WHEN I RETIRED FROM LEADING LIVING ROOM, I WAS EXCLUDED FROM A GROUP I NEEDED FOR MYSELF When a group was being formed promising to promote deeper relationships, I wasted no time signing up. I had for a long time waited for such an opportunity. I played a supportive role in many people’s lives. But […]
Read More...A LIVING ROOM RESPONSE FOR MENTAL HEALTH WORKERS My Living Room work helping stigmatized people led to personal tragedy when I myself was stigmatized. But I have learned things that I can now pass along. I pray that this piece will show how we who suffer need to be heard for justice to be served. […]
Read More...OSTRACIZED Maybe my worst emotional problems started around 2014 when frequent depression and other forms of mental health crises forced me to give up my Global Living Room ministry to the stronger Sanctuary Mental Health Ministry. I hoped that they would be able to help it grow into the big ministry I envisioned. My own […]
Read More...I FOUGHT STIGMA AND SUPPORTED THE STIGMATIZED My work started many years ago, in 1993, when I was determined to try and overcome the stigma attached mental illness. I was ready to give it my all, and I did give everything I had, still doing so today, in the year 2026. I openly revealed everything […]
Read More...Photo by Rohingya refugee, Ro Niyamot Ullah HOW LONG, LORD, WILL YOU FORGET THEM? How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on […]
Read More...LIVING ROOM AND THE LOVE OF JESUS, NO MATTER WHAT THEIR RELIGION Perhaps the problem with a lot of religions today and why there is so much hatred between them is that Jesus – He who has shown unconditional love for all the world’s people – is thought of in terms too narrow for people […]
Read More...FAITH-BASED PEER SUPPORT GROUPS FOR MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS – Living Room is the spiritual mental health model designed to give support to groups of people with mental health conditions. All members of Living Room groups, including the facilitator, have experienced, or are experiencing similar mental health issues. It’s this commonality that pulls them together. Groups […]
Read More...“From a Mental Institution to Creating a Movement” I was delighted today to have had an opportunity to do a podcast with Amie and Neil of Modern Seniors. We talked about how my life with bipolar disorder started and how God led me to found the spiritual mental health support of Living Room. Learn why […]
Read More...FOR LIVING ROOM FACILITATORS Jesus was a radical in the way he treated social outcasts like prostitutes, the poor, the sick, lepers and others. He treated them in a way that was completely contrary to social conventions of the day. Christ’s love brought a sense of dignity and value to those on the margins. As […]
Read More...Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows […]
Read More...© 2026 Marja Bergen
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