Mental health awareness
May is National Mental Health Awareness Month and a good time to consider the need for church outreach to families affected by mental health issues.
Recent statistics issued by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) show that 42.5 million American adults (about 18 percent of the population) suffer from some form of mental illness. These can range from mild depression or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Moreover, SAMHSA noted that about 4 percent of these people experience serious mental illness that affects their daily activity.
When left untreated, mental illness can lead to tragic outcomes, including marital and family discord and even suicide. For these reasons, the church needs to offer support and guidance to families who struggle with any of these issues.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that all human life is sacred (CCC 2258). Therefore, it is our duty to protect and defend the lives of our brothers and sisters who struggle with mental illness.
St. John Paul II offered strong words on the subject in 1996: “Whoever suffers from mental illness ‘always’ bears God’s image and likeness in themselves, as does every human being,” he said during a meeting of the International Conference for Health Care Workers. “In addition, they ‘always’ have the inalienable right not only to be considered as an image of God and therefore as a person, but also to be treated as such.”
The National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD) offers guidance for church outreach to people with mental illness. The NCPD’s Council on Mental Illness gives the following suggestions for parishes and parish leaders to implement:
- Include in prayers of the faithful during Mass a prayer for people who have a mental illness and their families;
- Offer homilies about mental illness and recovery that emphasize a spiritual component to recovery;
- Provide presentations on mental illness and recovery — as well as presentations on justice issues related to mental illness — to church groups;
- In the gathering space or another public location at church, list mental health services that are available locally as well as website addresses;
- As part of Respect Life activities, include mental illness issues;
- Publish parish bulletin articles about mental illness and recovery;
- Start a support group for people with mental illness.
Examples of some of these suggestions are available on the NCPD website, www.ncpd.org. The Council on Mental Illness also offers a DVD, webinars and downloadable resources for parishes.
Those who struggle with mental illness say the simple act of church communities making them feel welcome can make a big difference.
“If only our parishes knew how simple it is to be the support that people just hunger for,” Dorothy Coughlin, the Archdiocese of Portland’s director of the Office for People with Disabilities told U.S. Catholic Magazine in 2010. “For so many people with mental illness, what would be most therapeutic in their lives would be relationships and friendships.”
While medication usually helps keep mental illness in check, a relationship with God and supportive faith community can offer them love and hope.
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