Mental Health Ministries e-Spotlight
Summer 2015
We look forward to summer. With no major religious holidays, the summer is often a time when the activities...and the meetings... in our congregations slow down. The pace is slower. With many children out of school, families plan vacations.
As we take time to re-create during the summer months, it is a time to reassess our priorities and hopefully find ways to reduce the stress in our lives. We know how important self-care is for physical, mental and spiritual health. Yet many of us neglect our own care. This is especially true for those persons responsible for caring for others.
This Spotlight lifts up ideas and resources to help us care for ourselves so that we might be there for others. It also lifts up some resources for families.
Clergy Burnout
Clergy burnout is a major issue. The numbers of clergy experiencing burnout and depression has increased for a number of reasons. Most faith communities face financial stresses. Staff reductions have forced many faith leaders to take on more duties. Many clergy feel pressured to raise money and run capital campaigns which leaves less time for performing their pastoral responsibilities. Seminary graduates are leaving school with more personal debt than previous generations.
With more duties, many clergy report being overwhelmed with more work and responsibilities. The workload and lack of support can lead to feelings of isolation, burnout and depression. Because of the stigma surrounding mental illness, clergy often self-medicate instead of reaching out for help when feeling anxious, over-whelmed or stressed out.
"Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans. In the last decade, their use of antidepressants has risen, while their life expectancy has fallen. Many would change jobs if they could." (New York Times, August 1, 2010)
These are some of the startling statistics regarding clergy burnout.
13% of active pastors are divorced.
33% felt burned out within their first five years of ministry.
40% of pastors and 47% of spouses are suffering from burnout, frantic schedules, and/or unrealistic expectations.
45% of pastors say that they've experienced depression or burnout to the extent that they needed to take a leave of absence from ministry.
50% feel unable to meet the needs of the job.
57% would leave the pastorate if they had somewhere else to go or some other vocation they could do.
70% don't have any close friends.
80% believe that pastoral ministry affects their families negatively.
90% work more than 50 hours a week.
1,500 pastors leave their ministries each month due to burnout, conflict, or moral failure.
Doctors, lawyers and clergy have the most problems with drug abuse, alcoholism and suicide.
NAMI Help Section - Family Members and Caregivers
When a friend or family member develops a mental health condition, it's important to know that you're not alone. Many Americans have experienced caring for a person with mental illness. One in 17 Americans lives with a serious mental health condition. Mental health professionals have effective treatments for most of these conditions, yet in any given year, 60% of people with a mental illness don't get mental health care. As a result, family members and caregivers often play a large role in helping and supporting them.
This section from the NAMI website offers information on:
Supporting Recovery
Maintaining a Healthy Relationship
Taking Care of Yourself
Being Prepared for a Crisis
Calling 911 and Talking with Police
Handling the Arrest of a Family Member
Preventing suicide
CNN Video - When Mental Illness Affects Your Family
When we lose a beloved superstar like Robin Williams to an apparent suicide and learn he had been battling severe depression before his death, it's natural to think about our own loved ones. We might look around at our adult family members and friends who are suffering and try to get them the help they need, but what we might not see is children and adolescents can get depressed and anxious, too. A CNN video and article, When Mental Illness Affects Your Family, includes:
Studies: About 2% of children, 8% of teens have major depression on any given day
Symptoms of depression and anxiety differ between school-age children and teens
Experts: If a child seems sad or withdrawn for 2-3 weeks, parents should be concerned
Signs of suicide risk in children include feelings that life is not worth living, psychiatrists say
When mental illness affects your family by Kelly Wallace, CNN
How to help someone with depression 03:40
Story highlights
Studies: About 2% of children, 8% of teens have major depression on any given day
Symptoms of depression and anxiety differ between school-age children and teens
Experts: If a child seems sad or withdrawn for 2-3 weeks, parents should be concerned
Signs of suicide risk in children include feelings that life is not worth living, psychiatrists say
When we lose a beloved superstar like Robin Williams to an apparent suicide and learn he had been battling severe depression before his death, it's natural to think about our own loved ones.
We might look around at our adult family members and friends who are suffering and try to get them the help they need, but what we might not see is children and adolescents can get depressed and anxious, too.
