Catholic Church Documents
Mental Health Literacy and Mental Health First Aid
The Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers can help a parish community increase its mental health literacy by presenting a “Mental Health First Aid” training course at the parish at no charge to the parish.
Why is Mental Health Literacy Important?
What people in a parish know and believe about mental illness will have a direct impact on a parish’s ability to minister to people with a mental illness and their families. If people mistakenly believes that mental illness is due to a moral failing or character fault then that will only serve to increase the stigma, shame and discrimination that individuals who live with mental illness all too often have to deal with. On the other hand, if there is a broad understanding the parish community that mental illness is, in fact, an illness that is not the fault of the person with the mental illness, then more compassion, empathy and companionship can be found in the parish community.
