Your Companion Through Depression and Anxiety

The Out of the Depths series addresses common pastoral crises in a faithful, encouraging, and factual manner that provides support to parishioners in crisis beyond the initial pastoral conversation. These inexpensive 64-page booklets can be given out to parishioners when they bring their recent diagnosis, crisis, or trauma to the pastor as a way to continue to provide care throughout the difficult season. Each booklet begins with a thoughtful consideration of the topic at hand, which is followed up by 30 brief devotions. These devotions are designed to be manageable in an overwhelming time, encouraging, and honest. This Depression and Anxiety edition is authored by Jim Hightower and features insightful devotions by Matt Kelley. The Out of the Depths booklets are essential care resources to be given out by pastors, Stephen Ministers, and congregational care teams.
Key Features:

- Written by mental health professionals and pastors to help the reader process their trauma both psychologically and theologically.
- Includes accessible material describing the dynamics of the crisis situation and typical reactions, which provides the reader with a sense of grounding and direction through increased knowledge.
- The thirty short devotions creates a sense of companionship and hope in a difficult and lonely time.
- Knowing they are sharing a resource written by mental health professionals and pastors with personal experience provides pastors a trustworthy source of information.
- Easy for pastors/churches to keep in stock and distribute as needed, serves as a tangible reminder of the faith community's care.

Jim Hightower is a retired minister in the United Church of Christ. He has a Master of Divinity from Earlham School of Theology and a doctorate in psychology and counseling. He is a licensed professional counselor and a licensed marriage and family therapist in Louisiana and Mississippi. Dr. Hightower has previously published eight books including Caring for People from Birth to Death and A Time to Change? Re-Visioning Your Call.
Hightower is the pastor of Long Beach Presbyterian Church in Long Beach, MS. He , his wife Susan and their younger children reside in Diamondhead, MS. The older children live in New Orleans with their two adorable grandsons!

Matthew L. Kelley is a United Methodist pastor residing in Louisville, Kentucky. He has a BA in Religion and Political Science from Butler University, and an MDiv from Vanderbilt Divinity School. During twenty years of congregational ministry, and nearly that many in recovery from depression and anxiety, Matt has seen the healing power of sharing our stories with one another. You can find more of Matt’s work at www.matthew1119.com.