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Building Bridges: Mental Health Consumers and Members of Faith-Based and Community Organizations in Dialogue
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Foreword
Faith-based and community
organizations across the United States historically have provided a wide range
of social services to persons from all walks of life. They have, for example,
helped people who are homeless, conducted supervised recreational activities
after school for youth, provided quality day care for young children, and offered
support and services to people with mental illnesses. Lives are enhanced by
these interactions.
In 2001 President George W. Bush established the Faith-Based and Community Initiative
to promote full participation of faith-based and community organizations in
the provision of social services. The initiative focuses on elimination of obstacles
to organizations’ working with the Federal government in funding and operating
those services.
In recent years, a number of mental health consumers have informed the Center
for Mental Health Services (CMHS), part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, that faith and spirituality are critical in their paths to recovery.
Some consumers have asserted that their relationships with faith communities
have enhanced their lives; others have claimed that certain attitudes and practices
have impeded their recovery.
To explore the roles of faith and community organizations in recovery for people
with mental disorders, CMHS sponsored a dialogue between mental health consumers
and members of the faith community. Two dozen participants
- Identified
characteristics and issues related to interactions between mental health consumers
and members of faith-based and community organizations; and
- Formulated recommendations
for achieving better mutual understanding and creating partnerships to promote
recovery among persons with mental illnesses.
Their findings and recommendations
are summarized in this monograph.
This dialogue was the fifth in a series of dialogues sponsored by SAMHSA’s
CMHS. Beginning in 1997, mental health consumers have met with groups of formal
mental health providers—psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and
psychiatric-mental health nurses—to open lines of communication.
SAMHSA welcomes comments and suggestions from consumers, their families, and
members of faith-based and community organizations about this monograph and
its use. We hope it helps build bridges that support the recovery of persons
with mental illnesses.
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