Breaking down walls around mental health

By Tom Mitchard
New Times Intern

Posted in News

The Uniting Church in South Australia’s new free mental health awareness resource, “Caring for community”, was launched on Tuesday 4 October by Uniting Church SA Moderator Dr Deidre Palmer.

Hosted by The Corner Uniting Church, the event gathered representatives from churches across South Australia for the launch of the booklet, which was adapted from a similar resource created by the Queensland Synod.

“Caring for community” contains information on common mental health conditions, and outlines strategies for churches to provide care for those affected by mental ill-health. The resource also provides guides for reducing fear and stigma, starting positive conversations about mental health, and making referrals to professionals and support services.

The resource launch was followed by a training seminar led by Rev Mark Boyce, a former nurse and current mental health chaplain of 20 years. The training focussed on mental health and its connection with spirituality and religion.

Addressing those gathered, Mark encouraged church communities to “acknowledge that religion and spirituality are important for a person in their recovery” and to “give [them] permission to talk about and explore their spirituality.”

A survey previously conducted by Mark and a fellow chaplain found that many people believe their spirituality gives them a positive, hopeful outlook on their health and helps them to recover.

Mark expressed his belief that churches also have the ability to provide “safe spaces” for people to explore their faith and spirituality, and to be a voice for justice for those who feel marginalised.

The seminar also included input from Colleen, a support officer with the Women’s and Children’s Health Network, who has been living with bipolar affective disorder for many years. She told the group about her struggles with mental ill health and her recovery, and how she believes church communities can support people in similar situations.

“Finding church communities where people can actually be supported and cared for is really important,” Mark agreed, adding that people in safe environments are better able to recover.

However, Mark said fear towards people with mental ill health jeopardises this feeling of safety, creating “a wall of silence” around people and preventing positive and supportive conversations around mental health.

“In order to maintain health, we need support from our community, and as a community we need to continue to educate ourselves so that we deal with the fear.”

The new Uniting Church SA mental health resource can provide important guidance and education in this area. “Caring for community” aims to inform churches in how to address fear and stigma, to create positive and welcoming environments, and to offer care and support to people living with mental ill health.

“Caring for community” is available for download here. For more information about the resource, or the launch event and training seminar, please email Turn on Javascript!


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