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UK News

UK churches to get 'guidance' on mental health stigma

by Desmond Busteed

According to statistics, 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health issue each year, with 11% of British women taking anti-depressant medication daily. Similarly, anecdotal evidence suggests that Christians with mental health needs have often found churches they attend are relatively ill-equipped to support them.

Livability and Premier Mind and Soul have combined forces to create a new resource to help churches better understand people with mental health needs in their congregations.

This comes as the deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg pledged to reduce suicide rates and improve mental health services earlier this week, to coincide with Blue Monday, supposedly the most depressing day of the year.

Livability and Premier Mind and Soul developed the mental health access pack in response to they describe as a "growing demand" from churches that are "keen" to better understand mental health issues but are "uncertain" where to start.

The pack specifically aims to equip churches with relevant knowledge and tools incorporating theological, psychological and medical perspectives on mental health as well as signposting churches to other specialist external sources.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby said in support of the pack:"Churches have a responsibility to welcome everyone who comes to them in Christ's name, but the reality is that they don't always know how best to support people who are struggling with mental health issues.

Katharine Welby- Roberts, an associate at Livability and the Archbishop of Canterbury's daughter who has spoken publicly regarding her struggles with depression, said:""From my own experience and others I have spoken with, churches do want to better support people with mental health problems but don't know how to go about it.

"This can often lead to isolation or people leaving the church because they feel misunderstood or not catered for.

"I believe the church is a key untapped local resource which can support people with mental health needs; this pack is a valuable and timely resource which will help churches to do mental health better."

Premier Mind and Soul have already made significant amounts of information available to the UK church on mental health through their website and conferences, which are regularly oversubscribed.

However, they decided to create the pack to resource churches in a structured, comprehensive and easily accessible way.

Will Van der Hart, Pastoral Chaplain at Holy Trinity Brompton, and a director of Premier Mind and Soul- who will feature on the BBC's Songs of Praise to discuss the pack next month, said: "The Mental Health Access Pack responds to a critical need in the church today, not only from the congregants but also from church leaders. 20% of clergy sick leave each year is as a result of depressive illness and almost half (47%) of leaders from major protestant denominations admit to suffering from stress most of the time."

"A person's experience of mental illness within the church can be vastly improved through increasing understanding of common disorder and debunking some of the myths that are still prevalent in the Christian community; the Mental Health Access Pack seeks to do just that."

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