated, and the...
So You Think You Know PTSD?
Hello friends, However many decades ago, post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, was a relatively unknown form of mental illness. There have since been massive public education campaigns on PTSD and how it can affect people who experience significant tragedies,...
Express Yourself for Better Mental Health
Hello friends, We've talked before about the virtues of journaling for promoting mental well-being, but there's a slightly different form of writing that has been shown to be especially powerful for helping people recover from traumatic situations and generally...
Allowing Compassion and Frustration to Coexist
Hello friends, The Dalai Lama is often quoted, "If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion." That sounds great and all, but let's get real: there are many times when our anger, frustration, sadness, and fear make...
Preparing for Struggles Ahead
Just last week we had a lighthearted (but thoughtful and productive) conversation about joy. What a difference a week can make. I suspect you are as heartbroken as I am, and maybe more. Let's talk about it tomorrow, shall we? I also want to share with you an article...
Who’s Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Anyway?
Last week we had a great conversation about clinical depression, and (thanks to the power of metaphors!) walked away with a deeper and more nuanced understanding of what this form of mental illness can feel like to those who experience it. This week we're going to...
Depression Is a Dog
Hello friends, Sometimes the simplest of metaphors help us see an issue from a deeper, more personal level. That's why we're going to watch a short video about a dog this week. [Insert joke here about how we're not dogging it in Stronger Together, or about depression...
It’s Who You Talk to That Counts
Hello friends, This week we're going to focus on two different but related stories about the power of talking to others. In the first, we hear how a university professor came to discover that even brief, casual exchanges with others are an antidote to loneliness and a...
Prayer on Demand Videos
The St. James’ Mental Health Leaders Group has created these “on demand” prayer videos to accompany those who would like a companion or some guidance in their prayer time. We are happy to pray with you wherever you are.