Willie L. Brown, B.S.,M.Min.,BCMMHC

Executive Director, Brown Professional Coaching Services (virtual)

Note: My Coaching, Consulting and Teaching is from a Biblical Worldview. The coaching business name is Brown Professional Coaching Services. I also do Life Coaching. I have another website: www. brown-professional-life-coaching.com

Listed in Marquis Who’s Who in America 2024

Ministries, Credentials and Mental Health Training and Work

First license to preach by Gospel Missionary Baptist Church, Midwest City, Oklahoma; Former Pentecostal Fellowship leader at Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C , Tinker AFB, Oklahoma; Completed my Ministerial Internship Program in 1987 at National Church of God in Fort Washington, MD; Ordained to Counseling Ministry by AEGA and Former Area Coordinator Association of Evangelical Gospel Assemblies (AEGA)for the state of Maryland, previously ordained by Church of God in Christ 2007. Moved on to Independent church. Ordained by World Christianship ministry 2002. Former Assistant Pastor, Pastor, Former Bus Ministry Director, Former Director of Biblical Counseling at Echoes from the Street Ministry, Former Chaplain and Vice-President Christian Fundamentalist Internal Revenue Employee (CFIRE), Veteran Mental Health First Aid certified, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Maryland former Veteran Council Representative, NAMI Family to Family Teacher, NAMI Family Support Group Facilitator, Former Board member NAMI Prince George County, Member Steering Committee NAMI Southern Maryland, member American Association of Christian Counselors, completed Fresh Hope coaching training on July 2, 2022, Mental Health Coach diploma from American Association of Christian Counselors. Stand in Host for Apostle Dekontee Johnson on the Blessed Word of Life International radio program 4th Saturday monthly on WYCB 1340 AM from 5pm - 5:30pm as opportunity arises. Board Certified Master Mental Coach with the American Association of Christian Counselor (AACC). Diploma Professional Life Coaching with International Christian Coaching Association.
Forgiveness Life Coach Certification (Accredited) and CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) Life Coach Certification from Transformation Academy. I use CBT Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solutions Focus and Client-Centered techniques in my coaching

Willie L. Brown, Professional Mental Health Coach

Board Certified Master Mental Health Coach with the American Association of Christian Counselors

A Board Certified Master Mental Health Coach credential can be earned through Light University, powered by the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC). This program offers biblically-based, clinically-excellent training in mental health coaching. It includes specialized courses taught by leading experts, and upon completion, individuals are eligible to apply for the certification.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NKJV)

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV)

⁹And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

What is Mental Health Coaching

Mental health coaching is a form of support that helps individuals address common life challenges and improve their overall well-being, focusing on present and future goals. Unlike traditional therapy, which may delve into past experiences, coaching is action-oriented and emphasizes setting goals, developing strategies, and building resilience. It can help with stress management, anxiety, relationship issues, and other areas impacting mental well-being.

What does Mental Health Coaches Do:

Mental health coaches help with a range of mild to moderate mental health concerns, including stress, anxiety, burnout, life transitions, and interpersonal issues. They focus on building awareness, developing coping skills, and achieving specific goals related to emotional well-being and personal development, rather than diagnosing or treating mental illness.

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

Conditions Mental Health Coaches Can Help With:

Stress and Anxiety:
Coaches can help individuals develop strategies to manage everyday stress and anxiety, including techniques for relaxation and coping.
Burnout:
They can assist in identifying the causes of burnout and developing strategies for preventing and recovering from it.
Life Transitions:
Whether it's a career change, relationship break-up, or relocation, coaches can provide support during periods of significant change.
Relationship Issues:
Coaches can help individuals improve communication skills, set healthy boundaries, and navigate conflict in relationships.
Self-Development:
Coaches can assist individuals in identifying their strengths, setting goals, and developing strategies for personal growth.
Difficult Emotions:
They can help individuals learn to recognize, understand, and manage emotions like anger, sadness, and frustration.
Perfectionism:
Coaches can help individuals address the negative impact of perfectionism and develop a more balanced perspective.
Feeling Stuck:
If someone feels stagnant or unmotivated, a coach can help them identify obstacles and develop action plans to move forward.
Sleep Challenges:
Coaches can provide guidance and support to improve sleep hygiene and address sleep-related issues.
Workplace Challenges:
Coaches can help individuals navigate workplace stress, improve communication, and enhance their professional development.
Parenting:
Coaches can offer support and guidance to parents in managing the challenges of raising children.

