Yale University

Youth Ministry Institute

Pastoral Care & Mental Health

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. [Isaiah 43:2]

What is the role of the youth worker in tending to the spiritual and mental well-being of young people? Youth ministry offers the unique gift of providing youth with a network of adults who care deeply for their health and well-being. Given the relational nature of working with youth, youth workers can often be on the front lines to identify a problem and react quickly to prevent a crisis or tragedy. In the longer term, youth workers are pastors to our children and walk with them as they form their identities as people of faith.

Accompanying LGBTQ+ Youth

Theologians and practitioners discuss the importance of supporting and walking with LGBTQ+ youth.

6 Weeks

64 Lessons

Cultivating Resilience, Well-Being and Authentic Happiness in Youth

Theologians, psychologists and youth leaders discuss the importance of cultivating resilience in youth.

5 Weeks

39 Lessons

Sabbath Rest

Leading theologians and youth practitioners explore the importance of sabbath-keeping for both youth and youth workers.

4 Weeks

28 Lessons

Tending to the Mental Health of Adolescents

Leading theologians and pastors explore adolescent mental health and the role of youth ministry and the youth minister in supporting […]

8 Weeks

72 Lessons

Offering Effective Pastoral Care

Theologians, philosophers, and pastors examine the importance of pastoral care to youth and their families as part of a robust […]

8 Weeks

84 Lessons

Mental Health

Articles and resources on the mental health issues facing adolescents.

Articles and Readings

Violence

Rev. Dr. Dori Baker and Dr. Patrick B. Reyes present a lecture on violence.

Becoming a Spiritual Athlete

This lesson will help youth to develop spiritual practices that can help to prevent self-destructive behaviors.

The Forgotten Billion

This lesson will focus making youth aware of the injustice in the world.

Intelligent in More Ways Than One

In this lesson, youth will learn to appreciate their own intelligence as well as the gifts of others.

Bravery and Imagination

In this lesson, we will introduce young people to the idea of prophetic imagination.

Trusting God in Anxious Times

In this lesson, youth will learn how faith can help them to deal with anxiety.

Hope Never Fails

This lesson will focus on how sharing your biggest concerns with God can lead to a sense of hope.

Tuning in to Joy

This lesson will help youth to recognize joy in light of other emotions.

Depression in Biblical Days

This lesson will help youth to see the Bible as a source of support when walking through depression.

We Belong Together

This lesson is designed to bring youth awareness to injustice in the world.

Creating a Sexual Ethic

This lesson will help youth identify how faith values establish guidelines for a sexual ethic related to relationships with themselves and others.

Paths to a Joyful Expression of Self

This lesson is designed as a bible study with youth around the question of "Who Am I Before God?"

Who Am I Before God?

This lesson asks youth to focus on the self that God gave them.

God’s Work of Art – Your Brain

This lesson will focus on how substance abuse can impact youth's ability to experience joy.

Nurturing Joy: Emotional Health 101

This lesson focuses on the important concerns of depression and suicide among youth.

Sexual Education Assessment Exercise

This lesson is designed to help groups become more intentional about communicating equitable, healthy, and positive sexuality education grounded in faith values.

Being a Welcome and Inclusive Youth Group

This lesson will explore creating a welcoming environments for teens of all sexual orientations and gender identities.

Reprogramming Our Use of Digital Platforms

In this lesson, youth will explore the culture of social media against a Christian vision of creation and image-bearing.

Resources for Ministering to LGBTQ+ Youth

A collection of books, websites and podcasts compiled by the Rev. Heidi Carrington Heath to support your work with LGBTQ+ youth.

Articles and Readings

Mentoring Youth for Joy in Anxious Times

An essay by Allan Hugh Cole, Jr. and Philip Browning Helsel on anxiety and adolescents from the Joy and Adolescent Faith and Flourishing project.

Articles and Readings

Supporting the Emotional and Spiritual Lives of Adolescents

An essay by Nadja Reilly, Sarah F. Farmer, and Katherine Hyde on adolescent mental health from the Joy and Adolescent Faith and Flourishing project.

Articles and Readings

Family Instability, Lament and Blue Herons

An essay by Sharon Galgay Ketcham on the impact of family instability from the Joy and Adolescent Faith and Flourishing project.

Articles and Readings

Thrive Squad Chases Down Joy Shoplifter

An essay by Elizabeth Conde-Frazier on youth, poverty and finding joy from the Joy and Adolescent Faith and Flourishing project.

Articles and Readings

Recovering Joy in the Afterburn of Violence

An essay by Dori Baker and Patrick Reyes on finding joy and flourishing from the Joy and Adolescent Faith and Flourishing project

Articles and Readings

Offering Effective Pastoral Care

Articles and resources on the importance of pastoral care to youth and their families as part of a robust youth ministry.

Articles and Readings

Mental Health

Articles and resources on the mental health issues facing adolescents.

Articles and Readings

Searching for Joy: A “Tangled Portrait”

Dr. Rodger Nishioka, Benton Family Associate Professor of Christian Formation at Columbia Theological Seminary looks at understanding the neuroscience of adolescents development.

Articles and Readings

Spiritual Awakening: Joy and Depression A Unified Pathway

Dr. Lisa Miller, Professor and Director of Clinical Psychology at Columbia University, looks at the relationship between joy and depression in adolescence.

Articles and Readings

Opportunities and Obstacles for Joy During Adolescence

Matthew Kuan Johnson looks at joy during adolescence from a cognitive science perspective.

Articles and Readings

Rejoicing in Adolescence: A Parable of God

David White, C. Ellis and Nancy Gribble Nelson Professor of Christian Education and Professor in Methodist Studies at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary on whether adolescence constitutes an aesthetic or joyful stage in the life cycle.