And it's more common than we probably realize.
On any given day, according to studies, it is estimated that about 2% of elementary-school-age children and about 8% of adolescents suffer from a major depression, and 1 in 5 teens has had a history of depression at some time, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
But how does a parent differentiate between what might be considered normal irritability and moodiness, especially during those teenage years, and signs that something more serious is afoot?
Official: Williams was 'seeking help' 03:12
PLAY VIDEO
Gupta: Depression is a brain disease 03:19
PLAY VIDEO
Dr. Drew on Robin Williams' depression 02:04
PLAY VIDEO
READ: Going public with depression
"I think you should start worrying ... anytime there's enough of a change when you go, 'Oh my God they don't seem like themselves,'" said Dr. Charles Raison, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.
Raison says the timeline is key; parents should perk up if for two to three weeks their children are "unremittingly down," feeling hopeless and negative, if they start to withdraw from friends and activities, and if they experience dramatic changes in sleep.
Depressed teens might have difficulty falling asleep, not be able to fall back asleep after they wake up in the middle of the night or wake up very early in the morning. At the other end of the spectrum, they could be getting excessive amounts of sleep, sometimes sleeping 12 hours or more, psychiatrists say.
For younger kids, detecting depression gets "more complicated" for parents, Raison said, because children below the age of puberty don't necessarily show the same signs of depression as teens and adults.
"The younger the kid, the more scrambled the symptoms can be," he said. "They're easily upset. They cry more. They're scared to sleep alone at night. They become irritable. They act out more."
Gay diving champion beats depression 03:14
PLAY VIDEO
2012: Web help for postpartum depression 04:47
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Generation stressed: teens boiling over 02:53
PLAY VIDEO
In younger children, parents aren't likely to see the "classic depressive pattern," Raison said. "But you're still looking for that same larger idea, which is if your kid shows a real maladaptive change in their emotions (and) their behavior, the light needs to go off in your head because something isn't right."
READ: Depression and anxiety: What worked for me
Melissa Atkins Wardy, a mom of two in Janesville, Wisconsin, and author of "Redefining Girly," said she was never aware that children as young as her daughter Amelia, who is now 8, could develop anxiety outside of a traumatic experience.
But halfway through first grade, Amelia said she didn't want to go to school, and reluctance to go to school "morphed into tears and nausea every day and then tears and worry at bedtime, too," said Atkins Wardy, founder and CEO of the company, Pigtail Pals & Ballcap Buddies, which creates empowering T-shirts for girls and boys.
"Eventually things just spiraled downward in second grade where her light just went out," she said. "I was like her happy childhood had been swallowed up in a dark hole."
Her daughter was eventually diagnosed as suffering from general anxiety and has been seeing a "wonderful" therapist, Atkins Wardy said, for about a year.
When help is needed
Atkins Wardy knew something was wrong and eventually sought professional help, but often parents seek reassurance by telling themselves their child will grow out of the behavior or get better, said Dr. Robert Hendren, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco.
When the behavior is going on for weeks, it's really time to assess what's happening, Hendren said.
READ: What you need to know about childhood depression
CNN's Kelly Wallace talked with a range of experts on detecting the signs of childhood depression and anxiety.
The first step in the case of tweens and teens is being direct and discussing the issue head on, asking them, for instance, how they are feeling and if anything happened to make them feel unusually sad, he said.
"Most adolescents will answer," said Hendren, who is also a past president of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. "One of the things that we learn a lot as health care providers is the majority of the kids that we miss who have depression and who may go on and be at risk of suicide are kids who were just never asked."
Parents can also get more information by talking to the people around their child -- teachers, coaches, youth directors, even parents of friends.
"The parent is trying to gather data: 'Is my kid just acting unhappy, uncharacteristically unhappy like this at home, or is it being noticed elsewhere outside?' because ... if it's also outside, then we're talking about a larger issue," said psychologist Carl Pickhardt, author of the book"Surviving Your Child's Adolescence" and host of a weekly blog for Psychology Today.
Of course, not many children, if any, will be excited to run off to a therapist's office if their parents determine they need outside help.
Pickhardt says he deals with this all the time. He tells parents to tell their kids that they don't have to go and see anybody by themselves, but they do need to go see someone with their parent.