What Mental Health Coaches Don't Do:

Diagnose Mental Illness: Mental health coaches are not qualified to diagnose mental health conditions like depression or anxiety disorders.
Treat Mental Illness: They do not provide therapy or treatment for diagnosed mental illnesses.
Prescribe Medication: Coaches are not authorized to prescribe medication.

In essence, mental health coaches focus on proactive strategies for improving well-being and navigating life's challenges, while therapists address the treatment of diagnosed mental health conditions.

Administrative:

If you would like to make an appointment please use the following email: info@understanding-the-scriptures.org

Fee: available after consultation.

What is Christian-Based Forgiveness Coaching

Christian-based forgiveness coaching uses faith as a foundation for healing and reconciliation. It emphasizes biblical principles of forgiveness, helping individuals release resentment and move towards a more peaceful and fulfilling life. This approach differs from traditional coaching as it incorporates spiritual guidance and encouragement rooted in Christian teachings.

What is Recovery Coaching (SUD)

Recovery coaching is a form of support provided to individuals navigating the process of overcoming substance use or other addictions. It involves non-clinical guidance and mentorship, focusing on helping individuals identify and achieve their recovery goals. Recovery coaches, often with lived experience of addiction, offer support, encouragement, and practical assistance to help individuals build a strong foundation for long-term recovery.

What is Trauma Informed Coaching

A trauma-informed coach is a professional who has received specialized training in understanding and responding to the impact of trauma on individuals. They use this knowledge to create a safe and supportive environment for clients who have experienced trauma, helping them to:

- Acknowledge and understand the effects of trauma:
  Trauma-informed coaches recognize that trauma can have a profound impact on a person's physical, emotional, and mental health.

Create a safe and supportive space:
They strive to create a non-judgmental and empathetic environment where clients feel comfortable sharing their experiences.

Empower clients:
Trauma-informed coaches focus on empowering clients to build resilience, cope with challenges, and achieve their goals.

Use trauma-sensitive strategies:
They use coaching techniques that are tailored to the specific needs of trauma survivors, such as pacing, grounding, and validating emotions.

Collaborate with other professionals:
They may collaborate with therapists, social workers, or other healthcare providers to provide comprehensive support to clients.

Biblical Spiritual Warfare Coaching & Teaching

Spiritual warfare teaching and coaching focuses on understanding the Christian concept of spiritual conflict and equipping believers to navigate it through prayer, discernment, and reliance on God's power. Resources like books, workshops, and counselors can help individuals identify spiritual struggles, develop spiritual disciplines, and find community support.

Key aspects of spiritual warfare teaching and coaching:

Understanding the Battle:
Teaching emphasizes that Christians are engaged in a spiritual conflict against unseen forces of evil. This includes understanding the nature of spiritual warfare, recognizing the enemy's tactics, and knowing that believers have authority in Christ.
Recognizing Spiritual Attack:
Coaches help individuals identify patterns of negative thoughts, temptations, or circumstances that may be influenced by spiritual forces.
Developing Spiritual Disciplines:
Teaching often includes guidance on prayer, Bible study, fasting, and other practices that strengthen faith and resistance to spiritual attack.
Seeking Community and Support:
Finding fellowship with other believers who understand spiritual warfare is crucial for encouragement and accountability.
Operating in Authority:
Believers are taught to use the authority they have in Christ to resist the enemy, stand firm in their faith, and pray for others.
Forgiveness and Healing:
Recognizing the power of forgiveness and seeking healing from past hurts are important aspects of spiritual warfare, as unforgiveness can create an opening for spiritual attack, according to NuWELL.

Scriptures on Spiritual Warfare

Ephesians 6:10-18 NKJV - Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

Understanding the Scripture Coaching Services

(Biblical Worldview: Christian-Based Forgiveness Life Coaching; Professional Mental Health Coaching, Professional Biblical Life Coach)

Contact: info@understanding-the-scriptures.org and as the subject Understanding the Scriptures Coaching Services.

