The Rev. Rose Ann Briotte on practical guidance concerning the spiritual needs of the mentally ill

 

Mental Illness Ministry Guidelines for Clergy

Guidelines For Clergy: Pastoral Care To Persons With A Mental Illness And Their Families is a brochure developed to help pastors who lack experience dealing with serious and persistent mental illnesses as well as the family dynamics linked to coping with brain disorders. It was designed to help spiritual caregivers contemplating ministry to persons with a mental illness overcome any reservations they may have in ministering to their congregation. The brochure encourages faith leaders to seek support from mental health systems already in place in their community. It offers pastors ideas for creating strong relationships with mental health professionals they can turn to for help when faced with situations beyond their level of professional skill.

The idea for this brochure began when a pastor called to request guidance for visiting a mentally ill patient at the family’s request. I was surprised at how fearful and insecure he felt, and agreed to accompany him to the unit. Pastors who have been in ministry for a number of years can remember encountering “difficult people” that they were unsuccessful helping. In those days, mental illness was usually only mentioned with reference to a person who had been shamefully and quietly “put away.” Visibility of mental illness in our churches and the community will continue to increase, however, as medications improve and people find courage to break the silence about their illness.

The spiritual needs of the mentally ill are very real. Those who can not imagine a brain that doesn’t work find it hard to accept the peculiar needs and limitations of someone suffering from a brain disorder. This misunderstanding results in stigma, the reason many still cite for keeping their diagnosis a secret. [1] Open-minded acceptance from churches is not customary but it is an appraisal of value. Author John Swinton writes: "…effective care for people with enduring mental health problems is not an option for the church, but is in fact a fundamental mark of its identity and a vital indication of its continuing faithfulness." [2] Offering ministry to persons with a mental illness can seem harder than other ministries we are familiar with simply because we are overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of stereotypes we are required to modify.

Persons with a mental illness need the one thing congregations with adequate education can offer, relationships with other persons that understand and accept them as they are, limitations and all. All faith leaders and clergy need to have an understanding of mental illness. Families today are more likely to call on pastors for support in dealing with a loved one or call attention to the stigma placed on them by others in the congregation. At the same time they often report that the pastor’s understanding and help were often less than expected. Families need compassionate clergy or faith group leaders who can model tolerance and support for their congregations.

 

[1] Goffman, Erving; (1963) Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity; Simon & Schuster, Inc.*

[2] Swinton, J. (2000). Resurrecting the Person: Friendship and the Care of People with Mental Health Problems. Nashville: Abingdon Press.

 

This brochure can be found at www.MentalHealthMinistries.net under Resources. It may be reproduced, without alterations or additions and as long as it is distributed for free. The address for Rev. Rose Ann Briotte is 615 Goldfinch Ave., Knoxville, TN 37920.

 

*   Some comments from Rev. Briotte about Stigma : Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity by Erving Goffman

Someone asked “Why does the church, who could do so much, do so little for persons with a mental illness.” This non-religious book explores this reality in society from the earliest origins of Stigma in Greek culture long before Christianity begun to take shape theologically. It is important for those who wonder why after all our advocacy the church still, after over 2000 years, finds ways to shoot their wounded in the foot and at the same time do it with such eloquence. This is sometimes an assigned college text, scholarly, difficult and sometimes boring book to read; however, it becomes eye-opening for those who suffer with mental as well as physical disabilities and for those who support them. One person described the book as being “worth five years of individual psychotherapy”. With professionally trained pastors and chaplains who have knowledge of the Greek influences on Christianity, it is essential reading because of the responsibility we carry in preaching and by example to help our congregations understand the deinstutionalized and stigmatized who are growing in our society in numbers as our neighbors.