For more information on the following story, contact David Perkins at [email protected] or at (765) 285-1715.
METHODIST PASTORS WANT TO DO MORE TO HELP MENTALLY ILL
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Methodist church pastors understand mental illness and want to help those afflicted, but have relatively little experience with the disease, a Ball State University study has found.
A survey of 1,031 pastors affiliated with the United Methodist Church in Indiana and Virginia found that the majority were not adequately prepared to help the mentally ill or their families, said David Perkins, a psychological science professor.
"Attitudes regarding causes and effective treatments are up-to-date and similar to those of most service providers," said Perkins, who worked jointly on the study with faculty at Indiana University East. "Pastors endorse broad involvement by the church in helping those with mental illness, but most report relatively little individual involvement in counseling and outreach efforts."
That is why they perceive the need for additional training and education to deal with people suffering from a mental illness, he said.
Perkins said Methodist pastors were surveyed to determine their perception of the role of the church in serving people with mental illness.
"Churches have long been considered community resources offering support to people in need," he said. "Pastors are readily available and accessible, and enjoy high levels of public trust."
The survey found:
*Most pastors reported knowing relatively few families (five or less on average) with mental illness in their congregations.
*Less than a third worked in churches that offered outreach services for the mentally ill.
*About 90 percent of pastors reject attitudes that imply hopelessness about mental illness or blame people with the disease for their problems.
*About 90 percent agree that the church should sponsor more programs that educate pastors on mental illness and support families of persons with mental illness.
*Only 10 percent of the respondents said they have counseled a mentally ill person weekly and seven percent said they assisted families of the mental ill on a weekly basis.
*About 43 percent of those surveyed reported some sort of mental illness in their immediate family.
Despite the large number of pastors reporting a mental illness in their immediate family, many still feel unprepared to help the mental ill or their families, Perkins said.
Providing basic education about mental illness, or targeting pastors based on their age or level of education, would probably not do much to increase overall involvement, he said.
"Instead, our results suggest that increasing pastors' comfort with mental illness, emphasizing the belief that the church has a role in supporting people and families affected by mental illness, and endorsing an appreciation of the situational factors affecting mental illness, might encourage more pastor involvement," Perkins said.
The study was funded by the Indiana Consortium for Mental Health Services Research.
(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Perkins by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at (765) 285-1715. For more stories visit the Ball State University News Center at www.bsu.edu/news on the World Wide Web.)
Marc Ransford
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