Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:04 Hi and welcome to. That makes total sense. The podcast where we talk about faith, finance and everyday life in a way that makes total sense. I'm your host Alexis BU city. On this podcast, you'll hear the personal stories of friends I'll be interviewing who are doing familiar things in new and innovative ways. We'll answer questions specifically about money and our relationship with it and we'll explore faith and Bible teaching together. In all of these. It's not about changing our convictions as much as it is about messing with our methods. We'll have a lot of moments here together where we pause and say, that makes total sense.
Speaker 1 00:44 Hi, I'm Alexis <inaudible> and welcome to that makes total sense. Today our guest is Casey Pruitt with the grace Alliance and I am so excited to have Casey talked to all of us about her work at the grace Alliance, what they do, how she got into this space because it is so needed in the body of Christ. The grace Alliance is all about mental health and I feel like this is a conversation that has been happening around the church for a long time and we're finally starting to enter in in a really meaningful way. And the grace Alliance in my opinion, is a huge part of that conversation and moving forward in this space of mental health. So I'm going to let Casey tell you all about it, but they really focus on biblical truths, um, research, community groups, just growing and healing together and really just being there for each other as part of the body. So I cannot wait for you to hear this. Casey is amazing. The work that she does with grace Alliance is amazing. I'll put all of the links and all of the contact information that you'll need in the show notes because trust me, this is an area that you are going to want to check out because every one of us, if we haven't been directly affected, we have been close to someone who has been affected in this area of mental health. So listen to this episode today with Casey Pruitt from the grace Alliance.
Speaker 1 02:18 Hi everybody and welcome to that makes total sense. I am Alexis <inaudible> and I am thrilled to be sitting here with Casey Pruitt. Hi Casey. Hi there. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you Casey. So Casey and I are new friends and this was kind of strange. Um, Casey works for the grace Alliance, which is actually what we're going to get into talking about in this conversation. But how I met Casey was kind of wild. We both write for family christian.com we both contribute to that website and there was an article on there, Casey think it was yourself care article, which I may lead to because this thing has just like gone wild on that side. And so I read it, I was going to share it with one of my girlfriends who was saying that was kind of her prayer request for the year. It was about self care. And then I read your bio and it said Justin Easton. And so I reached out and turns out, I mean Casey, we probably live like maybe five miles from each other, right?
Speaker 2 03:27 Yes, yes, very close.
Speaker 1 03:29 Very close. So we got coffee a little while back and I just loved it so much before we knew it. It had almost turned into lunch and we talked about everything, but we talked about everything. Grace Alliance first, which I'm so excited about. So Casey, can you give us, just besides the fact that you live in Houston and you write and you work, can you give us just a little bit of context for what your life looks like right now?
Speaker 2 03:55 Yeah. Um, so I am actually originally from California, so moved here a couple of years ago with my husband who is from here. And uh, we have a 10 month old daughter, uh, Quinn and a Goldendoodle who is our first baby. And yeah, so I work full time with grace Alliance. Um, worked with them for about, gosh, like five years, five or six years now. Um, and so I do that full time and I love it. I get to work from home. Um, we're kind of, our team is scattered. Um, so it's a unique dynamic, but I love the work that I get to do.
Speaker 1 04:37 Awesome. And you guys moved to Houston just a little bit before Harvey, I think. Yeah. One month before Harvey, which is welcome to Houston. Exactly right. Um, and so tell everybody what the grace Alliance is. I mean, we'll get into the work that you guys do, but give us kind of the elevator pitch of what grace Alliance is for those of us who haven't heard of it or aren't familiar with the work that you guys do.
Speaker 2 05:01 Yeah, so really what we are is we're a Christian nonprofit, um, that focuses on mental health. And what we do is kind of help equip the church and families and individuals with, um, not just Christ centered solutions, but also, um, you know, things that are backed up by science. So we kind of combine the biblical and the scientific, um, and to help provide people with practical solutions. So it's not just kind of talking about things, it's how are we actually equipping with tools that can be helpful for families and individuals within the church.
Speaker 1 05:38 Oh my goodness. I love that so much. Okay. So Christian organization that focuses on mental health. I mean, can I say that that's in the years past, I feel like that is a, sounds a little bit like an oxymoron unfortunately. Like it sounds a little bit like jumbo shrimp, right? Like a Christian organization that works with mental health and focuses on mental health. So like what, I mean I want you to say kind of your Genesis with the organization, but how in the world did this come to be? Because I am thrilled about what you guys are doing. The more I learned about your organization, the more I love it. Um, but it's just like, I feel like the church has and Christian organizations maybe for some time. I don't know. Maybe it's just my perception. I feel like we've separated ourselves from mental health and the people who are in need of mental health services. Maybe. So how did all of this happen? How did this come together?
