wfn.org | Few pastors deal with the mentally ill, survey shows

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Feb. 17, 2000 News media contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York
10-71B{077}

By United Methodist News Service

United Methodist pastors agree the church should become more involved in
education about mental illness and families affected by the disease, but few
deal with the mentally ill on a regular basis, a new survey shows.

Researchers from Indiana University East and Ball State University in
Indiana conducted a survey of 1,031 United Methodist pastors in Indiana and
Virginia. Funding came from the Indiana Consortium for Mental Health
Services Research.

The results didn't surprise Joan LaFuze, the medical physiologist and
professor at IU East who initiated the survey. Currently members of First
United Methodist Church in Hagerstown, Ind., the 62-year-old and her
husband, Ralph, are lifelong Methodists. They have a son who was diagnosed
with schizophrenia in 1981 and a daughter diagnosed with panic disorder in
1982.

"I can't describe what happens when you enter the world of mental illness,"
LaFuze told United Methodist News Service in a telephone interview. "It was
like going to a foreign country."

While the LaFuzes found the church loving and supportive, they did not find
it helpful in trying to deal with the crisis that mental illness caused in
their family. She hopes the study "is a beginning in looking at the role of
pastors and the role of the church in meeting the needs" of families facing
mental illness.

Among the survey's findings: 

·	Most pastors reported knowing five or fewer families, on average,
with mental illness in their congregations.
·	About 90 percent rejected attitudes of hopelessness or blame
regarding mental illness and agreed the church should sponsor more programs
that educate pastors and support families.
·	Less than a third worked in churches that offered outreach services
for the mentally ill and only 10 percent had counseled a mentally ill person
on a weekly basis.

Despite the lack of involvement, 43 percent of the pastors surveyed said an
immediate family member suffered from some sort of mental illness. 

"They were much more personally aware of mental illness through their
families than their parishioners," LaFuze said.

She believes that pastors - as leaders of the congregation - and as many lay
people as possible need to understand the nature of mental illness. While
many people realize that mental illness has a biological component, she
explained, they are not necessarily aware that the behaviors exhibited "are
actually symptoms of an illness," in the same way that a fever or cough is a
symptom.

LaFuze suggested that seminary students should have some actual experiences
interacting with families and people that are mentally ill and that a
continuing education program could be developed for pastors.

Congregations also must recognize that the family is grieving, and they must
work to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness, which she said is
similar to the stigma attached to cancer years ago.

In some ways, a diagnosis of mental illness is more traumatizing to a family
than a diagnosis of cancer. "Often, the illness itself causes the person who
suffers it to be hostile toward the family," LaFuze added.

But there can be progress as well. Her daughter has been able to control her
disorder and earn a doctorate in electrical engineering, marry and have a
child. 

"She is able to do so well because the medications work more effectively for
her," LaFuze explained. "It is possible, even with the most severe mental
illnesses, for many people to live very effectively."

Some churches around the country have established drop-in centers for the
mentally ill, run by a knowledgeable person, that provide planned programs
and transportation. She encourages congregations to make contact with the
National Alliance of the Mentally Ill to find out more about the
organization and how to work with its support groups and family-to-family
education program.

LaFuze was assisted in the study by David Perkins, a psychological science
professor at Ball State, and George Avirappattu, then at IU East, who helped
with the statistics.

Perkins also encourages efforts by churches to deal with mental illness. 

"With so many more people with mental illness living in the community now,
often in isolation and without much support from other people, I think
churches are in a good position to help many people with mental illness meet
important spiritual and other needs," he said.
 
Although LaFuze is dealing with her own illness - she has Bell's Palsy and
was diagnosed with cancer last summer - she said she would like to follow up
on the survey if funding becomes available. She is interested in doing a
broader survey of United Methodist churches in the United States,
particularly looking at regional differences regarding response to mental
illness, and she would like to conduct interdenominational surveys in
selected locations.

LaFuze can be contacted by e-mail at jlafuze@indiana.edu. 

# # #

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://www.umc.org/umns