HEALTH CHALLENGES Mental Health/Illness
- Profiles in Catholicism
- Jun 28, 2018
- 11 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Prayers
Prayer for Those Affected by Mental Health Challenges
Lord God, as we have recently recalled Jesus' passion and death, we pray
for those afflicted with a different kind of pain, that
brought about by the challenge of mental illness. May those who face this
physical and spiritual struggle whether personally or as a
close circle of family and friends find new strength and hope in this Easter
season as we remember Jesus' willingness to experience pain
for our salvation. We offer our prayer in the name of Christ Jesus Our
Lord.
A prayer for Catholic mental health providers:
“The Promise of Good Friday”
In the heart of the dark, stealing through what is hidden, are the Worms
which empty the potato, leaving it like a brittle egg-shell.
Or the larvae in the soil, rising in the night to strike, ever so gently, The
fledgling plant, eating the leaves, holing its embrace on life.
Or the cold, descending frost, biting into the buds and blunting the tip
That would reach upwards and grow towards the light-increasing-life.
A face disfigured: “Darkness was over the face of the deep” (Gn 1: 2)
Glamour is no protection against the poisonous suggestion, insinuating
further in as it works its way through restless resistance.
Popularity bursts, leaving bruised and battered the people who once Were
icons of success, scattering what was good like crashed glass.
Good works: What were they? Who did them? Who can remember?
Subsiding like the passing of a great whale, where no trace remains.
Together Mary, the Mother of the Lord and Mary Magdalene, and Others,
too, were with John the Evangelist in your presence, Lord, While you
endured the cross, not flinching from their place of pain, But bearing it too,
in the heart’s hearth, kindling a love between us
More like a love from Love, wherein we transcend our differences in Being
still and becoming one, communicating what we can, when we Can,
through your very Presence in the impossible places of pain, Bearing
witness, in word and sacrament, that in being there you are With us,
whether on a cross or accompanying those who are – we are Together
tethered in prayer, touched by the touch of your word.
Oh Lord of Love, your undying Love lights, again and again, our Flickering
failing, near fatal inaccessibility but, as with the closed Room, you can pass
through to the innermost depths of our dying Spirit and, like a fire leaping
up with the flame that lights it, your Presence among us takes us out of our
isolation and estrangement.
Open to us, again and again, the contact of communication with
Communion: to that coming together in the solidarity of suffering that
Rises to the promise of the resurrection, whether in this life or the life
Eternal to come, restoring as it redeems our ruined relationships and
Expands our horizons to the hope of eternal glory and the needy other.
So, Lord, let all who come to help, bring all their expertise and Training,
experience and know-how, whether on their own or in the Company of
others, turning again to the great companionship of the One who has been
through the searing, tearing of soul from body and Everything that torments
and foments division, finding forgiveness to Be the answer that unbinds and
unfurls the biting sins and binds us Through gifts of grace, like many chords
of a song of praise, rising, As we rise, to the praise of your redeeming Love,
turning us to hope.
Oh Lord, let your Holy word so permeate our spirit that, uncovering What
needs healing, heeding what needs helping, helping what needs
Help to recover from the disintegrating, embittering lie of being Unloved,
unwanted, unable to come back into the community we left.
“And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land
until the ninth hour” (Mk 15: 33). “And the Spirit of God was moving over the
face of the waters” (Gn 1: 2).
And so let the Holy Spirit inspire our understanding of the “other” That we
may find a path to the problems that beset us and, in time, Upload the
soothing relief of being released to live, love and be more.
May the Mother of the Lord, Mary Magdalene. St. John and all the Angels
and saints, in all their diverse array, help us to see, to believe And to
benefit from the immense wealth of wisdom in the Tradition And Magisterial
teaching of the Church of Jesus Christ.
And may the depths from which we come, oh Lord, help us to
Communicate with those still immersed in the recesses of hurt, Hurting too
much to talk, too silent to speak, too unheard to be heard
Easily, that the new beginning be not a false, faked start, but a reality
Too hoped for to be anything but solidly real, wonderful and graced.
