The role of the faith community

Faith and medicine do not conflict if the topic is cancer, diabetes, or heart disease. Attitudes about human behaviors and psychiatry are more challenging. Many confuse psychology, psychiatry, and pastoral counseling. Psychiatry is the field of medicine which addresses how brain problems – specific mental illnesses – affect a person’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Medical conditions, especially brain illnesses, do affect human behaviors unless they are properly treated. The confusion occurs when the faith community views many human behaviors as indicators of morals, character, and sin. People who have not learned about mental illnesses usually presume that human conduct is willful and intentional. When behaviors are the result of mental illness symptoms, blaming and punishing are not appropriate.

Understanding and proper treatment of mental illnesses can prevent many serious societal problems. Most faith leaders and members of their faith communities have received no formal and accurate training about mental illnesses. They have not benefited from the medical advances of the last 15 years in psychiatric research.

The beliefs and teachings of many faith leaders actually interfere with prompt and proper mental health treatment. This can be both costly and dangerous to the mentally ill person and to society. With large numbers of Americans having some degree of some mental illness at some point in their lives, faith leaders are frequently sought out by congregation members who are experiencing troubling events which have triggered mental health problems.

When those in the faith community misinterpret behaviors which are symptoms of mental illness – seeing the problem as purely a job issues or a marital issues – the mentally ill faith follower may not seek needed medical care. Prompt diagnosis and proper treatment lead to the greatest chance for a full and fast recovery. ….