"You can choose to say something or not, but at least you can be here to hear what my concerns are and hear what the other person has to say," said Pickhardt, relaying the script he gives parents to use with their children.
"I've never had a kid not participate," he added.
Signs of suicide risk
Another huge challenge for parents is trying to determine when their child is at risk of suicide.
Hendren, who is also a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, recommends parents ask their children who appear depressed if they ever feel like their life is not worth living, or if they have ever thought about taking their own life.
Raising the issue does not give children the idea of suicide, said Hendren, putting to rest concerns that many parents might have.
"All the studies seem to indicate that you don't have somebody start thinking about suicide by asking them about it. They're either thinking about it or they're not."
READ: Robin Williams and depression: We all wear a mask
That doesn't mean it's an easy discussion for any parent, said Devra Gordon Renner, a clinical social worker in Northern Virginia who has helped hundreds of families deal with childhood depression and anxiety.
"Saying to somebody, 'Are you thinking of harming yourself?' -- that's not a comfortable conversation for a parent to have with a child. But it is a healthy conversation, because it is acknowledging that your child may be feeling really bad and letting them know you are there to help and you are taking them seriously," said Gordon Renner, who is also the co-author of"Mommy Guilt."
When a child says he or she has thoughts that life is not worth living and has considered suicide, those are "ominous signs" that would call for an evaluation by a medical professional experienced with depression and suicide, Hendren said.
"If ... alcohol or other substances might be involved, then the risks really jump because in an altered state of mind, kids seem at a higher risk of doing something that might be harmful."
The stigma remains
Because of the stigma of depression and suicide, too many people are still hesitant to talk about it, even when talking about it helps people who are suffering realize they are not alone, experts say.
"'It's amazing that once you start talking about this, other people pop up with, 'Oh, my cousin had this, my sister had that,'" said Gordon Renner.
"Depression is an illness and it's a treatable illness, and in some cases it can metastasize and be fatal for some people, and I think it's important to know that, but it's rare," she added.
READ: Postpartum depression: One mom's mission becomes a movement
It was the stigma, in part, that drove Atkins Wardy to publicly share her daughter's battle with anxiety on Facebook. At first she questioned whether she was compromising her daughter's privacy.
But since her daughter's battle was already public as far as her school community was concerned, and after getting private messages from mothers looking for advice to help their daughters who also struggled with anxiety, Atkins Wardy decided the issue was bigger than her and her daughter.
"Ultimately, the reason I have continued to share our journey with childhood anxiety is that it is so greatly misunderstood and parents need help," she said.
"Had people who had experienced childhood anxiety not been brave enough to reach out to me and teach me what Amelia was experiencing, I think I would have made some really bad parenting choices."
As for her daughter, who went on a low dose of medication a short time ago, she is pretty much back to her old self again.
"We have our girl back. This is the person I knew was hiding under the mask of anxiety and I was willing to do anything to get her out."
Have you or any of your loved ones ever battled depression or anxiety? Share in the comments or tell Kelly Wallace on Twitter or CNN Living on Facebook.
For any information on how to talk to a child about depression or where to find help, contact theNational Association of Mental Illness.
To view the article and video go to "When mental illness affects your family"
Mental Health & Faith Community Partnership
The Mental Health and Faith Community Partnership is collaboration between psychiatrists and clergy aimed at fostering a dialogue between two fields, reducing stigma, and accounting for medical and spiritual dimensions as people seek care. The partnership provides an opportunity for psychiatrists and the mental health community to learn from spiritual leaders, to whom people often turn in times of mental distress. At the same time it provides an opportunity to improve understanding of the best science and evidence based treatment for psychiatric illnesses among faith leaders and those in the faith community.
I was privileged to be part of the more than 40 prominent, diverse faith, psychiatric and other mental health leaders gathered on July 11, 2014 to inaugurate the Mental Health and Faith Community Partnership. The American Psychiatric Association has put together a website with helpful resources and links as well as a new resource guide, Mental Health: A Guide for Faith Leaders with a companionQuick Reference on Mental Health for Faith Leaders. These resources can be downloaded from the APA website.
