Sunday, October 3, 1999 Published at 23:26 GMT 00:26 UK
Faith 'good for mental health'
A religious faith can ward off mental illness
Religious and spiritual belief can play a significant role in protecting people from mental health problems, according to the body responsible for health promotion in the UK.
Health professionals are also urged not to dismiss people's religious convictions as part of their illness, even if they encompass belief in controversial practices such as exorcism.
The HEA has produced a guide in collaboration with Christian and Jewish groups and the National Schizophrenia Fellowship that gives advice on ways of supporting people with mental health problems.
Lynne Friedli, manager of the HEA's Mental Health Programme, said: "Religious belief and faith have a central place in many people's lives and this initiative will raise awareness of the important role that faith has in protecting people from mental ill health and helping them to deal better with problems when they do occur."
The guide covers a number of areas, including:
In addition, many voluntary agencies with a strong religious base provide mental health care and support.
'Stigma must be challenged'
Ms Friedli said: "Religious leaders have a duty to challenge stigma. As people with mental health problems are so often excluded from the workplace and other environments, it is important that churches, synagogues and other places of worship open their doors to everyone in the community.
Martin Aaron, chairman of the Jewish Association for the Mentally Ill (JAMI) and a member of the working party that produced the guidance, said clergy of all faiths needed training in what services were available to help mentally ill people.
He said: "Unfortunately, in the past, many clergy - whether they be a rabbi or a parish priest - when approached by people with a problem have not been very well equipped to deal with it.
"Not dealing with a problem with knowledge and training can have a detrimental effect."
Mr Aaron said in most cases clergy would be encouraged to adopt a twin-track approach, offering spiritual guidance and support, and referring on to a medical specialist.
A book, The Courage to Bare our Souls, is published at the same time as the guide. Produced by the Mental Health Foundation and written by mental health service users, it tells of the positive and negative impact that religion and spirituality has had on their lives.