Mental Health Ministries e-Spotlight - Summer 2010
The barbeques and lawn chairs were in the stores in February and March even though most of the country
was digging out of the snow or pouring rain. Fourth of July supplies and decorations were up
the day after Easter. Marketing keeps us looking to what is coming next instead of living in
the present.
Summer is a time to reclaim the spiritual practice of mindfulness. Many people are embracing
Eastern spirituality, learning various forms of focused prayer and meditation. I recall being
in a group where we were asked to spend one full hour using our physical senses to see, touch, feel,
smell and finally taste an apple. The spiritual discipline of mindfulness is in our Western tradition,
but it has to be re-discovered and re-claimed in a society that values “doing” over simply “being.”
Summer can be a time to take a deep breath, simplify, prioritize, re-create and live in the present. I
pray we can slow down this summer…even when the barbeques go on sale to make room for fall fashion
and back to school!
2010 NAMI NATIONAL CONVENTION
The NAMI national convention will be held in Washington D.C. on June 30-July 3, 2010. This gives
you the opportunity to be part of the July 4th celebrations in our nation’s capitol! The
theme for this year’s conference is Recovery and Reform: The Road From Here. More
information and registration forms are available at www.nami.org/convention,
or click here to view a
PDF of FaithNet convention offerings.
I am excited about the many opportunities being offered that explore mental illness and spirituality. Two
new training modules are being developed by the NAMI FaithNet Advisory Committee that will equip you
to help create caring congregations for persons living with mental illness and their families. There
will be the NAMI FaithNet Networking Workshop, a symposium with Dr. Nancy Clare Kehoe based on her
book, Wrestling with Our Inner Angels and a workshop on Telling to Touch: Sharing Your Story in Faith
Communities.
You can view the
details of these offerings by clicking here. The sessions at the national conference
will be audio taped and those tapes will be available to those unable to attend the conference. For
further updates and resources for faith communities, go to www.nami.org/namifaithnet and
look under resources.
NAMI's STORY IS COMING TO PBS STATIONS
When
Medicine Got It Wrong, the documentary about NAMI's origins as a grassroots movement and
founding as a national organization, will air on local PBS television stations beginning in May. The
film tells the stories of families who were unfairly blamed for their children's mental illness
and insisted on advancements in medicine and science. The documentary was shown at NAMI's 30th
anniversary national convention last year. When Medicine Got It Wrong is not just about
the past—it's about NAMI's present and future. In the face of continuing stigma and discrimination,
budget cutbacks and people still falling through cracks, it asks, "Where is the outrage today?" To
find your local air date and time, visit their official
Web site.
SAMHSA 10x10 WELLNESS CAMPAIGN
SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) is a division
of the federal government that has a resource center to promote Acceptance, Dignity and Social
Inclusion associated with mental health (ADS Center). They have a new 10x10 Wellness Campaign designed
to promote health and well-being and prevent early mortality for people with mental health problems. Campaign-related
information is available online at http://www.10x10.samhsa.gov.
The vision for this program is a future
in which people with mental health problems pursue optimal health, happiness, recovery, and a full
and satisfying life in the community via access to a range of effective services, supports, and resources. They
identify six dimensions of wellness which includes spirituality.
The Six Dimensions of Wellness
Social -contributing to one’s environment and community
Physical -engaging in regular physical activity, learning about nutrition, and taking
care of illnesses
Emotional - awareness of one’s feelings while maintaining satisfying relationships
Spiritual - search for meaning and purpose in human existence
Occupational - personal satisfaction and enrichment derived from one’s
work
Intellectual -creativity and mentally stimulating activities of interest
MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS TV PROGRAMS
In Alameda County, California, Rev. Barbara Meyers, a Unitarian Universalist community
minister, produces a public-access TV program called Mental
Health Matters – Alameda County. A
new interview format show is produced each month with each show focusing on a different aspect of mental
health. The work is supported by an agency with funding from Alameda County Behavioral Healthcare
Services. The focus of the program is Hope.
The shows are shown on public access channels throughout Alameda County, California, and are also
available on-line so they can be watched from anywhere. You can see any of the 28 episodes at
http://www.mpuuc.org/mentalhealth/mentalTVshow.html.
Rev. Meyers is also the author of a curriculum called the Caring Congregation Program which
seeks to educate congregations about mental health available at http://www.mpuuc.org/mentalhealth/caringcongcurr.html.
ARTICLE - CONNECTING MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT
We know the important role that faith and spirituality can play in mental illness. Research
backs up this connection: 476 studies reporting "statistically significant positive associations," according
to a review of research published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry last year.
The article was written by Harold G. Koenig, MD, of Duke University, a leading scholar of the subject. He notes that people
with bipolar and other mental illnesses find faith to be a powerful coping tool. More than that, a robust faith practice
seems to protect against depression.
