Description
Do 21st Century mentally ill patients receive all the help and support they need?
“Not usually,” says veteran Chaplain Robert W. Engstrom, now retired, who specialized in hope-filled spiritually-based care to the mentally ill for more than two decades, most of them in the context of AdventHealth, in Orlando, Florida. “Even in our supposedly sophisticated era,” Chaplain Engstrom says, “many people with mental illness are stigmatized, ostracized, marginalized, or worse.”
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Engstrom’s monograph, Hope-Filled Healthcare for Mental Illness, is a clarion call for respectful, compassionate interdisciplinary whole-person care for those suffering from mental illness. All caregivers who have contact with the mentally ill, whether in a clinical or non-clinical setting, and whether they are trained psychiatric professionals or not, will find this book to be an indispensable look into the world of people with mental illness and how to help them.
“There is always hope,” Chaplain Engstrom would say, and then he might share a story like that of the suicidal Pastor Ralph, who recovered through the loving intervention of his wife and the compassionate treatment of a team of caregivers who helped him renew his connection with the God he served, like a modern-day fulfillment of the Old Testament Isaiah’s promise that “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.”
Or he might describe how Sandy, a young woman whose first psychotic break occurred just weeks before her planned wedding to her childhood sweetheart. Soon she was hearing voices telling her to do irrational things, including throwing herself into a river clad in a wedding gown. A nurse named Norma gained Sandy’s trust and listened to her story, helping her believe that someone understood and cared.
You will find it moving, inspirational, compelling, convincing, practical, and motivational. The resources and patient questionnaires included will help you take whole-person care for the mentally ill to the next level. The insights and multiple true life illustrations will help you walk with a mentally ill person from out of the dark depths of their own personal hell to see again what the poet, Dante, called “the shining world” when he wrote, “and so we came forth, and once again beheld the stars.”
The AdventHealth Healthcare and Leadership Monograph Series is rooted in the intellectual capital of employees at AdventHealth - the largest admitting hospital in America. Monographs in this series provide focused, expert, relevant, and affordable training to interested individuals and organizations on a specific topic. Because of AdventHealth's history, as well as a vast array of business and medical innovations, the monograph series covers topics with a unique whole person health undertone.
About the Author
Throughout his early years, Robert (Bob) Engstrom caught the true spirit of ministry from his pastor father, Reuben Engstrom, who radiated a loving, soothing, comforting presence. Bob’s father was at times astonished when people would say, “You really helped me,” when he had done little more than just listen. Bob’s father also listened to his son. Despite his busy schedule, he would drop everything and give Bob his undivided attention. In Bob’s darkest hours, he always offered unconditional love, forgiveness, and undying hope. The most indelible example of this came when Bob was a very young man and believed that he had fallen far short of his parents’ expectations.
Publishing Information
Paperback: 75 Pages
Product Dimensions: 9.8 in x 7.8 in x 0.3 in
Language: English