Speaker 2 06:37 Yeah, so our co founder, Joe Pedea, who's now our CEO, um, he really kind of helped start the grace Alliance after his journey with his wife. Um, and his wife was struggling with mental health issues. And so he was really trying to figure out, Hey, what can we do to really help her? Um, and they had really tried everything and kinda came to this point where they're like, okay, everybody's fired. We're starting over. Um, you know, we've got to find something that works and
Speaker 1 07:11 it's really getting better.
Speaker 2 07:13 Yeah. And, you know, it's like, Hey, you can combine all of the doctors and the medications and, um, you know, all of that. But
Speaker 1 07:20 hang on that just cut out. Say that again.
Speaker 2 07:23 They, you know, they can combine like doctors and medications and all of that, but, you know, there was something that was missing, I think, um, that they felt. And so they, um, worked with dr Matt Stanford, who also is one of our cofounders, um, and was on our board for a long time. And they really kind of developed this holistic system of like, okay, look, the way that God created us is not compartmentalize, like everything interacts with our life. And so that's how we want to create kind of the system of care. So we want to look at not just the physical, but also the mental and the spiritual and the relational. And so they really started kind of implementing all of that and, um, it worked. And so it kind of came to the point where it was like, okay, now how can we replicate this?
Speaker 2 08:16 And, um, I'm not going to speak for Joe on that whole process, but I think it was kind of a, this tug of like, okay, wait, do I really want to do this? Like, do you know, like we just got through this with my wife and our family and, um, but it was just so clear, um, that there was this gap, um, of care when it came to, I think, especially for believers, you know, Christians and caring for their mental health. Um, and so that's kind of the Genesis of grace Alliance. Um, overall. And it's also kind of how, um, I got into it and how, um, my coworker Natalie Frank's got it as well. Um, you know, we were friends at the time and, uh, we were roommates and she had been diagnosed with some mental health, um, difficulties and she was kind of in the process of trying to figure all of that out and we realize like nobody is talking about this in the church. Like there was, there was just no, um, care that kind of intersected faith and mental health.
Speaker 1 09:21 And what kind of timeframe was this just so we can kind of put this in a bit of a <inaudible>?
Speaker 2 09:25 Gosh, yeah, this was probably around 2010 to 2011.
Speaker 1 09:31 Right. So recent, I mean less than a decade ago.
Speaker 2 09:34 Yeah. And it really is kind of, um, I mean almost just miraculous to look back and see. I mean, we still have so far to go, but we have come so far in the last decade. Um, so yeah, I mean we were really trying to figure out like I was working for, um, a college Christian ministry and um, you know, there was just nothing around us that was, you know, talking about how do we deal with these mental health issues. But also like not leave Jesus out of it cause we felt like, how can you do that? You know, it's like the midst of all this chaos. Like Jesus is the one thing that stays the same and so how can you take him out of that? So we really started looking for something and really couldn't find a lot. Um, and so our original plan was actually to start something on our own. Um, luckily,
Speaker 1 10:35 yeah,
Speaker 2 10:36 we got connected with, um, dr Matt Stanford and had actually found some of his research on the church and mental health, um, and reach out to him. He was a professor at Baylor at the time and um, he is the one who actually told us about the grace Alliance and I remember pulling up their website and you know, they were really small at the time. I think they had just started maybe like a year or two before that. Um, and they were doing exactly what we wanted to do. I mean we had written out this whole plan based on like the needs that we felt and um, I mean our jaws just kind of dropped cause we were like, okay God, this is, this is exactly what we have been talking about and we don't really believe in reinventing the wheel. So yeah. Um, so yeah, I mean long story short, we got connected with them. Um, I was still living in California at the time, so we started West coast branch and then eventually kind of merged our teams, um, as kind of one, um, headquarter team working remotely.
Speaker 1 11:37 Right. I mean this is crazy cause you're, you're talking about not reinventing the wheel, which is one thing, but um, you know, doing some reading right now in this, uh, there's this Mark Batterson book I'm reading and talking about like pursuing your own dreams, but then also being able to jump onboard with someone else's dreams and kind serving them and serving their vision and how that's really important too. And that's kind of what I'm hearing from you guys. Like you had this thing and it was not like, Oh, I have to do this all by myself. Like let's just, let's just serve their vision. It's our vision. It becomes like a combined vision then. And I know this was something we talked about at coffee and do you, do you feel comfortable sharing kind of that cause I feel like it was such a God story. I'm like picturing you in this office at Baylor. So can you tell us about that? Because I kind of don't want to miss it. I know it's part of the part of the encapsulated long story short, but I just love when you can just see God so clearly in some of those places in our lives.
Speaker 2 12:33 Yeah. Yeah, definitely. So we, um, met with Matt, um, Stanford and we kind of went into it like, you know, we just kind of did one of those prayers of like, Lord, if this is what we're supposed to be doing, like if we're supposed to be working with them, we just pray that they would bring up us working with them. Um, you know, that it would be, you know, their initiative. And so we just kind of went in with like, we have no idea what's going to happen. Um, and so we kind of started talking and um, in the middle of our conversation, Matt just kind of stopped us and was like, I think we need to start talking about you guys opening up a West coast branch for us. And we kinda just were like, okay, this is happening. And um, I mean just, I like kind of a little bit of backstory. I studied public relations and
Speaker 1 13:27 I was going to bring that up. I was going to say, this isn't exactly your educational or professional background.
