Date

1-14-2026

Department

School of Communication and the Arts

Degree

Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design (MFA)

Chair

Andrea Lewis

Keywords

Christian counseling, mental health education, psychology for kids, psychology for children, anxiety, poster design, elementary education, Christian school

Disciplines

Art and Design | Counseling

Abstract

This thesis examines the barriers, agreements, and disagreements between mental health and Christianity, specifically as it relates to helping Christian children with anxiety. The following investigation explores how God defines and reacts to anxiety in the Bible and how anxiety is explained through scientific research. By explaining both scientific and biblical views of anxiety, the Christian community can grasp a better understanding of how to help children with anxiety. The research also builds a foundational investigation on how anxiety affects children and possible solutions for relieving anxiety in children. Educating children at a young age about mental health and offering them resources to improve their mental health can possibly help alleviate or reduce a child’s anxieties. Education on mental health on anxiety has also been shown to help with other related mental health conditions. If Christian families, schools, and churches are educated about childhood anxiety, reducing the stigma around mental health practices, then they can possibly reduce the likelihood of mental disorders in children continuing into adulthood (“Childhood Stress and Anxiety”). Here’s a list of questions that I seek to answer throughout this study:

1. Do Children Struggle with their Mental Health?

2. Is Anxiety Normal?

3. When Does Anxiety Become a Disorder?

4. What Are the Types of Anxiety Disorders?

5. What Happens When There’s a Lack of Counselors in Christian Schools?

6. What are Some Treatments for Children with Anxiety Disorders?

7. What Are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Cognitive Distortions?

8. What Are the Ways to Lower Anxiety in Children?

9. What can be Done When Children Aren’t Receptive to Therapy?

10. How are the Brain and Body Connected?

11. Is There a Stigma Against Mental Health Disorders in Christianity?

12. How Should Christians View Anxiety?

13. Did Paul Imply Anxiety is a Sin?

14. Can God Be Trusted?

15. What is the Interpretation of Anxiety from the Sermon on the Mount?

16. Can Christian Counseling Have a Missional Approach?

This research also investigates the most effective visual solutions that may help with mental health education. Graphic medicine has been used repeatedly in the mental health industry to explain experiences and ideas to people struggling with a mental health disorder; it is often in the form of a comic book-style memoir. Specific wording and language on mental health communication materials have also influenced people to act on their mental health. Indirect phrasing with hopeful language has been shown in some cases to create positive responses in mental health posters. In one study, posters have been found to be the most memorable form of communication.

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