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Faith and Mental Health Podcast

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About Faith and Mental Health

We believe it is vital to have conversations about mental health and faith. The Faith and Mental Health Podcast brings together faith leaders and mental health professionals to have those conversations.

Together, we’ll explore questions and topics like maintaining your mental health as a leader, leading others who are new to understanding mental health, parenting through mental health, and more. Our hope is to dismantle the stigma that has traditionally been associated with mental health in faith communities. As we explore conversations about mental health that may resonate with you or challenge you, we invite you to join us with a posture of curiosity. Episodes will offer practical advice for how to come alongside others who are working through mental health and may help you understand your own mental wellness more clearly.

The Faith and Mental Health Podcast is brought to you by Bearing Hope, a collaboration of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, the Reformed Church in America, Hope Network, Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, and the Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan.

Meet the hosts

Bruce Vaandrager, M.Div.

Executive director for Hope Network Pastoral Services

Bruce Vaandrager is an ordained minister in the Christian Reformed Church in North America. He spent 18 years in parish ministry, serving churches in Illinois and Michigan. Since 2015 he has served as executive director of Pastoral Services at Hope Network, a Michigan-based organization that provides healthcare and social services for persons with developmental disabilities, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, or mental health challenges.

Kelsey Newsome, LMSW

Licensed social worker in West Michigan

Kelsey Newsome, LMSW, spends her days protecting the rights of individuals receiving publicly funded mental health services and her nights hanging out with her two cats, Dandelion and Mufasa, and tending to her growing houseplant collection. Kelsey previously ran a faith-based support group ministry and is passionate about the intersection of biblically sound and evidence-based approaches to mental health care.