Speaker 2 13:32 Yeah. And then I worked in college ministry, which you know, if you worked in ministry at all, you, you do know that like it's basically counseling, but without that degree in counseling.
Speaker 1 13:41 Exactly. Especially a lot of, I feel like a lot of times at the college level it is, right? You got to get out of this revolving door of men or women. You're three if you're a women's ministry. I have this revolving door women coming in your office.
Speaker 2 13:52 Yes, yes. And I loved that part, but I still did not feel at all quit to work in any sort of mental health field. And Natalie had, um, she had a master's degree in occupational therapy with an emphasis in mental health. And so she was like gung ho, you know, like, this is what I want to do. You know, she had the lived experience. So it took, I mean even after that I was still very hesitant to do this. I mean I was kind of like, uh, I think I'm going to need about like seven more signs.
Speaker 1 14:25 I was going to say that's really good for all of us to hear though, because it's like, okay, well you had this, like it could be a story book, right? Like, well, I prayed this specific prayer and then got answered in a specific way and then I just went and then it was happily ever after. And you're kind of like, okay, well was that really, I don't know. Maybe he didn't. Exactly. Yeah. Right. And I think we do. I think we struggle with that. I mean, I'm doing a study on Gideon right now and it's the same thing. I'm going to put the police out. Okay, well, okay, tomorrow I'm gonna put out the other way. <inaudible> can you, can you do that? You know, so it's like look for all the other sides. So things were going there with us because I think that's a really, I think that's a really cool part of it. And I think that that's a really neat thing for all of us. Cause it's like, it's not just like a shift in a career or a change in a job. This is like a major shift for what you were doing and what you thought you would do. Right. Got your degree and all of that.
Speaker 2 15:23 Yeah, exactly. Well, and, you know, living through that with Natalie and trying to help her navigate, um, all of this. I mean, I really, there were so many days when I was like, gosh, I like, my job is to go on to campus and like pour into these students, but I'm already so like emotionally and relationally drained because I'm, I'm trying to like figure out how to love Natalie through this and how to help her through this. And, and, you know, for a long time it was just kind of the two of us. Um, you know, we didn't have any other help. And so, um, I think another one of my biggest fears was like, I don't know if I want this to be my life, you know, kind of like Joe, you know, it was, it was kind of this fear of, Hey, I kind of want to like move past this and, and do something else. Like, I don't want this, you know? And I think that that's kind of the story of like anyone who like serves in mental health or you know, any of those kinds of care fields. It's, you know, we kind of joke like nobody's here because they want to be here. Like, you know, or because they elected to be.
Speaker 1 16:27 Right. And, and there's a burnout rate, right? I mean there's, there's <inaudible> burnout rate, but let's talk about what you guys do because I love that you and Natalie really represent, if I'm remembering correctly, it's like you and now they really represent kind of the two main groups that grace Alliance serves. So you guys serve the person who is having the mental health challenges at the time. And then you guys also serve the people who are wrapping around the people who are, who are having the mental health challenges. And so tell us how grace Alliance serves both of those populations and what you guys do.
Speaker 2 17:03 Yeah, I love the way you said that, the people who wrap around them. Cause it really is kind of true. And I think that that's what really drew us to grace lions, is that we really focus not just on the individuals who are experiencing anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, um, you know, whatever it may be, but also the family and friends that are walking alongside them. Um, cause through our journey we really realize like the family members and the friends and he just as much, if not more, maybe sometimes words through this process. Um, you know, they're also having to go through the process of, of learning and education and, um, the right ways to help care for their loved one while also empowering them. Um, you know, there's a lot of kind of like, almost like second degree, um, anxiety and depression that happens for loved ones.
Speaker 2 17:57 And, um, so we knew that that was necessary. Like you can't leave that part out of it. And so what we really do is it kinda, the main part of what we do is we have, um, small group curriculum. Um, you can call them small groups, support groups, whatever, um, you want to call it, uh, for both individuals and then also family. So we have, um, our individual groups are called our living grace groups. Um, and those go through a curriculum that has, um, an aspect of faith about a topic. And then you go into kind of some discussion questions and, and facts, both biblical and scientific about the topic. And then there's practical tools of like, okay, how do we implement some of these things in this knowledge in our daily life so that actually can help relieve some of the symptoms of these mental health difficulties.