Why? For one thing, Koenig told bp, faith "gives people a hope that medicine
and science can't give. It gives them hope that there's a plan-a good plan-and that good things can result in their life
even if they're in a lot of pain." It's
all in "Connecting mind, body & spirit," from our Summer 2006 issue. Read more from bp Magazine: http://www.bphope.com/Item.aspx?id=141
RESOURCE FOR RETURNING VETS
Beyond the Yellow Ribbon: Ministering to Returning Combat Veterans addresses
the challenge for soldiers and families of adjusting to life after war. It provides guidance for the
faith community to reach out to those in uniform and help the next generation of veterans come all the
way home from war and find their place again in civilian life, far from the fields of battle. Authors
David A. Thompson and Darlene Wetterstrom offer straightforward, challenging practical help for returning
soldiers and their families. Thompson is a retired military chaplain, a licensed professional counselor
and a military family life consultant for the National Guard and Reserves in Minnesota. The book is available
through Cokesbury.com; 1-800-672-1789.
NEW BOOK: OUR STORIES: WHAT DO YOU KNOW NOW, THAT
YOU WISH YOU KNEW THEN?
Wisdom Legacy is partnering with NAMI affiliates and other behavioral health support
groups across the nation to capture and share the most important lessons people have learned from their
encounters with mental illness. They are using these stories to help people who are new to the
journey, to let them know they aren’t alone, and give them hope. Using an online interview
available exclusively at www.wisdomlegacy.org, partner organizations
invite their members and others from their community to anonymously share what they have experienced
and what they have learned from it. Those who have participated have been amazed by how fast, easy
and cathartic the process is and by the incredible power of the results.
The first book in this series was recently completed by NAMI of San Diego and can be purchased on-line
at: https://www.createspace.com/3432428. If
you or your organization would like to bring this project to your community and write your own book,
please contact Dave Burrill, CEO of Wisdom Legacy at dburrill@wisdomlegacy.org.
HEALTH-CARE BILL PASSES
As a United Methodist minister, I appreciate that Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi thanked The United Methodist Church for the support our denomination has given to
health-care reform. Many faith groups were involved in working for this important legislation
that will provide important protections for every person including banning health-insurance companies
from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
My son recently lost his health
insurance because his small business employer was having cash flow problems. He applied
for an individual plan with the same HMO. My son was denied and one of the two reasons listed was “mild depression.” He
could only qualify for a “high risk” insurance with very high premiums…which my husband and I would end
up paying. I found out the hard way that the part of the health bill on pre-existing conditions does not kick in until
2014!
My son’s situation was resolved with a move to another employer. But this was a reminder of
the over 31 million Americans who are currently uninsured and the low income working people who cannot afford the steep prices
for health insurance now. Like most of you, I do not understand the complexities of this legislation and there is much
work to be done. But
it is an important step in reaching out to the “least of these” in our midst including those struggling with
mental illness.
PATHWAYS TO PROMISE CONFERENCE DOWNLOADS
Presentations from the national summit, Companions
on the Road to Recovery from Mental Illness: Pathways for the 21st Century, held in October of 2009
in St. Louis, MO., are now available on-line as free downloads. The conference agenda is posted
on www.pathways2promise.org with embedded links to some
20 of the presentations from the conference.
MENTAL ILLNESS AND FAMILIES OF FAITH: THE CHALLENGE AND THE VISION
 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.
This is a FREE resource that can be downloaded on the Mental Health Ministries website
as a PDF document. With thanks to the INGENIUM ABP group from Mexico, this resource will soon
be available in Spanish! Click here to download this new resource.
SNIPPETS FROM SUSAN
The Three-Legged Stool
 Visualize a three-legged stool. We are all created with the opportunity to develop three
sides of ourselves: our body, our mind and our spirit.
- Developing our physical side involves eating wholesome food, maintaining a healthy body weight,
exercising regularly, avoiding tobacco and drugs, being safety conscious and taking care of any physical
problems that arise.
- Developing our mental side involves reading and learning, taking classes, creating, organizing,
thinking and laughing. Our mental side also makes choices that integrate the physical, mental
and spiritual side of ourselves.
- Our spiritual side, without which the other two sides are meaningless, involves discovering and
developing our values and goals in life. This side gives us perspectives and helps us develop
the guiding principles by which we live.
“Good health” gives equal importance to developing all three sides or ourselves. Otherwise
we become a wobbly one-legged or two-legged stool…and we may even topple over.
Let us keep this image in mind as we “re-create” this summer with family and friends. Plan
time this summer.
When we are grounded in mind, body and spirit, we are able to use our life in service to others.
I pray for the time when individuals and families living with a loved one with a mental illness will
be silent no more.
Rev. Susan Gregg-Schroeder
Coordinator of Mental Health Ministries
6707 Monte Verde Dr.
San Diego, CA 92119
www.MentalHealthMinistries.net |
