The following sites contain helpful general information on mental illness.

Mental Health Ministries
A Ministry of the California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, this website is dedicated to educating church leaders for the purpose of decreasing the stigma associated with mental illnesses in faith communities. Their primary method of working is to provide resources to faith communities to develop a mental health program appropriate to each congregation. The ultimate goal is the inclusion and support of persons with mental illnesses and their families into the life of that community.

Pathways to Promise: Ministry and Mental Illness
An interfaith technical assistance and resource center which offers liturgical and educational materials, program models, and networking information to promote a caring ministry with people with mental illness and their families. The site is intended for clergy, interested laity, people with mental illness and their families, friends and supporters and mental health professionals interested in working with the faith community. Some excellent resources!

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill--NAMI
NAMI is the nation’s leading advocacy group with affiliate groups in most major cities in all 50 states.  This site is a key source of information on mental illness.  It also features Faithnet NAMI and the importance of spirituality in the recovery process. 

Mental Health Ministry Resources from the Congregational Resource Guide is a listing of resources for faith communities, pastoral caregivers, and the general public.

National Mental Health Month - May 2007
This website of the National Mental Health Association  offers educational materials specifically geared for National Mental Health Month.

Internet Mental Health
A free encyclopedia of mental health information created by a Canadian psychiatrist, Dr. Phillip Long. The website is dedicated to sharing knowledge of mental disorders so they can be treated.  Has a wealth of general information.

Mental Health Info Source
Home of Psychiatric Times  with links to many informational sites, including Ask the Expert where you can get answers to your most important mental health questions with the help of Ron Pies, MD, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University and popular Psychiatric Times columnist.

American Psychological Association
Professional site with a vast collection of information resources in psychology.

Mental Help Net
This site features a wealth of information for both casual readers and researchers.

National Mental Health Association
The National Mental Health Association is the oldest and largest nonprofit organization in the U. S. addressing all aspects of mental health and mental illness. With more than 340 affiliates nationwide, NMHA works to improve the mental health of all Americans, especially the 54 million people with mental disorders, through advocacy, education, research and service.

Mental Health and Mental Illness: A Vision for Community. Click here for more resources on mental illness. These are materials Paul Leichty and Christine Guth developed for a workshop by this title.

Shadow Voices: Finding Hope in Mental Illness, is the latest documentary by Mennonite Media.  It aired Dec. 4 – Feb. 4 on ABC TV stations. The program is an intimate, inside look at what it is like to live with a mental illness and how individuals and their families find their way through a tangle of  medical, governmental, societal and spiritual issues.

Ten persons with mental illness from all across the U.S. tell their stories, plus many experts and advocates in the field add helpful perspectives, including: former U.S. First Lady Rosalynn Carter; former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher; Dr. William Anthony of Boston University, founder of the modern rehabilitation movement; and Dr. Joyce Burland, founder of the Family to Family program for National Alliance on Mental Illness.

The program focuses on people’s experiences with stigma, recovery and rehabilitation, parity in insurance programs, and how faith communities can do a better job responding to those with mental illness. The program is produced by Mennonite Media in cooperation with the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission and the Communications Commission of National Council of Churches.

For more information on airing dates in your community or to purchase a VHS or DVD copy of the program go to www.ShadowVoices.com

Copies of Shadow Voices are also available for sale or on loan from the .