Speaker 2 18:50 Um, and then the same goes for the family. Um, the family grace group is for the family members or friends. Um, and that's really kind of learning care for yourself and also like appropriate care for your loved one. Um, the family group is always so interesting cause I, as I've led it, I've always had to remind them like, this group is not like for, for us to be here to learn how to fix your loved one. This is actually a care for you. You know, it's for you. Um, and we all, I mean I th I'm sure that there's areas in everyone's life that we could, we could use that. And this is um, you know, this just focuses specifically on um, mental health issues.
Speaker 1 19:32 Right? That's so good that it's not about, it's like not about fixing them but it's like, cause I think whenever the family would be in that situation and they might be focused on kind of quote fixing their loved one, it's like they don't even get a break inside of the group time. And it seems like the group time is designed not just to support but empower and give them rest from maybe thinking about, you know, their time, you know, caring for the level one which is, which is stressful. Right. Which is, which is why you guys exist. Tell me about both of those groups have the word grace in it. The name of your organization has the word grace in it. And I love this aspect of it. I love when we talked about this, so share with everybody, why is that important? Why is that an important word for you guys and your organization? What is important about that concept when dealing with the leading people who are having mental health challenges?
Speaker 2 20:29 Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, part of any sort of mental health difficulty, whether it's anxiety or depression, um, a lot of that, you know, kind of comes with this almost this feeling of like, I have to work for gods love his, I have to earn something. Um, and unfortunately I think it's also kind of what has been communicated, um, when it comes to dealing with things like anxiety and depression. Um, you know, it's like, okay, I just need to pray harder. Or, um, you know, like I need to have more faith or I need to read my Bible more. Um, and so it really kind of works us into this mode of like performance-based, um, you know, like love from God and from even from others. And so, um, kind of the main reason we really emphasize grace is that a lot of times the individuals that we're experiencing, it's like that is exactly what they need to be reminded of is like, you can sit here and rest in God's grace.
Speaker 2 21:39 Like there is nothing that you need to do to get him to love you anymore. And I, I mean, I love it when we get to kind of like remind them of that in these groups because I feel like you can just kind of see this like collective sigh of relief of like, gosh, like I just get to rest in God's grace. And so that's a really important aspect for us to just, you know, remind them of that and remind ourselves of it on a daily basis. It's like, why we put grace everywhere, you know? It's, it's kind of like, you know, that's, that's what we need to be reminded of each day.
Speaker 1 22:18 Do you think that there's an aspect when we're dealing with mental health that, because, okay, so this person didn't get most of the time, right? This person didn't get into an accident so they don't have an injury. You can see, or this person hasn't have cancer and you can see a tumor on a, on a cat scan or something like that. And so it's like, but they still, something still happened. Right. And so I'm wondering if it's like th that works aspect that you're talking about is kind of like, well, if I had done this, if I had done this better, if I had prayed more, if I have read more of my Bible, if I had, you know, if I had had more faith, like he's like, Oh my goodness, like maybe this wouldn't, it's like a backtrack almost. Like maybe it wouldn't have happened to me and if I want to get better then I'll just do more and I'll catch up. Maybe, maybe I'll catch up to where I quote should be and then I'll be better. Cause you can't, you can't see,
Speaker 2 23:14 right. Yeah. A mental health difficulty. Oh yeah. I mean we kind of joke that like, you know, mental health issues are like the no casserole illness. Like, you know, it's like, because there's not like, you know, uh, an X Ray or a blood test or, you know, so people really don't know what to do with it. And I think a lot of times it's, um, you know, people are, are quite literally saying like, is it all in my head? You know, is it, am I making this up? Or like are they making it up? And um, you know, so it is really hard and especially like if you haven't experienced the, like the symptoms of things like anxiety and depression, it is a very difficult thing to understand, you know, like, Oh, why can't you just like make yourself feel better? You know, like, why can't you just like, yeah, everybody gets tired.
Speaker 2 24:09 Like it's hard to get out of bed in the morning, you know, there are symptoms that like we really kind of minimize. Um, and so, but it is really hard to, I think even for an individual who is actually suffering, it's hard to not think like, maybe I'm just making this up because there isn't like, you know, there isn't any sort of tests that can prove this, you know? And I think that obviously we see, we're seeing different things like brain scans and you know, all of that coming out that I think, um, you know, I've talked to a couple of people who have done that and it was like, I mean for them to be able to see like, wow, there's this part of my brain that like affects this is actually not functioning in the way that it's supposed to be. I mean, there's just this huge, I mean, obviously like with any sort of diagnosis, there's this tension of like, gosh, like relief in a sense of like, I'm not just making this up. Like there I can point to what's going on, but also the sense of like, wow, like now I need to discover my new normal, you know, like now this is a reality. Um, and so figuring out like what does life look like with that?
Speaker 1 25:21 Right, right. That's so good. Um, that's so good. And I want to go back to the groups that you're doing, but I just love the, I just love the grace aspect of it because I just think it's so important. I mean it's been named so well and it is, it's a reminder. It's like every time you open up that workbook, every time, you know, they go to a group, it's, it's a reminder of why they're there and what God has intended for, not just for them but for all of us is to rest in his grace. So these two different kinds of groups that you have, one for the individual and one for the people in caring for the individual, where do these typically take place and like how do people find out about them?
