A call for Mental Health Champions
The Church of Ireland is once again calling for mental health champions to step forward in parishes across the island of Ireland. Research has revealed that prayer and faith help to support good mental health but stigma around the issues still remains a major challenge.
These are some of the key findings that emerged from the MindMattersCOI project and the next phase will focus on improving mental health literacy (defined below).
To this end, the project team is putting out a call for mental health champions or volunteers across the country to get involved and become ambassadors for mental health in parishes and the wider community.
Would you consider becoming a volunteer and/or be able to encourage others, both clergy and lay members of the Church, to get involved? There will be a wide variety of training on offer as well as funding available for local projects that support mental health literacy.
For more information and to sign up as a champion, please visit the MindMattersCOI website or email the team at: mhp@rcbdub.org.
Findings and definition
Some of the key findings include:
both members and clergy agreed that the Church of Ireland has a role to play in promoting positive mental health;
bishops note that they can provide the strong leadership required to effect positive and lasting change in relation to mental health attitudes and awareness;
96% of respondents felt that Covid–19 had had a significant impact on people’s mental health;
family, friends and other connections were identified as key contributors to positive mental health;
respondents reported that, although they have positive attitudes towards mental health issues, these still carry a significant level of stigma within the community;
in contrast to other studies among churches and other communities of faith, respondents did not identify clergy as a primary source of help in dealing with mental health issues; and
a significant number of clergy feel that the Church currently does not provide sufficient support for their mental health.
Mental health literacy is defined as:
understanding how to obtain and maintain positive mental health;
understanding mental health problems and their treatments;
decreasing stigma related to mental health problems; and
assisting people to seek help effectively.