National Alliance on Mental Illness
page printed from FaithNet NAMI
NAMI FaithNet Newsletter: September 2007
In this issue:
- Mental Illness Awareness Week in your congregation
- Bibliography on spirituality and mental health
- Recent news highlights
Mental Illness Awareness Week in your congregation
Mental Illness Awareness Week (MIAW) begins in just one month. It is not too late to get your congregation and community involved. Here are some ideas:
- Hold a National Day of Prayer for Mental Illness Recovery and Understanding observance in your congregation or community.
- Show a video, such as Shadow Voices or one of the programs available from Mental Health Ministries, with discussion afterwards.
- Form a Walk team from your congregation for one of the 29 NAMIWALKS happening during September and October in 22 states.
- Set up an information table in your house of worship with fact sheets from the About Mental Illness section of the NAMI Web site or brochures and posters from the NAMI Store.
- Visit the Steps of Ministry section of the FaithNet Web site for additional ideas, including service projects and bulletin inserts.
- Contact your local NAMI to find out how you can help make MIAW 2007 a success in your community.
Bibliography on spirituality and mental health
The June 2007 issue of the Southern Medical Journal featured an article titled "Selected Annotated Bibliography on Spirituality and Mental Health." In it, author John Peteet, MD, provides a short synopsis and review of 27 books and journal articles since 1998. Titles of some of the works reviewed include "Religion and spirituality in the lives of people with serious mental illness," "Mental health services in faith communities: the role of clergy in black churches," and "Spiritually Oriented Psychotherapy."
This article makes a great place to start for those interested in reading more about spirituality and mental health. The Southern Medical Journal has generously made this article available for free to the NAMI FaithNet community. Download article (PDF file).
Recent News Highlights
Doctors' religious beliefs guide depression treatment
A recent report suggests that how religiously observant a doctor is affects how likely the doctor is to refer a patient to a faith-based counselor. Read the article on the Dallas Morning News Web site…
Church to focus on mental illness
The Boston Globe profiles a Boston-area church that is undertaking a week-long teach-in on mental illness, with support from its local NAMI. Read the article on the Boston Globe Web site…