What to read after MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS & THE CHURCH COMMUNITY?

Mental Health Awareness & the Church Community- An Overview

The book- Mental Health Awareness and the church community is a product of the mind of a Psychiatrist and a Pastor in a single text, a blend of the hat of a psychiatrist and the heart of a pastor. It is written from the practical angle of hands-on experience in these interwoven subjects.

The book is written to unmask the silence around this subject in the wider church community and challenge the stigma despite the prominence of mental health needs.

At every stage in the book, it signposts the reader to the merit of accessing specialist mental services where necessary and joining up with other charitable and interested organizations to optimize the mental health of sufferers.

Given that mental health is a universal human experience and a universal human right (WHO Mental Health theme 2023), the book takes a developmental approach to address the subject from cradle to grave, childhood to old age, and across the broad societal strata and social demographics. From the homeless and socially distressed, the drug abusers, and asylum seekers, to refugees and those facing immigration challenges, the serving prisoners and ex-offenders.

The unique and special role of those who handle end-of-life and funeral matters for the mental health of family and congregation is the highlight of the chapter on the “Ministry and mental health of the bereaved”.

The chapter on child and adolescent mental health emphasizes the role of early childhood experiences in future mental health. The framework for supporting and ensuring the safeguarding of children in ministry is an essential subject for every minister. It is an essential read for church workers working with children and for the parents.   

Ministries with a mission mindset, reaching out to those outside mainstream church congregations will find the chapter on “The special groups” with special and peculiar problems helpful, with emphasis on the role of the ministry in recovery and optimizing their mental health.

As the minister and church workers are the central figures in this book, their mental health is addressed in the chapter on “The Minister and his mental health”.  He or she will find a helpful guide on surviving the twists and turns of pastoral responsibilities. The minister in his busy schedule and often crowded diary should be able to quickly spotlight the state of mental health of a person where necessary. The chapter on “Cursory mental state examination” provides helpful tips for this essential soft skill for a minister.

Mental health challenges present a real area of interest, especially in higher education with implications for the outcome of educational attainment and future employability. The chapter on Mental health needs in higher education reveals the depth of mental health challenges in university and college education, and the role of the minister and church in supporting young people in higher education in this critical and stress-prone period of life.  

Mental health operates within laws, legislative guidelines, and regulations especially where liberty might be curtailed or denied in the course of treatments. The chapter on the Mental Health Act and the minister is a helpful guide to ministers and church workers on how best to support people at the time of detention in a hospital under the Mental Health Act, and how to navigate this unfamiliar terrain.

The chapter on Treatment approaches and other interventions is a snapshot of a very specialized area of psychiatry. However, it is informative for the minister in their awareness of the scope of medications and some psychological interventions.

The mental health of health workers and the challenges and the risks of mental health problems in this category of professionals are the subject and focus of Chapter 12; Mental Health and the health worker. Particular references are made to the prevailing mental health problems in this professional group post-COVID-19 pandemic. 

Given the interwoven nature of transcultural issues and mental health, the chapter on “The ministry and cultural diversity in mental health “ is an essential read for ministers serving a culturally diverse population. The historical and prevalent cultural and racial trauma and their impacts on mental health within the church and ministry should be a subject of interest to every minister.

The Ministry and the mental health needs in old age, how this group can continue to be valued and supported, and the impact of special health challenges, including physical health frailties are the subject of Chapter 6. It is a testimonial to longevity being compatible with both sound physical and mental health in old age.  

With the advent and exponential growth of internet technology and the associated benefits, harms, and social vices in every area of life, including the church, the chapter on the mental health implications should be interesting to the church with a younger population, the z-generation.

The chapter on “The ministry of angelic restorative touches on mental health is a reassuring piece with the promise of hope in the face of hopelessness, recovery in the face of illness, and restoration where there has been discouragement, fainting, and distress of mental health and wellbeing.