Resource - Developing Welcoming Faith Communities
Christa Andrade with the Mental Health Association of Southern Pennsylvania has put together a document, Developing Welcoming Faith Communities: Inspiring Examples of Faith-Based Initiatives. This document provides an overview of what is available to faith-based communities, religious congregations and mental health organizations to connect people with mental health conditions and their families to congregational life.
The Creating Caring Congregation five step model of education, commitment, welcome, support and advocacy is included in this resource along with examples of what faith communities are doing. The concluding section states, Faith communities have always played a significant role in American life: They offer opportunities not only to express one’s spirituality but also to experience the benefits of fellowship. The examples above provide some guidance to others who want to help ensure that individuals with mental health conditions have the same opportunities for faith and fellowship as anyone else.
A PDF file of this document is available in the Resource Guides section on the Mental Health Ministries website.
It Worked for Us - African American Faith Mental Health Anti-Stigma Campaign
We encourage groups to contribute ideas on resources and programs to the It Worked For Us section on our website. A new addition to this section is a program to reach out to African American faith communities. Healthy Communities, Inc. (HCI); is a faith-based nonprofit organization located in Oakland, California with a mission to promote culturally responsive, strength-based and coordinated services that empower African American adult consumers to recover from serious mental health and substance abuse issues. In October 2012, HCI was awarded a grant from the Alameda County Behavioral Health Services Agency to conduct a project to decrease stigma and discrimination towards African American mental health consumers. HCI adapted the five step Creating Caring Congregations model from the resource/study guide, Mental Illness and Families of Faith: How Congregations Can Respond, written by Rev. Susan Gregg-Schroeder. A PDF file describing this program is available on our website.
Snippets from Susan
My husband discovered a good stress reduction plan last year...he retired. It worked so well, that I "officially" entered retired status as a United Methodist minister at my Annual Conference in June. I will continue my work with Mental Health Ministries, but I am also in a process of discernment on where I can best use my time and what feeds my soul.
Resource - Developing Welcoming Faith Communities
Christa Andrade with the Mental Health Association of Southern Pennsylvania has put together a document, Developing Welcoming Faith Communities: Inspiring Examples of Faith-Based Initiatives. This document provides an overview of what is available to faith-based communities, religious congregations and mental health organizations to connect people with mental health conditions and their families to congregational life.
The Creating Caring Congregation five step model of education, commitment, welcome, support and advocacy is included in this resource along with examples of what faith communities are doing. The concluding section states, Faith communities have always played a significant role in American life: They offer opportunities not only to express one’s spirituality but also to experience the benefits of fellowship. The examples above provide some guidance to others who want to help ensure that individuals with mental health conditions have the same opportunities for faith and fellowship as anyone else.
A PDF file of this document is available in the Resource Guides section on the Mental Health Ministries website.
It Worked for Us - African American Faith Mental Health Anti-Stigma Campaign
We encourage groups to contribute ideas on resources and programs to the It Worked For Us section on our website. A new addition to this section is a program to reach out to African American faith communities. Healthy Communities, Inc. (HCI); is a faith-based nonprofit organization located in Oakland, California with a mission to promote culturally responsive, strength-based and coordinated services that empower African American adult consumers to recover from serious mental health and substance abuse issues. In October 2012, HCI was awarded a grant from the Alameda County Behavioral Health Services Agency to conduct a project to decrease stigma and discrimination towards African American mental health consumers. HCI adapted the five step Creating Caring Congregations model from the resource/study guide, Mental Illness and Families of Faith: How Congregations Can Respond, written by Rev. Susan Gregg-Schroeder. A PDF file describing this program is available on our website.
Snippets from Susan
My husband discovered a good stress reduction plan last year...he retired. It worked so well, that I "officially" entered retired status as a United Methodist minister at my Annual Conference in June. I will continue my work with Mental Health Ministries, but I am also in a process of discernment on where I can best use my time and what feeds my soul.
Spending time working in my garden and is one of the things that feeds my soul and reduces my stress. I find it meditative and restorative to get my hands in the dirt and experience the bounty of fresh vegetables and flowers. Studies show that spending time in nature reduces stress and improves a person’s overall well-being. Even nurturing small indoor plants or an herb garden can be renewing and restorative.