Why mental illness is not sin.

https://enlightenmentalhealth.org/why-mental-illness-is-not-a-sin/#:~:text=Sin%20is%20very%20real%2C%20but,by%20sin%20is%20not%20biblical.
Why Your Church Needs a Mental Health Ministry

https://aacc.net/2023/03/03/why-your-church-needs-a-mental-health-ministry/#:~:text=We%20believe%20that%20mental%20health,not%20connected%20to%20a%20church.

The Stigma Around Mental Illness for Christians

https://www.wtcsb.org/the-stigma-around-mental-illness-for-christians/#

Mental Health Ministries

1 Corinthians 2:2-6 (KJV)

²For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

³And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

⁴And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

⁵That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

⁶Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought

How common are mental illnesses ?

Mental illnesses are among the most common health conditions in the United States.

More than 1 in 5 US adults live with a mental illness.
Over 1 in 5 youth (ages 13-18) either currently or at some point during their life, have had a seriously debilitating mental illness.⁵
About 1 in 25 U.S. adults lives with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression.⁶

How common is mental illness in the church

23 percent of pastors acknowledge they have personally struggled with a mental illness. 49 percent of pastors say they rarely or never speak to their congregation about mental illness. 27 percent of churches have a plan to assist families affected by mental illness.

65 percent of churchgoing family members of those with mental illness want their church to talk openly about mental illness.
59 percent of those actually suffering from mental illness say the same.
53 percent of churchgoers with mental illness say the church has been supportive.
76 percent of churchgoers say suicide is a problem that needs to be addressed in their community.
32 percent of churchgoers say a close acquaintance or family member has died by suicide.
80 percent of pastors say their church is equipped to assist someone who is threatening to take his or her own life.
92 percent of pastors say their church is equipped to care for the family that experiences the suicide of a loved one.
4 percent of churchgoers who lost a loved one to suicide say church leaders were aware of their loved one’s struggles.
68 percent of Americans feel they would be welcome in church if they were mentally ill.
35 percent of Americans say mental illness could be overcome with Bible study and prayer alone.

Mental Health Ministry: Advocacy to the Church and Community on Mental Illness

Matthew 4:24 (MSG)

^{“From there he went all over Galilee. He used synagogues for meeting places and taught people the truth of God. God’s kingdom was his theme—that beginning right now they were under God’s government, a good government! He also healed people of their diseases and of the bad effects of their bad lives. Word got around the entire Roman province of Syria. People brought anybody with a sickness, whether mental, emotional, or physical. Jesus healed them, one and all. More and more people came, the momentum gathering. Besides those from Galilee, crowds came from the “Ten Towns” across the lake, others up from Jerusalem and Judea, still others from across the Jordan.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭4:23-25‬ ‭MSG‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/97/mat.4.23-25.MSG}

April 2013 while waiting for my son at the bus stop I fell asleep. When I woke up my iPhone was next to me and on it in the subject line in bold was the statement “We are the only army that shoot our wounded”. After that I began to research about those that are mental ill and their relationship with the Church. I found some alarming things. Many were coming to the church but felt they were not welcome with their mental illness and some left the church and did not attend anymore. That statement concerning Christian being the only army that shoot its wounded was never on mind before so I then because of my brother, the aunt who raised me and other family members suffering mental illness I decided to joined NAMI as a volunteer and that is where I begin to learn about mental illness and its stigma. When I was a child I was taken to see a mental health professional because not being raised around my siblings I would cry for no reason and not eat. There was no diagnosis but when the doctor said if I did not start eating I would be sent away I started to eat and recovered quickly. Yes I have preached and spoken at churches on mental illness and the journey continues. Remember Jesus died for us all. Ministering to those individual and families affected by mental illness is a mission field and the Church need to be trained to minister in that area with awareness, education, compassion and sensitivity.

To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.

— Lewis B. Smedes

Providing ministry through the following: small group studies, and seminars, workshops, guest pulpit speakers and zoom