Belonging = Access
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October 10th was World Mental Health Day. In 1992, this day was originally established to raise awareness and break stigma. Every forty seconds a person takes their life. Last year (2022), 50,000 Americans committed suicide. One in four suffer with mental health issues, but many are voiceless or undiagnosed, and many are Christians. Why?
In Acts, the early Christian community bears each others’ burdens (Galatians 6:2). They were a community, not just worshiping on Sunday. They were the church. John Newton, who wrote Amazing Grace, showed William Cowper amazing grace, because he did not forsake William when he was crippled by depression. John moved his friend’s bed into his home and cared for him for months. John looked on his friend with compassion and encouraged him to write hymns. William was a wordsmith and wrote many hymns which are still sung today. Charles Spurgeon shared his sorrows. He was a Victorian pastor, and during the Victorian age people kept silent about such issues. This was an incredible display of humbling brokenness. Richard Baxter was a puritan pastor that ministered to people’s emotional hurts.
What happened to the modern Western church? Christians that are afflicted keep silence, because mental health is treated like a sin issue, not a physical serious illness. Many are fearful of people with mental illness because of a lack of understanding. Christians are fearful to share or burden others about their mental illness, because they feel isolated within the church community. In the modern church, mental illness is more stigmatized than the secular world that surrounds it . Christian community should be in the world but not of the world. There is a lack of resources and services within the church community.
Why is mental illness so stigmatized in the church?
The Nouthetic counseling movement emerged in the church during the 1960s and ’70s as a reaction to psychological theories and approaches to mental illness that appeared in many ways to be in conflict with traditional understandings of Scripture, especially behaviorism and the moral relativism that runs throughout Rational Emotive therapy. According to the Nouthetic view, as articulated by Jay Adams, mental illness in the absence of a clear organic cause is a manifestation of personal sin. That view still holds significant influence in many of our churches. - Stephen Grcevich, MD (Biblegateway Blog)
Many Christians become doctors for physical illnesses, but there are very few Chrisitans in the mental health field. There are few Christian operated psychiatric hospitals, treatment centers, or clinics. Why? There are Christian operated hospitals. The Jewish community is full of services for a variety of conditions, including mental health. Many churches offer Christian counseling or Biblical counseling. Although several Christian universities offer PHD programs in psychology and advanced degrees in social work, it is rare to find a Christian professional that can treat an individual with a diagnosed mental illness.
What is a counselor? According to the American Counseling Association, professional counselors “help people gain personal insights, develop strategies and come up with real solutions to the problems and challenges we all face in every area of life. As trained and credentialed professionals, they accomplish this by getting to know clients, by building safe, positive relationships and suggesting tools and techniques they believe will benefit clients.” (Psychology Today)
What is a therapist? According to the National Association of Social Workers, clinical social work is “a specialty practice area of social work which focuses on the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental illness, emotional, and other behavioral disturbances.” (Psychology Today)
What is a psychologist? According to the American Psychological Association, a psychologist is “an individual who is professionally trained in one or more branches or subfields of psychology. Training is obtained at a university or a school of professional psychology, leading to a doctoral degree in philosophy (PhD), psychology (PsyD), or education (EdD).” (Psychology Today)
What is a psychiatrist? A psychiatrist is a medical doctor (an M.D. or D.O.) who specializes in mental health, including substance use disorders. Psychiatrists are qualified to assess both the mental and physical aspects of psychological problems. (American Psychiatry Society)
These definitions detail the difference between the fields in mental health care. My prayer is for more Christians or churches to offer mental health care that includes credentialed, trained professionals in all these fields of care, not just counselors. A counselor can’t diagnose, or admit someone for psychiatric inpatient care or day hospital, or prescribe medication. Sometimes, medication is a part of treatment. People with serious mental illnesses, like bipolar or schizophrenia, need a treatment team consisting of a therapist or psychologist and psychiatrist. The church community is an important element in the treatment team, which could include a counselor. The church community is holistic stability for the individual recovering from an episode.
Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital
My church community has been invaluable to me. During the pandemic, different individuals provided compassion and encouragement. Several people in my community invited me over for a virtual church or meals, etc. I fondly remember the many Starbucks gatherings with great friends. These little gestures showed me amazing grace,and, along with my treatment team monitoring moods, helped in preventing hospitalization. With the increasing mental illnesses in all age groups, churches need to rethink their approach to mental health care beyond the level of counselors. We need mental health professionals with a Chrtistian worldview. I was blessed with a secular psychologist and psychiatrist, who engaged my activity in my church and on the mission field.
Belonging is greater than inclusion. For the mentally ill, belonging is a community of holistic care that helps create stability along with their treatment team. Belonging is feeling safe to share your struggles with mental illness with your pastor, small group and community, to bear each other's burdens. We are all one body in Christ and since Heloved us first, we should love our community. Belonging is access to treatment in a Christian world view. Belonging changes lives through God’s plan. We belong to Him and we should all belong in the community.