I pray that we can all find ways to step back this summer and find ways to be open to the sacred ordinary of daily living.
Rev. Susan Gregg-Schroeder
Coordinator of Mental Health Ministries
http://www.mentalhealthministries.net/
6707 Monte Verde Dr.
San Diego, California 92119 United States
NEW BROCHURE
Clergy Self-Care: How Clergy and Congregations Can Prevent Burnout and Support Healthy Living
Mental Health Ministries has a new brochure that highlights these issues regarding clergy burnout. It offers some ideas on what clergy can do and how congregations can be supportive of their faith leaders. It is available on the Mental Health Ministries website as a brochure under Resources.
MHM VIDEO
Anxiety Disorders: Overcoming the Fear
For some 23 million Americans, anxiety is more than a simple case of the nerves. Instead, it manifests in severe panic attacks that lead to fearful avoidance of certain places or situations. These fears can be as crippling as any serious physical illness. Help and hope are available.You can view a video on anxiety produced by Mental Health Ministries on YouTube.
ARTICLE
Self-Care Tips for the
Clergy Family
It is not just the clergy member who struggles with burnout issues. His or her family are also at risk. Rev. Frank Schaefer, founder and developer ofDesperatePreacher.com, has a helpful article, Self-Care Tips for the Clergy Family.
60 Minutes Video
The Stigma of Raising a Mentally Ill Child
Another video on families dealing with a loved one struggling with a mental illness featured Scott Pelly on a 60 Minutes segment, The Stigma of Raising a Mentally Ill Child. It can be viewed at "The Stigma of Raising a Mentally Ill Child".
BOOK
Unlocking the Treasure:
A Bible Study for Moms Entrusted with Special-Needs Children
Bev Roozeboom has written a book,Unlocking the Treasure: A Bible Study for Moms Entrusted with Special-Needs Children. It is written from a Christian perspective to help mothers who have a child who struggles with physical, emotional, mental, or behavioral difficulties. Mothers of children with special needs often feel alone, wondering if anyone understands their heart. "Unlocking the Treasure" includes real-life stories from several mothers who are also on this journey called "special needs."
NAMI Resource
to Educate Youth-
Say It Out Loud
1 in 5 teens lives with a mental health condition, yet less than half get help. More than 4,000 teens are lost to suicide every year. Mental health remains a topic that few discuss. NAMI is inviting faith communities to join in the efforts to change that reality by ending the silence and engaging teens in community conversations. NAMI created Say it Out Loud to make it easy to hold community conversations with teens. The Say it Out Loud downloadable toolkit has everything needed to start a conversation, including a Facilitator's Guide, 5-minute film, a series of fact sheets and additional information to guide the group facilitator. Community conversations promise to end the stigma that serves as a barrier to teens seeking help when needed. Click here to learn more about this project and how to download the Say it Out Loud toolkit. An introductory video is available on Vimeo.
National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD) Resource Manual
The Resource Manual, Welcomed and Valued: Building Faith Communities of Support and Hope with People with Mental Illness and Their Families, features 90+ pages of information, perspectives and tools to assist in the ministry with people with mental illness. Available on Amazon.
SAMHSA on Mormon Mental Health
Faith and community leaders can play a significant role in helping to educate individuals and families about mental health. This fact sheet can help communities and congregations raise awareness about mental health issues and emphasize the importance of people to seek help when needed. This fact sheet can be used as a bulletin insert or announcement to faith communities about the importance of mental health issues in our communities. This interview is available as a podcast.
SAMHSA Faith-Based Organization Fact Sheet - Everyone Can Play a Role in the Conversation about Mental Illness
Faith and community leaders can play a significant role in helping to educate individuals and families about mental health. This fact sheet can help communities and congregations raise awareness about mental health issues and emphasize the importance of people to seek help when needed. This fact sheet can be used as a bulletin insert or announcement to faith communities about the importance of mental health issues in our communities. This resource can be ordered for free and downloaded from SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). A PDF file is available on the Mental Health Ministries website in the Handouts/Flyers section.
MHM on Facebook
We encourage you to "Like" us on our Facebook page to get timely updates on resources, articles, and ideas of what other people are doing. We also encourage your comments and contributions.
