The CMDDP’s working group on Mental Health designed two initiatives for the Disability Project: forming a peer network of Mental Health Champions (MH Champions), and creating a publication on the lived experience of people with mental health challenges within the church.
Mental Health Champions
Our research showed that people working in the field of mental health at Diocesan level occupy a whole range of roles with varying titles and emphases. The corresponding staff member might be focussing on the wellbeing of clergy, or children, or staff members, for example. They may focus their attention on mental health conditions relating to stress and anxiety, dementia, or loneliness and depression. They may be a contact point for a counselling service, or conversely they may be providing support themselves.
The first meeting of the MH Champions network was held online in early June, with a good attendance from representatives from many dioceses. The guest speaker was Louise Castle from Sheffield, who spoke of her work as Bishop’s Advisor on Healing and Wholeness, and how this related and fed into the field of mental health. Attendees fed back afterwards on how inspiring it was to hear of Louise’s work and the positive way it is received and supported within Sheffield Diocese.
The next MH Champions meeting will be held online in September. As the network becomes established, we will look into the possibility of arranging an in-person conference offering further training. This will also provide the chance to network and support one another in the varied and valuable work that members are doing in their own Diocesan roles and ministries.
Booklet of Testimonies
The second initiative is the development of a booklet. Within this booklet we aim to tell the stories of individuals who have lived experience of mental health conditions and challenges, within the context of their engagement with the Church. We would like to hear from them how their mental health journey has affected their faith, and vice versa: how their participation with their parish church was affected, whether they have felt understood and supported, and what has been helpful or unhelpful.
A similar booklet produced in the past related to the lived experience of disabled people within the church and was called, with heavy irony, “All Stand”. As we develop the articles which will be included in this new publication, a theme may be uncovered which informs our choice of title. In the meantime we are open to suggestions!
We are grateful to Jo, our researcher for the project. Jo would like to invite potential participants who might wish to contribute to this publication with their own experience of mental health challenges, their faith and their connection with the church. We’d be particularly interested in hearing from male participants, as we wish to have a good balance and diversity within the material presented. If you’d like to hear more with no obligation, and to have a confidential conversation, please email DP Manager Helen at [email protected], or alternatively MH Working Group chair Chris Cook, at [email protected].