Speaker 2 26:00 Right. So they are kind of all over the place. So most of them I would say probably meet in churches, some meet in people's homes. Um, we have probably, I, I think we're at like over 300. We're approaching 350 groups nationwide around the world. Yeah. So it's been, um, I think like, just demonstrating the need, you know, it's like we really like our team is so small and we have done zero advertising. Um, and, and like, that's not like a, I'm trying to say what we're doing is so great. I'm just saying like that because what we see with that isn't is the need. Like there isn't a need for this support and for tools and especially within the church and so,
Speaker 1 26:54 well it's the knee, but I'm interrupt for a second. It's the need, but it's also the, the, I don't want to say results and make it sound very numbers driven, but it's, I think it's, it's the fruit really. We want to spiritualize it. It's the fruit of what you guys are saying because with no advertising and 350 groups and growing like people are going to try it and they're going to say, Oh my goodness. Because they have people I think within their communities, right? When you're dealing with mental health issues, you tend to meet people who are dealing with those kinds of things as well. And then that person is going to say, Oh snap, have you heard of what this grace Alliance is doing? Right. And, and so I think that you guys with obviously with God's help and annointing in this space have landed on some stuff that really words. And so you don't need advertising when people are like, this is it, you know, like we're, we're actually seeing some health and wellness and healing and wellbeing coming out of some of these yeah. Groups, you know, just so yes, there's a, there's a need, but whatever you guys are doing, it's working. So you're saying that you're doing it in churches, you're doing? Um,
Speaker 2 28:03 yes, yes. And yeah, you can, if you go on our website, we list out all of the locations of groups that are um, open, you know, some groups kind of decide like, Hey, we're just going to keep this a private group. And so they don't advertise on our website. But if they, if people do want to register their groups and, and publicize them, they're all listed on our website. Um, and the training to facilitate a group to learn how to lead a group is free. It's on our website. Um, it just takes you, it's a video course that you go through. Um, and there's kind of a guide to take you through it. We give you all the slides from our PowerPoint, um, that we take you through. So, you know, it's, we really wanted this to be as accessible as possible. We realize like when we, when we first started, we were doing all of the trainings live, whether it was like on over video or in person.
Speaker 2 28:57 And, and finally it just got to be to the point where we're like, we just don't have the capacity to keep up with the growth. And so we recorded all the videos so that it would be accessible. I mean, it's like you can sit in your pajamas and watch the videos. And um, and I, the reason that I think that the groups might be growing also is just because we created them in a way that they could be led by anybody. You don't have to, I mean like myself, you don't have to have a mental health, um, professional background. Um, you know, most, I would say most of who are leaving our groups are people who have been affected by mental health difficulties, whether they're with their family member or themselves. And I think that that is also what is so special about the process is just getting to see the Lord really move in people's lives to the point where, um, you know, they've kind of gone through this like in a sense a grieving process of like, Hey, this is either like my reality or my loved one's reality.
Speaker 2 30:04 And you know, there's, there's a whole process with that that we talk about and the family grace group book that, you know, it's like there's shock and denial with that. And then, but at the end, what, you know, the way that God intended that grieving process to be is like, it ends up in this new strength and this new result and also credible empathy. And so that's where we see so many of our group facilitators coming from is, you know, it's like, okay, I've walked through this and I'm a little bit further along in the process. You know, it's kinda like discipleship and you know, it's like, okay, now I want to help others. I want to help other families, I want to help other individuals. And so I really do have to, I know I keep like pushing things off of us, but like I have to give so much credit to our group facilitators because they are on the front lines.
Speaker 2 30:52 Like they're the ones doing the hard work. They are loving people in the midst of a crisis and you know, difficult situations and, um, they're the ones multiplying the groups. And it's fun to see those groups multiply. Like they'll start, you know, we started, um, even before Natalie and I came on with a grace Alliance there, a group in San Diego, um, that had been running for awhile and that group has multiplied into maybe like 12 groups, um, over the years. And it's just like, you know, for a while it was the only group around. And so people were driving 45 minutes an hour to the group and finally decided, Hey, I'm going to take this group and start at my own church. And so that's how it, we're really seeing it. Multiply is, okay, I've been through it now and now, like I feel equipped enough to take it into my own church.
