Catholics suffering from mental illness and their loved ones who want to help them will receive more formal support in the Diocese of Phoenix. Bishop John Dolan has announced the launch of an office dedicated to the Catholic Ministry of Mental Health.

Bishop Doran told CNA on Sept. 19, “There are many people facing loved ones in crisis.”

Bishop wants the new office to “let people know they’re not alone when it comes to mental health.” .

Bishop Dolan announced his office in Sts on September 4th.Simon and Jude Cathedral during “Memorial Mass” for those who died by suicide, parish newspaper catholic sun report.

During Mass, the bishop led the procession of the clergy. He, along with others in the congregation, placed carnations in baskets in front of the cathedral’s shrine. Each carnation represents someone who died by suicide. The parish solicited the names of suicide victims to be remembered during Mass and received more than 1,200.

This issue is a personal one for the new bishop. In a video posted on the parish’s YouTube channel, in his message “Sharing my story: A life changed by suicide,” Bishop Dolan said his family lost a brother, sister and husband to suicide. I told the story.

“Losing a loved one is very, very hard. Losing a loved one to suicide is twice as hard,” says Bishop Dolan in the video. “I had support from the church, but it wasn’t continuous support, it was a real opportunity to keep talking about it. I never really thought about it.

Bishop Doran, who became Bishop of Phoenix on August 2nd, co-edited the Pastoral Handbook Responding to Suicide.

Mental illness is relatively common. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, as of 2020, nearly 1 in 5 adults in the United States (about 53 million people) are living with a mental illness. An estimated 14.2 million adults in the United States (her 5.6% of the adult population) suffer from severe mental illness. Of these, only 65% ​​had received mental health treatment in the previous year.

The planned focus of the Secretariat of the Catholic Ministry of Mental Health includes mental health education for clergy and lay people. The office aims to provide opportunities for Catholics to find support by accompanying friends and loved ones struggling with mental illness.

The new office will provide priests with a mental health “first aid kit” to advise and respond to those in need, Dolan said.

The educational aspect aims to help clergy and religious people learn more about mental health and receive basic training. This educational effort should help instill a “wider view of what mental health is” so that clergy are not “trying to solve the problem on their own.”

Education is provided through the National Council for Mental Well-Being. Founded in 1969, the Council is an advocacy and education group representing more than 3,100 mental health and substance use treatment organizations.

“They basically try to train them on what to expect and what to look for,” Bishop Doran said. “It is strictly clinical in education. Of course, spiritual aid is aid in such crises.

The organization’s mental health first aid program has trained more than 2.6 million people in the United States to “identify, understand, and respond to the signs and symptoms of mental health and substance use problems.” This training covers common signs and symptoms of mental health and substance use challenges, how to interact with people in crisis, and how to connect people for help. It also includes content on trauma, substance use, and self-care.

Bishop Doran said psychology has a role to play in Catholic thought and practice.

“We consider psychology and psychiatry to be a valuable gift to humans, and we shouldn’t hold back from that,” he told CNA.

The purpose is not to increase the burden on the priest. Rather, you get resources that can guide those in need. In each of the diocese’s 15 deans, Bishop Dolan aims to create a space for those struggling with mental health problems, behavioral problems, trauma, bereavement and more.

Bishop Dolan said the details of how the diocese’s current seminarians are being prepared are not yet well known.

Speaking of seminarians generally, “counseling is probably one aspect of their training,” he said, suggesting that prospective priests, unless they have taken classes on the subject at college or seminary, have a background in psychology. We only accept “a few samples”.

A 2016 document from Decastery for the Clergy, ratio fundamentals, It discusses the formation of seminarians. Note that psychology’s ‘useful contribution’ to pastoral theology helps in the education of seminary students as future pastors.

The Secretariat of the Catholic Ministry of Mental Health also plays an advocacy role. We aim to improve government policies and increase funding to address mental health. Bishop Dolan said this would “help ensure that mental health is at the forefront of all our conversations, especially as more and more people with mental health disorders are on the streets.” Stated.

Some homeless people live on the streets for “a variety of reasons,” Bishop said, including trauma, mental illness and substance use disorders. He added that experiencing homelessness creates additional anxiety and mental health problems.

Scheduled to open in January 2023, the office is funded by the Phoenix-based Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust. Responsible for organizing the new office will be Anne Vargas Levereza, Director of the Diocese’s Child and Youth Protection Department, and Maria Chavira, Diocesan Chancellor.

Bishop Dolan, a former auxiliary bishop of San Diego, referred to previous Catholic statements, such as the Bishop of California’s 2018 letter regarding the care of those suffering from mental health.

He said the Catholic dioceses of San Diego, San Francisco, and Orange, California, are already addressing mental health, often under the efforts of other parish departments. He mentioned the efforts of the Catholic Institute of the Department of Mental Health to put. The institute seeks to train leaders for the Department of Mental Health at the parish and parish level across the country.