It’s time to welcome faith-sensitive care, clergy
We need to retire an outdated subconscious bias against faith-sensitive mental health practices
In May, The Washington Post reported that the pandemic was “pushing America into a mental health crisis.” Throughout the summer, the trend continued and has driven many to depression and drinking.
Before COVID-19, psychological stress in the U.S. and around the world was endemic; the World Health Organization estimated that a quarter of the world’s population would suffer from a mental health or neurological disorder at some point in their lives. In a 2019 study, American Bible Society found that experiencing the death of a loved one tended to be a leading source of trauma symptoms, closely followed by domestic violence, job loss and financial setback.
Fast forward to 2020. More than 175,000 U.S. COVID-19 patients have died, leaving millions to mourn loved ones. An April analysis by The Economist estimated that domestic violence reports in the U.S. have increased by 5% during the pandemic.
Recent national racial traumas have further exacerbated generational stress and depression for Black Americans — that’s a psychological strain on millions of people in addition to the stresses of COVID-19, which are disproportionally affecting Black Americans.
We don’t have official numbers yet, but we can assume a large majority of individuals in the U.S. have experienced a traumatic event since March and, without help, are at risk for the ongoing negative psychological repercussions of trauma. But despite evidence showing that trauma leads to poor physical and emotional health, unstable work histories, relationship challenges and even early death, if nothing changes most people will never receive professional care.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve heard from government and health officials about the need to be part of the solution and to keep our hospital beds open for the most at-risk COVID-19 patients.
We need this same mindset to translate to counseling and psychology, in order to accommodate the coming influx of mental health care needs. Fortunately, there are some simple, innovative steps our country can make to adapt and address the mental health needs of all affected individuals.
For one, we can train faith leaders to adequately address trauma since so many people of faith are already looking to them for this kind of help.
While individuals may hesitate to set up an appointment with a local counselor, they are likely to call their place of worship amid crisis. Consider that 7 out of 10 Americans identify as religious; tapping into the faith community could help us as a country effectively address its mental health crisis.
This isn’t a completely new idea, and its application has worked well where it’s been applied in our state. In Philadelphia, public health entities have worked hard to educate clergy about the value of professional care, encouraging them to consider how best to provide safe spaces for people experiencing trauma. When congregants understand that they are not alone, that they can be open and honest about their struggles, and that their community will support them, there is clear evidence of benefit.
Unfortunately, educating religious leaders on a national scale, at a time when many of their places of worship are facing financial instability, won’t be possible without funding for the faith-specific care research, training and tools that can be led by faith leaders.
Testing faith-specific interventions takes significant time and requires intellectual and financial resources, often not readily available to those who are on the front line. But if we want to reach a massive population in need of care, then public and private help will be vital. There is an abundance of interested researchers. What is needed is the will to work together with the same tenacity we have to try to flatten the curve.
It’s time that, as a country, we retire an outdated subconscious bias against faith-sensitive mental health practices. As I write this, the field of psychology and mental health is decidedly more secular than the general public. And it’s preventing thousands from having a holistic trauma recovery experience. Those who do identify with a religion have a need to reconcile their trauma with their faith.
Training clergy alone will not completely close the burgeoning gap in care the U.S. is bound to face, but it is one significant step toward ensuring that all Americans can healthily process loss, racial injustice, financial struggle, isolation and the many ways COVID-19 has impacted us. It could prevent thousands of suicides, substance abuse cases, and even cardiovascular and metabolic diseases that have been connected to trauma symptoms.
At the end of the day, it’s an investment in the future of America.