Friends, We had an incredible podcast interview with Dr. Lubberstedt, where he discusses the rise in cases of depression, stress, and suicide among adolescents after the COVID-19 pandemic. Prevention, emotional regulation, and stress management are key measures to prevent mental health crises. Self-care is important for a healthy mind and body, as is creating a comfortable environment. Parents play an important role in the mental health of their teenagers, and Dr. Lubberstedt emphasizes the importance of listening to them. The church and Christian leaders can play a powerful role in helping young people feel heard and not silenced by their emotions. It’s okay to not be okay, and our youth need to be listened to.
Dr. Lubberstedt began studies at the University of Nebraska Medical Center after completing college at Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1999. While initially drawn to primary care, he soon realized a preference for a slower pace than family practice. As his fascination with the workings of the mind grew from various exposures to psychiatry and psychology, Dr. Lubberstedt found that his greatest satisfaction came when investigating, educating, and treating his patients who presented with emotional or behavioral problems. A career in psychiatry was a natural fit.
Dr. Lubberstedt completed medical school at UNMC in 2003, and a five-year psychiatry residency and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Creighton/UNMC in 2008. He was immediately drawn into residential treatment and relocated to Montana where he had the honor of working among a team of professionals whose sole purpose was to restore well-being to children and teenagers with such a high severity of illness that they were no longer able to live at home.
He returned to his home city of Omaha in 2010, and had the opportunity of working at Alegent Creighton Health until 2014, doing a variety of work ranging from inpatient, partial hospitalization, and outpatient work.
Dr. Lubberstedt’s love of outpatient psychiatric encounters led to his eventual transition to private practice. What he enjoys most about psychiatry is the part he gets to play in restoring the health of my patients. “While there are many medical conditions that you can see with your naked eye, what I help with is no less damaging, but I feel all the more rewarding. I have the honor of helping people achieve a higher quality of life than they had before, and in many cases get to assist children and adults in maturing and flourishing into the people that God created them to be.”
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Pastor Brad Hoefs is an ordained Pastor and Member of the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations. He has been pastoring since 1985, and he is currently the pastor of Anchor of Hope Church in Omaha, Nebraska (since 1995). The church has seen over 110% growth in the 18 months after Fresh Hope started meeting.
Pastor Brad is the Executive Director of WorshipOutlet.com. He founded Fresh Hope in 2009.
He is a State-certified Intentional Peer Support Specialist and was appointed by Governor Heineman of Nebraska to serve on the State Advisory Committee on Mental Health Services.
He is also the author of Fresh Hope: Living Well in Spite of a Mental Health Diagnosis, published in 2013.
Pastor Brad has been married to his college sweetheart, Donna, for 34 years, and is the proud father of two adult married children, and ‘Papa’ to 3 grandsons and 1 granddaughter.
If you are interested in more information about Fresh Hope, go to www.FreshHope.us or email info@FreshHope.us, or call 402.932.3089.
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