____________________________
I pray that we can all find ways to step back this summer and find ways to be open to the sacred ordinary of daily living.
Rev. Susan Gregg-Schroeder
Coordinator of Mental Health Ministries
http://www.mentalhealthministries.net/
6707 Monte Verde Dr.
San Diego, California 92119 United States
NEW BROCHURE
Clergy Self-Care: How Clergy and Congregations Can Prevent Burnout and Support Healthy Living
Mental Health Ministries has a new brochure that highlights these issues regarding clergy burnout. It offers some ideas on what clergy can do and how congregations can be supportive of their faith leaders. It is available on the Mental Health Ministries website as a brochure under Resources.
MHM VIDEO
Anxiety Disorders: Overcoming the Fear
For some 23 million Americans, anxiety is more than a simple case of the nerves. Instead, it manifests in severe panic attacks that lead to fearful avoidance of certain places or situations. These fears can be as crippling as any serious physical illness. Help and hope are available.You can view a video on anxiety produced by Mental Health Ministries on YouTube.
ARTICLE
Self-Care Tips for the
Clergy Family
It is not just the clergy member who struggles with burnout issues. His or her family are also at risk. Rev. Frank Schaefer, founder and developer ofDesperatePreacher.com, has a helpful article, Self-Care Tips for the Clergy Family.
60 Minutes Video
The Stigma of Raising a Mentally Ill Child
Another video on families dealing with a loved one struggling with a mental illness featured Scott Pelly on a 60 Minutes segment, The Stigma of Raising a Mentally Ill Child. It can be viewed at "The Stigma of Raising a Mentally Ill Child".
BOOK
Unlocking the Treasure:
A Bible Study for Moms Entrusted with Special-Needs Children
Bev Roozeboom has written a book,Unlocking the Treasure: A Bible Study for Moms Entrusted with Special-Needs Children. It is written from a Christian perspective to help mothers who have a child who struggles with physical, emotional, mental, or behavioral difficulties. Mothers of children with special needs often feel alone, wondering if anyone understands their heart. "Unlocking the Treasure" includes real-life stories from several mothers who are also on this journey called "special needs."
NAMI Resource
to Educate Youth-
Say It Out Loud
1 in 5 teens lives with a mental health condition, yet less than half get help. More than 4,000 teens are lost to suicide every year. Mental health remains a topic that few discuss. NAMI is inviting faith communities to join in the efforts to change that reality by ending the silence and engaging teens in community conversations. NAMI created Say it Out Loud to make it easy to hold community conversations with teens. The Say it Out Loud downloadable toolkit has everything needed to start a conversation, including a Facilitator's Guide, 5-minute film, a series of fact sheets and additional information to guide the group facilitator. Community conversations promise to end the stigma that serves as a barrier to teens seeking help when needed. Click here to learn more about this project and how to download the Say it Out Loud toolkit. An introductory video is available on Vimeo.
National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD) Resource Manual
The Resource Manual, Welcomed and Valued: Building Faith Communities of Support and Hope with People with Mental Illness and Their Families, features 90+ pages of information, perspectives and tools to assist in the ministry with people with mental illness. Available on Amazon.
SAMHSA on Mormon Mental Health
Faith and community leaders can play a significant role in helping to educate individuals and families about mental health. This fact sheet can help communities and congregations raise awareness about mental health issues and emphasize the importance of people to seek help when needed. This fact sheet can be used as a bulletin insert or announcement to faith communities about the importance of mental health issues in our communities. This interview is available as a podcast.
SAMHSA Faith-Based Organization Fact Sheet - Everyone Can Play a Role in the Conversation about Mental Illness
Faith and community leaders can play a significant role in helping to educate individuals and families about mental health. This fact sheet can help communities and congregations raise awareness about mental health issues and emphasize the importance of people to seek help when needed. This fact sheet can be used as a bulletin insert or announcement to faith communities about the importance of mental health issues in our communities. This resource can be ordered for free and downloaded from SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). A PDF file is available on the Mental Health Ministries website in the Handouts/Flyers section.
MHM on Facebook
We encourage you to "Like" us on our Facebook page to get timely updates on resources, articles, and ideas of what other people are doing. We also encourage your comments and contributions.
____________________________
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