Pastoral Care of Those With Mental Ill-Health
March - June 2026
PC135-612 and PC135-812
Do Christians have anything to offer people suffering from mental ill-health?
Is it better to leave things to the professionals or is there a gospel-informed approach we can offer? As people informed by the gospel of Jesus, the church and Christian individuals have a vital and unique role in this area.
In this unit you'll gain conceptual and practical tools to understand and minister to those at church, in your community or at work.
How this unit can help your ministry
Understand the major mental health conditions and the appropriate pastoral response to them.
Discern your role in pastoral relationships: when to refer to a mental health professional and the vital part you continue to play.
Learn how to let the consolations of the gospel powerfully comfort those struggling to hope.
Grow in wisdom to use the power of the Bible and prayer in a sensitive and helpful way.
What makes Mary Andrews College different?
We're the only theological college in Australia focused on equipping women.
We specialise in pastoral care and mental health.
Our units are geared to practical theology and ministry—useful for all stages of life and ministry.
Our students consistently tell us we're a lovely community to be part of.
Our lecturers are world-class, with a wealth of pastoral and teaching experience.
And you can be confident that everything we offer is firmly grounded in God's word.
In this unit we'll be learning about...
01
Understanding Mental Ill-Health | Responding to stigma
Various models for understanding and responding to mental ill-health
How to acknowledge and respond to stigma.
02
Anxiety & stress | The Australian mental health system
How the Bible talks about stress and anxiety
The difference between anxiety disorders, legitimate concern and a lack of trust in God
The structure of the Australian mental health system
03
Depression
An overview of different types of depression and other types of mood disorders
Treatment options for depression and appropriate pastoral care response
04
Suicide, self-harm and responding to mental health crises
Suicide risk factors for specific sub-populations
The theology around suicide, including key messages for the Christian community and workers post-suicide.
Self-harm, and how to talk to a person in crisis
05
Trauma | Key pastoral skills
The nature, terminology and neurobiology of trauma
Acute stress disorder and PTSD
Treatment and care
Principles of trauma-safe churches and pastoral care
06
Bipolar disorder, Psychosis & Schizophrenia
Definitions, prevalence and risk factors for psychotic illness
Symptoms of schizophrenia
Diagnosis, treatment and management
Supporting those with these disorders
07
Mental ill-health in children & youth, women, men, the elderly
Mental health amongst children/youth: the data, difficulties in diagnosis, when parents should be concerned and how to support young people
Data, resources and approaches for women's, perinatal, men's and elderly mental health
08
The experience of mental ill-health
Lived experiences of mental ill-health with a guest speaker
Personal stories and everyday challenges
09
Eating disorders, personality disorders | Referral | Professional conduct
Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia nervosa, Binge eating disorder and other eating disorders
Personality disorders: paranoid, antisocial and avoidant; how to provide appropriate care in the church
10
Substance abuse | The church's role in providing friendship & support
The three dimensions of a theology mental ill-health: who we are as human beings, the nature of our good but fallen world and, God and his redemptive purposes.
11
Attachment theory, caring for carers
The significance of relationships and the attachment behaviour system
Attachment styles, and mental health
The nature of a healthy caring relationship
How to avoid burnout
12
The role of the Bible and prayer in effective pastoral care
Speaking the truth in love
Praying in line with Scripture
“Unanswered” prayers
The above is indicative: lecture content may vary year to year
What to expect in class
We're a friendly bunch: students have mixed ministry and life experiences.
There are 12 weekly classes, each 2 hours long (with breaks).
This unit is online only: Wednesdays 7-9pm.
Classes are a mixture of upfront teaching, Q & A and small group work.
Assessments vary, but there's often an essay and 2 more practical assignments.
Meet your lecturer
Alison Courtney
Alison holds a Master of Arts in Counselling from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, USA. She is also a secondary school teacher with pastoral care experience in Christian education.
What our students say…
Vanessa
“Suffering the loss of someone I loved... was a catalyst for me to grow deeper in my understanding of the Bible and our great God. I wanted to understand more deeply the wonderful God who had remained faithful to me in the hardest periods in my life and I wanted to understand more about what the Bible says about suffering.”
Sue
“I loved studying so much so I'm doing a Diploma of Ministry ... to further deepen my knowledge of pastoral care and ministry to the aged.”
Fees
As part of our wider ACT courses
With FEE-HELP* $0
Diploma Level $2940
Graduate Level $3288
*FEE-HELP available for eligible students enrolled in a whole Diploma or Graduate course
36 class hours - 12 weekly classes - 12 credit points - online only
Currently this unit is not offered at the MAC Certificate level
March - June 2026
Audited
$750
36 class hours - 12 weekly classes
No assignments
March - June 2025
How does this unit fit with our course offerings?
This unit can be studied at 2 levels:
Diploma and Advanced Diploma level. For those without an undergraduate degree wanting a course with a large breadth of units. These are courses of the Australian University of Theology: 0.5-1 yr full time, max 8 yrs part-time, 36 class hours per unit, 11-16 units per course.
Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma level. Higher level assignments than diploma level. Requires a previous bachelors degree. These are courses of the Australian University of Theology: 0.5-1 yr full time, max 2-4 yrs part-time, 36 class hours per unit, 4-8 unit per course.