Speaker 1 31:41 Right. So, I mean they have, they have sensitivity and empathy and they want to help, which is, which is so big and that's what people need. So you're right. I mean it's not like you have to be a professional, you have to be a little bit further along than someone else. But I want to address this because especially I was thinking about it, but especially when you said that these groups, you've seen them multiply and maybe one group has made 10 or 12 groups and you might have some of these other ones. But I'm thinking, okay, number one, cause there might be people out there thinking, Oh, okay, so is this like, is it really because there's a need or is there, you know, is there something else behind it? Right? Like, like really that many people actually need this. But the other thing is, um,
Speaker 1 32:24 talk about when you go when either whether it's you guys or whether it's a to be small group facilitator goes into a church for the first time or talks to a pastor for the first time. Because this was something that I loved. You and I talked about. It's, most churches don't need more programming, right? Like most churches really feel like, okay, we got, we got this. Like all the Sunday school rooms are filled. We've got lots of home groups who've got all of this stuff. Our bulletin is full of things that we're trying to do. Youth groups and children's activities and marrieds events and singles events and men's and women's and whatever it is. And they're like, Oh yeah, that's exactly what I need is one more program. Right? Yeah. So what, I mean, talk about that because I think it's so cool that in a, in a world, in a church world where we're kind of full to the brim with programming, you guys are growing. So what do those conversations look like?
Speaker 2 33:18 Yeah, yeah. So I know that we kind of joked about, you know, like I was in, I worked in ministry and so I know what it's like when outside people come in and they're like, I've got this great program. And it's like, look, our schedule was booked like six months ago. Right. You know? And it's like we just, we have our own things going on. And you know, we have our own initiatives and um, and so we really like when when we approach a pastor or when, um, individuals within the church are approaching pastors. Um, really kind of our goal actually is to relieve the pastoral staff is to really the church leadership. Because, um, you know, a lot of times individuals who are experiencing the symptoms of a mental health difficulty, like they're looking for help and so they're going to the pastors and maybe it's over and over and over again. Um, and you know, so because pastors like, I mean, I like these pastors love and care for their congregation so much, but they, like most of them have never been given the opportunity to have any sort of education about this.
Speaker 1 34:26 It just kind of comes with the job.
Speaker 2 34:28 Yes, exactly. Exactly. And so what this, what these groups do is, I mean, I would say, I mean this is a huge guesstimate, but I would say like 95% of our groups are led by people in the church, not church leaders, not pastors. Um, and so what you're doing is providing a place for support. And so, I mean we've actually had like a couple of who has come in to see the pastor regarding their loved one who was, you know, experiencing mental health difficulties and um, and it just happened that the family grace group was meeting at the exact same time in their church that this couple came in and the pastor knew this and literally just walked them straight over into this school. Yes. And it's like, that is like the ideal, you know, how like we would ideally love for it to work but, and it's not like a, Oh here, I don't want to deal with this.
Speaker 2 35:28 It's like, no, these are people who I think can actually help you more. You know, they, they understand and they've been there, some of them are behind you in the process. Some of them are ahead of you in the process and, and they understand and that's like kind of the, the mantra that we hear like from people is like, gosh, people just get it. Like they understand what I'm experiencing and like as they've tried to explain it to like friends or other family members who haven't walked through this and they've kinda gotten the blank stares and I'm not, cause people don't want to understand but they just don't understand. And so when they walk into these groups, it is this huge sigh of relief of like, Oh my gosh, like I'm amongst like my people, you know, it's like my people understand and they get it. Um, so that is really kind of the goal with it is to provide a place where, um, there is support among the church, um, where people can go and pastors can refer them to, um, knowing that they will be cared for there.
Speaker 1 36:29 Right. And I think that's, that's so great because I feel like when, when you're, when people are dealing with this in their life, if it's them who's affected or if it's their family members, they go to the pastor because they automatically think and they assume that it's a good assumption because that's a pastor's job, right? Is they say, this is what you're here for. This is, this is what you can do. But I think a lot of them ended up going to the pastor with those types of problems that I'm guessing here again too. But I think it's because we, and I'm going to say we kind of as the church body want to help, but we don't always know how, especially if we're, if we don't fit that bill or we haven't really been affected in our lives yet, um, by that. And so it's like, we know how to do other things and we know how to create a meal train and someone has a baby, right?
Speaker 1 37:16 We know, um, we know how to care for newlyweds. Um, we're probably not as good, but we try if, if there's a death in the family or something like that. Right? But those are kind of the common life events that are seen too. Right? And so you can't hide it when you have a baby, like you got, you have a baby. Um, but I think with this mental health stuff, kind of like you said, there's, there's a lot of things working there. There's number one, it's often hidden. You know, number two. So they may feel like confidentiality wise, maybe they don't want to go to their regular small group or their Sunday school class, you know, so they go to the pastor. But then even if it does come out, if there's some sort of traumatic event drip or if someone just shares it maybe as a prayer request. I feel like we as the body, we want to help. But I feel like a lot of times, and I've seen this even in my own life where, where people, you know, just a few steps away from me have been experiencing that and I'm like, I want to help but I don't really know how to help or what to do. And so, um,
Speaker 1 38:18 it's so great that they can have this shared experience. And so it's not just like they get the physical, logistical support they need. It's like they get the emotional support they need. I don't have to explain every single thing. I don't have to tell this story 10 times. I don't have to say, well, you don't really understand. We tried this doctor and we tried this doctor. Like, there's a with me, they're going to start from zero, but with someone in that group, maybe they start at five or 10. Right. And they don't have to tell maybe everything. Um, I can see that and I could see how that would, how that would really minister to them too, to create a piece and to create, um, a feeling of comfort that they could share and start moving forward instead of having to get the back. Yes. All the time.
