Mental Illness Awareness Week

NCPD prepares for National Mental Illness Awareness Week. The first week of October marked the National Mental Illness Awareness Week.  In the middle of the week (October 7) a National Day of Prayer for recovery of Mental Illness was observed.  Here at the National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD) office, late September and early October were busy in preparation for this time of awareness and we participated in several events in effort to spread the word and to join in prayer for this important time.

National Mental Illness Network Conference Call focuses on the Mental and Spiritual Healing of Returning Veterans. The first event that took place was the Mental Illness National Network Call entitled Wounded Warriors: Mental Illness and Spiritual Healing.  I was surprised to learn that more veterans seek out their pastors or religious leaders for counseling than secular mental health services.  The term moral injury was also discussed.  This term was new to me so after doing some research I learned that moral injury refers to the psychological distress that occurs after participating in an action that is contrary to one’s moral beliefs (Conan, 2012). The presenters on the conference call suggested that pastoral resources can be especially helpful to people experiencing moral injury as the Church offers a message of healing and forgiveness.  It is especially important that parishes welcome their parishioners who are returning from combat and make the sacraments available to them. 

NCPD Hosts a National Prayer Service for Recovery and Understanding.  On October 7^th, NCPD hosted a national prayer service via telephone where participants could call in and join in prayer with others across the country to pray for understanding and recovery for people with mental illness.  We prayed the first glorious mystery of the rosary commemorating the Resurrection of Christ as a sign of hope and new life in the midst of suffering. Specific prayers were also offered for healing for people experiencing mental illness and for the church to better welcome and serve them.  It was a moving experience and a tradition that NCPD hopes to continue in the future perhaps even on a regular basis. I would encourage occupational therapy practitioners to join in these prayer services in the future and to recommend that their patients who are looking for spiritual resources to call in and join in prayer.  On the home page of the NCPD website there are currently listed prayers and resources that can be a source of strength and hope in the midst of mental illness and can be easily shared with clients who have expressed an interest in prayer or spirituality. 

Occupational Therapy's role in Mental Health Recovery. In addition to these pastoral resources, medical intervention is often important and necessary for people living with mental illness in order to manage symptoms and live a healthy life. If you have mental illness or if you are working in a pastoral setting and you are assisting someone who has mental illness, occupational therapy can be a meaningful and helpful intervention.  The goal of OT in mental health settings is to assist people to engage in the important and meaningful activities that might be difficult to do with a mental illness.  The American Occupational Therapy Association has resources that explain the role of OT in mental health treatment as well as basic information about mental illness.

 For more information please visit:

 http://www.aota.org/About-Occupational-Therapy/Patients-Clients/MentalHealth.aspx

References
Conan, N. (Host). (2012, November 21). Moral injury: The Psychological wounds of war. NPR: Talk of the  Nation. Podcast retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2012/11/21/165663154/moral-injury-the- psychological-wounds-of-war.