Mental Health Ministries e-Spotlight - Special Edition
This is a special e-Spotlight to highlight our new resource/study guide that is now available
in English and Spanish and is available as a free, downloadable resource on the Mental Health Ministries
website.
MENTAL ILLNESS AND FAMILIES OF FAITH: HOW CONGREGATIONS
CAN RESPOND
 I
have written a four session resource/study guide for clergy and communities of faith in response to
the many questions and requests for information that I receive from persons who want to include spirituality
as an important part of the treatment and recovery process.
Surveys show that over forty percent of Americans seeking help with mental health issues turn first
to ministers, priests and rabbis. This is twice as many as those who went first to a psychiatrist,
psychologist or family physician. Unfortunately, the response of clergy and congregations falls
significantly short of what parishioners expect of their faith leaders. Individuals struggling
with mental illness are significantly less likely to receive the same level of pastoral care as persons
in the hospital with physical illnesses, persons who are dying or those who have long-term illnesses. Mental
illness has been called the “no casserole disease.”
This resource is designed to be used with clergy, members of congregations, family members and anyone
desiring to learn more about mental illness and how to respond with compassion and care. It can
be used as a small group study or leaders can adapt it to use in an extended class or seminar. Faith
leaders can use this guide to quickly find information on a specific topic when the need arrives.
The four sections included in this resource/study guide include:
- Understanding Mental Illness
- The Unique Role of Faith Communities
- Creating Caring Congregations
- Help for Faith Leaders.
Click here to download
this new resource in English.
LA ENFERMEDAD MENTAL Y LAS FAMILIAS DE FE: DIVERSAS FORMAS
EN LAS QUE LAS CONGREGACIONES PUEDEN RESPONDER
What is INGENIUM
INGENIUM is a non-profit organization that provides support to families through educational
programs on mental health. Located in Monterrey, Mexico, they have a program called “An Alliance
for Mental Health.” Their mission is to provide information to all areas of society that
might be in contact with persons with a mental illness. They work on prevention, early detection
and appropriate referral of patients and their families. Their target market is currently high
school teachers and parents. Their objective in 2010 is to broaden the program to reach the spiritual
leaders of the Monterrey community.
As one of NAMI’s multicultural and international partner organizations, INGENIUM has collaborated
to translate the NAMI Family to Family and Peer to Peer programs into Spanish. Mental Health
Ministries is most grateful that this group has volunteered to translate many of our resources into
Spanish. Most recently, four members worked to translate our resource/study guide, Mental
Illness and Families of Faith: How Congregations Can Respond. Persons who worked on this
translation include Fortino Garza, Ramon Rios, Ana Mary Solbes de Cruz and, my contact person, Tutuy
Escamez de Guerra. Dr. Isabel Gonzalez supervised the translation of the technical terminology.
Mental Health Ministries is most grateful to INGENIUM for making these resources available to the
international Spanish speaking community. Click
here to download this resource in Spanish.
I hope you find this guide and other downloadable resources available on the Mental Health
Ministries website, (www.MentalHealthMinistries.net,
helpful resources helpful as we all work together to create caring congregations for persons with
a mental illness and their families.
Rev. Susan Gregg-Schroeder
Coordinator of Mental Health Ministries
6707 Monte Verde Dr.
San Diego, CA 92119
www.MentalHealthMinistries.net |
