The Whole Story about 
a Whole Person

   Scot Ferrell used to be a coach and teacher in Gwinnett County. But in 1995 he was diagnosed with rapid-cycle bipolar disorder. It wouldn't have been so bad had he not been put on the wrong medications. He forgot where his classes were. His vertigo was so bad he couldn't function. Eventually he had to resign from both positions. With encouragement from friends, Ferrell started going to meetings of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. There he gained support from others struggling with mental illness. Along the way he learned that in the United States over 35 million people are clinically depressed, 2.5 million are bipolar and another 2 million deal with schizophrenia. Throughout history Winston Churchill, Isaac Newton, Napoleon Bonaparte and Ernest Hemingway battled various forms of mental illness. The experience-and the education-changed his life. 

   Scot Ferrell is now a coach and teacher in Gwinnett County. He coaches people with mental illness on how to cope with their condition and he teaches their families and friends how to support them.

   His first step into his new career was serving as vice president of DBSA. After learning the ropes and seeing the need for ministry among the mentally ill, Ferrell has formed his own nonprofit organization, Mental Illness Awareness Foundation.

   "MIAF is an expression of my larger perspective called Whole Person Concepts," Ferrell said. "Mental illness needs to be addressed from a multidimensional perspective - body, mind and soul."

   Ferrell, a committed Christian, has pulled together a board of directors who believe as he does that true healing must involve the soul.

   "They're all entrepreneurs and free thinkers, not bureaucrats," said Ferrell. "They believe anything is possible."

   Ferrell believes there is a need for more Christian psychiatrists, but it may take a while for that to come about. I've heard psychologists and counselors lament that in the interest of political correctness and for fear of legal repercussions, they must keep God out of their therapy sessions.
 
   "There's scientific evidence it's a real illness and Scripture lines up with it. God loves the mentally ill."

   Ferrell conveys God's love in his work. His three-step program for helping a mentally ill friend is "First, love them; second, help them take their meds; third, get them into a support group." His Web site www.wholepersonconcepts.org  provides resources. 

   Ferrell is pleased to see that more people are coming out of the closet with their mental disorders and that the media is positively dealing with them. "A Beautiful Mind" was a start. Now Tobey Maguire of Seabiscuit and Spiderman is producing a movie based on Andy Behrman's "Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania," which chronicles the author's battle with mental illness.

   Behrman says of his condition, "We are regular people when medicated and treated."

   I didn't know Scot Ferrell before his diagnosis. But I've talked with him. And joked with him and laughed with him. I'd say he's a regular guy.

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