You’re likely aware of the recent skyrocketing of mental health conditions. More than likely this has come close to home for you, whether you have experienced the struggle to overcome debilitating depression and anxiety, or you have walked with a family member or friend through the hopelessness and distress of a continual upward battle with a mental health condition. There are no easy answers for these struggles. Those who face them often feel alone, unsupported, and ostracized from society, which leads to more pain, depression, and anxiety.

The causes for mental health conditions are varied, and individuals’ experiences are unique. But one of the largest contributing factors to the recent surge in mental health disorders is our society’s move away from real-world interactions with each other to technology-based interactions, as social psychologist Johnathan Haidt demonstrates in his recent book The Anxious Generation. Haidt shows that the introduction of the iPhone, and subsequently social media, has resulted in widespread mental health disorders among the younger generation, and has helped create young adults who are not equipped to face life in the real world. Haidt’s research speaks to the need for individuals to be a part of an in-person community that provides a healthy environment in which they can flourish. 

The church should be a community like this for its members, though it so often has failed in this regard. In spite of its failures, though, there are glimmers of hope that things can and will change in the future as more people realize the need for the church to be a community that provides a healthy environment for its members. I wish to propose four points for how the church can play an important role in being a place of community specifically for those who are struggling with mental health conditions, whether that be depression, anxiety, PTSD, or schizophrenia. Just like everywhere else, the church is not immune to the effects of mental illness on its members. And unfortunately, the church has not always proved to be a place where those with mental illnesses have been welcomed and supported—and this is what I would like to see changed. 

First, take the time to know an individual struggling with mental health before trying to “fix” them. Mental health conditions are complex and there is no one-size-fits-all condition. From the causes to the effects, there is no formula for exactly how a specific individual will experience a mental health condition. Each person is impacted by their unique experience and temperament. Some mental health conditions are influenced greatly by genetic and environmental factors and have nothing to do with personal choices, while others are much more a result of unwise choices an individual has made (as Haidt shows). This requires that we know an individual before making blanket statements or passing judgment on them. Knowing requires listening, and we would do well to take time to just listen without feeling the need to jump in with our advice or judgment, lest we become miserable comforters like Job’s friends. Instead, we should sit and soak in their story. Entering into someone else’s struggle through careful, non-judgmental listening helps us to get rid of our preconceived opinions and feel in a very incomplete way their struggle, which is one of the ways we can show our care and support. This does not mean that as members of the body of Christ we never have a responsibility to give words of reproof and correction for someone in sin (and in reality, sometimes an individual really does need to ditch their social media addiction, etc.). But this should be done carefully in cases of mental illness, since these issues are almost always more complex than what meets the eye, and simply addressing one addiction will likely not be a fix-all. 

Second, those with influence in the church should be careful not to alienate individuals who are struggling with mental health conditions by communicating that these issues are primarily spiritual problems. What is communicated publicly in the church goes a long way toward showing how the church as a whole will respond to mental illnesses. I have heard sentiments from the pulpit communicating that mental health struggles are usually spiritual problems resulting from “agreements that have been made with the devil,” from sin, or from not enough trust in the Lord. While sometimes a mental health struggle may be at least in part a spiritual problem, it is almost never as simple as “just spiritual.” Communicating in this way can easily put an unnecessary (and harmful) weight of condemnation onto an individual, as well as propose a quick fix when in reality there usually isn’t one. This can alienate those struggling with mental health, so that at best they may feel that they cannot be honest about their mental health, or at worst they may choose to leave their church—and sometimes even their Christian faith—because the spiritual “formulas” that they were given to overcome their struggles didn’t work. By communicating in this way, we cut off struggling members from the help and support that they need and lay on them a heavy burden of blame and responsibility for not having enough faith, when we should be walking alongside them and easing their burden.

Third, recognize the need for professional help. Because the church has often operated under the idea that mental health conditions are tied to spirituality, we have shied away from recommending individuals struggling with mental health conditions get help from professionally trained therapists. This skepticism has hindered individuals from getting the therapy they sometimes desperately need and turned them instead into a “spiritual project.” A bit of education for any church member, but perhaps most importantly those in leadership, on how trauma and other mental health disorders can affect the brain could be very useful in this regard. This could help us to give more room for depression, anxiety, obsessions, etc. to be medical and psychological problems instead of always just spiritual, and therefore be able to give better help to individuals by recommending professional help. Although the church can often have an important role to play in the coaching of individuals with mental health conditions, one of the ways it does this is to realize when something is outside of its scope of expertise and help.  Just like we need professional doctors for those dealing with physical health problems, we also in some cases need professional therapists who can provide specialized care where we are not equipped. It should not make the church feel inept to realize that we don’t always have what it takes to help an individual. We should humbly acknowledge that we are not the experts on everything and that sometimes the best thing we can do to support an individual is to recommend professional help. 

Fourth, be a friend to members struggling with mental health conditions. In the counseling world it is known that the therapeutic relationship between the client and counselor is one of the most effective elements of counseling. It is called the therapeutic relationship because the relationship itself is a means of healing. Different approaches, techniques, and exercises all play an important role; but the relationship between the counselor and client is the most tried and true element to aid in healing. Most of us will not be trained as professional counselors, but most if not all of us can be a friend. This will require commitment and sticking with an individual through the long haul. It will mean a lot of just “being there” for a friend (which is what they should be and are, not a project!). Because social interactions are often hard for those with mental health conditions, it is important that we do what we can to make them feel part of community life, and go out of our way to include them in our lives. This is probably one of the most important and effective ways we can help to bring a bit of health and flourishing to the life of an individual struggling with mental health. 

As Christians, we should work towards making the church a flourishing community where those among us struggling with mental health conditions find belonging and friendship, leading to more health. Through the church working together as a community, I believe we can do just that.