Rev. Susan Gregg-Schroeder on creating caring congregations

Mental Illness and Families of Faith

From the Surgeon General’s report on mental illness[1], we know that one in four families have a family member dealing with mental illness. Because of the stigma surrounding mental illness, many of these people are suffering in silence. I am one of those persons! My first episode of major depression was in 1991 while serving a large church in San Diego. (To read Susan's story, please go to her article entitled "Fertile Darkness" at: http://www.plainviews.org/AR/i/v1n8.html)

When I left the local church, I started Mental Health Ministries to provide print and media resources to help erase the stigma of mental illness in our faith communities. Our Creating Caring Congregations resource gives a model of how congregations can begin or expand a ministry to and with persons with a mental illness and their families. This model uses a five step approach that includes education, commitment, welcome, support and advocacy. These steps are not linear. The process of becoming a caring congregation is dynamic and unique to each community.

Education

The first step in creating caring congregations is education. Mental illness needs to be an issue addressed in the training of religious professionals, since persons often come to their faith leader before seeking professional help. Ministers, priests, imams and rabbis, educated about mental illness, will be able to recognize symptoms, make appropriate referrals to mental health providers and help build awareness and understanding in the congregation.

Commitment

Commitment means that the community pledges to be intentional in seeking ways to become a caring congregation. Many successful programs have come from “the bottom up,” with a concerned lay person initiating the process. The commitment involves networking, collaborating with community based groups to educate them about what faith communities have to offer in support of persons and families living with mental illness.

Welcome

The third step of welcome involves seeking ways to integrate persons with a mental illness into the faith community. Hospitality is a core value of all major religion. Hospitality means literally extending our hand to another, touching another and getting close enough to recognize our mutual vulnerability in this life. The barriers between “us” and “them” begin to break down.

Support

When awareness of the magnitude of the problem increases so will the outreach of care and support. Often it begins with small steps as congregations find ways to meet the specific needs of their own community. It is helpful to train persons to provide one-on-one support through the “ministry of presence.”

Advocacy

Mental illness is a justice issue involving such basic human rights as access to medical care, stable, supportive housing, and job training. Once a congregation has developed a mental health ministry, a natural next step is to be involved in advocacy.

For me the most painful part of my illness was the feeling of disconnection. A supportive faith community would have helped me feel that I was connected to something bigger than my own feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness. A supportive faith community would have embraced my family. We would not have had to suffer in silence. I pray that the time will come when families living with a loved one with mental illness will be silent no more!

Footnote:

[1] To read the report, go to: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/home.html

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