Speaker 2 39:05 Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that, you know, it's, it provides kind of a good setting for them to really start to understand like, Hey,
Speaker 2 39:17 this isn't just spiritual, you know, or it's not just physical. It's not just relational. It's not just, you know, whatever, you know, category you want to pick. Um, and I think that kind of the education that comes with that of like, Hey, let's look at how we can, you know, help care for ourselves or our loved ones. Um, in the way that really, that God created us. You know, it's like body, mind, spirit, you know, or physical, mental, spiritual, relational, however you want to divide it up. Um, and starting to understand, okay, like, let's look at the whole person. Um, and that's really kind of what our, what we emphasize is, you know, how, how can we address like all of those areas, um, and really create more of this holistic, and I think like we're scared of that word holistic because it feels like, you know, kind of Eastern, you know,
Speaker 1 40:09 right age or something. Right? Yeah.
Speaker 2 40:12 But it's like really, I mean, and kind of what we call it is like whole health, you know, like let's not just look at one area, um, you know, and kind of what Natalie and I had to learn, you know, the hard way I think was you also just need a team of people around you. Like there is no one person who should be your support. Um, and that is I think really crucial, um, to know that, you know, like, okay, yes, these, these groups can be your support. Like, yes, you can still go talk to your pastor. Like he can be part of your support team, like a doctor can be part of your support team, your family members, your friends. Um, it's just important, like, you know, just like, you know, we read about in scripture, like with the body of Christ, like every person plays a different role.
Speaker 2 40:58 And so it's important to know that like, there's not going to be just one person who will fix everything and, you know, so just knowing like, okay, let's, let's surround ourselves with, with people who will support us and be healthy and who we can also support. I think that, you know, that was a big part of Natalie's like healing process was like, she wanted to know, Hey, like I want you to know that like, I'm still your friend. Like, I'm not, like, I want to be like, I want to have purpose and give back. And like, I want you to be able to tell me when you're having a day. Um, and so, you know, this kind of, the groups allow for, I think a lot of that to really, um, be cultivated.
Speaker 1 41:41 Right. And, and, and what I heard when you were saying that too is it's like, it's so good for the person experiencing the difficulty to understand. There's not one just one person who's going to do that. But I think for the support group as well, like it's important for maybe mama or husband or whoever it is to know I'm not the only one, right? I'm not the, the person who's gonna provide everything that my loved one needs. My loved one needs a village. And you know, some of those people are going to be friends, some of them are going to be hired, some of them are going to be professionals and it's going to take a lot of different people with a lot of different skillsets to make that happen. And, and the, the holistic part, I love it because I feel like as I feel like as a body of believers, Mmm.
Speaker 1 42:24 I, in a lot of ways, I feel like we're moving more and more towards that and we're, we're not, we're no longer really associating like holistic with like acupuncture or red herbs or something like that. Right. It's like, it's like, okay, well holistic means, yeah, that God made us with all of these parts. And you know, I was even, I was even hearing a sermon the other day and he said, um, if you're at a funeral and you hear ashes to ashes, dust to dust, you're not hearing God's word there because God made your body and your body's going to resurrect. Right? And so this is not, he's saying this is, this is like philosophical. If you're hearing that, and it was, he was being a abrupt to make a point, right? Where your body doesn't, it doesn't just dissolve and then nothing else happens with it.
Speaker 1 43:02 Right? And so it's like God made us with all of these parts from now on, we are going to be all of these parts. And so and so it's so important. But I think even in what I do, which is money, and I say that, I look at it in a holistic way and sometimes I get the look right, but then, you know, you start explaining like, well, think about it. If you, if you're having money problems, you're going to feel stressed out. If you feel stressed out, then maybe you're not going to eat as well. If you're not eating as well, you know, like it's money is going to affect it. Or I have a dear friend who's a, a holistic nutrition coach, right? And, and I saw her as a client and I filled out, I felt like 80, it was probably only about 10 or 12 pages of history, you know, but at the same time, no one has ever been able to name <inaudible> and lead me to a diagnosis better than she did because she looked at all of these areas at the same time and was able to make connections that no other practitioner really could because they were looking at one thing apart from another thing when God made us to, designed as a system, which I think is so good.
Speaker 1 44:05 Um, and yeah, in that vein, but kind of going a little bit, um, a little bit deeper into that. Can you, in the time we have left, can you tell us about kind of the new things that you guys have coming because you have some stuff coming that it just makes me really excited, not just for the grace Alliance but kind of where I feel like we're going in, in the church caring for people with mental health difficulties.
Speaker 2 44:31 Yeah. So we have a, I mean our workbooks are about to be updated. Um, and so we have some, um, you know, for those living and family grace group workbooks, um, that, uh, is going to be completely, I mean ridden with the same, you know, message and all of that. Um, so those are going to be released in January. Um, you know, you'll be able to order them then. And um, again, the training to facilitate those is free. Um, we'll redo the video so that it matches everything. And, um, but yeah, I mean we are just, we're excited to kind of like just keep moving forward as we, you know, our really coming alongside the church and equipping the church like we are, our main thing was like we don't want to take the role of the church or the congregation. It's like we really just want to come alongside and, and help equip. Um, and so those are going to be available in January. Awesome.
Speaker 1 45:35 Do you want to talk about what you're doing with younger people?
Speaker 2 45:37 Oh yes.
Speaker 1 45:39 Yay. I'm so excited. I didn't know about the updates but I'm glad I know now. Yeah. But yeah, tell us, just tell us whatever you want us to know about that because that makes it send it to you.
Speaker 2 45:51 Yes. So yeah, one of the things that we really felt strongly about was because our, you know, Natalie and I's experience really started when she was a college student and so we really felt like, Hey, we need to specifically address, um, you know, what an average student experiences. Um, and so we have a newer book called redefined grace and it is specifically for high school and college students, um, you know, kind of gets into some of those topics that they're dealing with and, um, it's shorter, so it fits within either a semester or a quarter system. And, um, you know, we've had them going at several campuses now even churches are hosting them, youth groups are hosting them. Um, and so those are available on our website and we really believe like this is the really that kind of the key place to address mental health issues because, um, it's when a lot of those mental health issues kind of start to take place and start to surface and, um, you know, it's like there's the pressures of school and you know, maybe going off to school and living on your own for the first time.
Speaker 2 47:07 Um, I mean, I think even like high school and I mean, sadly even younger than that are starting to just experience so much stress. And I think that a lot of times that is what triggers, you know, deeper anxiety and depression. Um, and so really, I mean, our hope like in the long run is like more preventative, you know, Hey, let's, let's talk about this ahead of time. Like, let's normalize this conversation so that, you know, it's, it's just part of like what you're aware of. Like the awareness is already there. We can watch out for it. Like mental health is part of like, you know, when you go for your annual checkup, it's like, so it becomes normalized to really care for your mental health. Um, and so this is, you know, like we're, I think we're still a ways away from that. Like we still have some catching up to do. And, and so, you know, that's what these tools are for is really to address like, okay, the students who are currently like suffering, um, let's help address some of those issues. Let's give them some tools. Let's let them, you know, have a place, a safe place to kind of talk through that. Um, while also not having to sacrifice, um, their faith and, um, being able to show them that like, all of that can be integrated together. It doesn't have to be separated.
Speaker 1 48:24 Right. That's so good. Thank you. Thank you for that. Because I'm like also, I think just even what you mentioned before of like sip some of the family members coming in and feeling like, Oh my goodness, these are my people. And I feel like with those kind of teenage and young adult years, I think so many people suffer in isolation because they just think no one else feels this way. Or maybe they're afraid to talk about it. But if they can have a group <inaudible> I feel like maybe they can, they could have a similar experience, right. Of like, these people understand me or I'm not weird or I'm not alone and, um, and go through the process of healing together. Um, which I think is just, I think is just so great. So, Oh my goodness. Casey, thanks. I'm so glad that we made this work today. I had to cancel our first run. We almost had to cancel because of the storm coming in today. But I'm so glad that you were here. Can you tell everybody how we can find out more about the grace Alliance? Um, where can we find you guys on the web and on social?
Speaker 2 49:25 Yeah, so you can find us. Our website is just mental health, grace alliance.org and then, um, we are on Facebook and Instagram. Um, you can find just type in the grace Alliance on both of them. Uh, we are kind of active on all of those. Um, and we love like interacting with people and uh, we have blogs that we post, um, probably about like three to four times a month that discuss kind of these hot topics with mental health and faith and um, anything to do with that. So, um, you know, you can subscribe to our newsletter on there as well.
Speaker 1 50:05 Awesome. And then I think maybe we will put a link to your bio page on family Christian because Casey writes about other stuff, but she also writes about this mental health, um, from a Christian women's perspectives since that's kind of what that magazine is all about. So if that's okay with you, we'll kind of like to that too so that people can find you there. Awesome. Thank you so much, Casey. I appreciate you being with us today.
Speaker 2 50:26 Yeah, thanks for having
Speaker 0 50:27 me. All right, talk soon. So thank you again so much for listening. Don't forget to subscribe so you won't miss an episode. Share the link with your friends. You can visit us at <inaudible>. That makes total sense.com and until next time, this is Alexis. Be steady, remembering to do well for ourselves so we can do good for others.
Speaker 3 50:50 <inaudible>.