by Francis Etheredge Profiles in Catholicism
Francis Etheredge has 12 books currently on Amazon and the
forthcoming Reaching for the Resurrection : A Pastoral Bioethics
Mental Health Interviews
Mental Health Information and General Challenges
General Mental Health Medical Journal Articles
Priest shares how he battled depression, emerged from ‘dark pit’ of temptation to suicide by Almudena Martínez-Bordiú Catholic News Agency
What is Toxic Masculinity and How it Impacts Mental Health
by Kevin Foss ADEA
Single-Dose Psilocybin Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder. A Randomized Clinical Trial by Charles L. Raison, MD, Gerard Sanacora, MD, PhD; Joshua Woolley, MD, PhD; et al JAMA August 31, 2023
Schizophrenia Linked With Genetic Changes That Are Not Inherited by Emily Harris JAMA July 19, 2023 Link to Schizophrenia
Screening for Depression and Suicide Risk in Adults: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement by US Preventive Services Task Force JAMA June 20, 2023 Link to Suicide
Reimagining Institutionalization and a Continuum of Care for People Experiencing Homelessness and Mental Illness by Katherine A. Koh, MD, MSc and Benjamin Land Gorman, BS JAMA April 10, 2023 Link to Homeless
CDC Report Documents Disparities in Mental Health–Related ED Visits by Emily Harris JAMA March 8, 2023
Blood Biomarker Helps Distinguish Vascular Dementia by Emily Harris JAMA March 8, 2023 Link to Dementia
Mental Health General Articles and Commentaries
Cutting Edge: The Cautious Optimism for Psychiatric Brain Surgery
by Frieda Klotz Undark
St. Dymphna, St. Maria Goretti and the Litanies of the Heart by Gerry Ken Crete National Catholic Register Link to Saints
Sisters Hospitallers: Learning humanity from the mentally ill by Patricia Ynestroza Vatican News
How faith assists us with mental health challenges by Austin Kleman, SJ The Jesuit Post Link to The Jesuits
How To Identify The Early Signs Of Mental Health Disorders by Detox Rehabs
FDA approves first postpartum depression pill in the US by Jacqueline Howard CNN
Chatbots are creating thorny ethical questions about transparency in mental health care by Mohana Ravindranath Stat News. Link to Artificial Intelligence, Chatbox, Chatbot, and Robotics
The Past, Present and Future of Using Ketamine to Treat Depression by Raleigh McElvery Smithsonian Magazine
Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2020 report of the Lancet Commission
by Gill Livingston, Jonathan Huntley Andrew Sommerlad, et al Lancet. 2020 Jul 30
Link to Dementia
Most people say they want to know their risk for Alzheimer's dementia, fewer follow through
by Julia Evangelou Strait ScienceDaily
Link to Alzheimer’s disease
Inside the Effort to Expand Virtual Reality Treatments for Mental Health by Raleigh McElver The Smithsonian Magazine
From the cushion to the couch: Buddhism’s powerful influence on psychotherapy by Ira Rifkin Religion News ServiceLink to Buddhism
Q & A with Sr. Lipy Gloria Rozario, whose videos help thousands with their mental health by Sumon Corray Global Sisters Report
Jesuit Examines Link Between Spirituality and Mental Health by Tracey Quinlan Dougherty Fordham News Link to The Jesuits
Innovative solutions to address the mental health crisis: Shifting away from police as first responders by Stuart M. Butler and Nehath Sheriff Brookings
Depression, stress hitting Navajo nation during pandemic, priest says by John Lavenburg Crux
Australian bishops get it right on mental health by Father Daniel P Horan, OFM National Catholic Reporter
Mental illness is hurting Black faith communities. Prayer shouldn’t be our only defense. by Kenneth C. Ulmer Religion News Service Link to Racial Challenges and Leadership
A Vaccine for Depression? Ketamine’s remarkable effect bolsters a new theory of mental illness. by Taylor Beck Pocket
Resources
Specific Groups Affected by Mental Health Challenges
Prisoners
Articles/Commentaries
Mental health status among prison officers in the process of enforcing the law during COVID-19epidemic: a cross-sectional survey from China by Yang Li, Zhen Wen, Yimei He & Jingting Huang BMC Psychiatry volume 22, Article number: 33 (2022)
Assessing incarcerated women’s physical and mental health status and needs in a Swiss prison: a cross-sectional study by Aurélie Augsburger, Céline Neri, Patrick Bodenmann, et al Health & Justice volume 10, Article number: 8 (2022)
Seious Mental Illness Prevalence in Jails and Prisons by Treatment Advocacy Center
Ill Equipped: U.S. Prisons and Offenders with Mental Illness by Human Rights Watch
Pakistan halts execution of mentally ill death row inmates. Rights groups welcome the Supreme Court ruling for easing the plight of vulnerable prisoners by Zahid Hussain Khan UCA News
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart talks mental illness in jail during Rockford visit by Adam Poulisse rrstat.com
Human Rights Watch Details Abuse of Mentally Disabled Prisoners by Sarah Horwitz The Washington Post
Forget Me Not: Dementia in Prison by Tina Maschi, PhD, LCSW, ACSW, Jung Kwak, PhD, MSW, Eunjeong Korta; The Gerontologist, Volume 52, Issue 4, August 2012
A cross-sectional survey of prevalence and correlates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among prisoners in New South Wales, Australia by Sarah Larney, Libby Topp, Devon Indig, et al BMC Public Health volume 12, Article number: 14 (2012)
Teens/Young Adults
Medical Journal Articles
Screening for Depression and Suicide Risk in Children and Adolescents by M Viswanathan JAMA October 11, 2022
Articles/Commentaries
Pandemic took a toll on teen mental health, US study says by Mike Stobb The Associated Press
Helping adolescents to better support their peers with a mental health problem: A cluster-randomised crossover trial of teen Mental Health First Aid by Laura M Hart, Amy J Morgan, Alyssia Rossetto Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
Filipino boy kills himself over online learning by Joseph Peter Calleja UCA News Link to Suicide
Well-being of young: a silent pandemic of psychological distress by CathNews New Zealand
Teens Fight for Their Mental Health as They Take on Stress During the Pandemic by Jessica Easthope NetTV
With teen mental health deteriorating over five years, there’s a likely culprit by Jean Twenge The Conversation
Bringing teen mental illness out of the shadows by Katie Scott The Arlington Catholic Herald
Anti-Trans Bills Are Directly Harming LGBTQ+ Youth Mental Health by James Factor them
Teenage suicides could be sign of mental health toll by CathNews
Mental health of young people declined during lockdown by CathNews
Parish, school initiative seeks to combat youth mental illness by Jacqueline Tetrault Pilot Staff The Pilot
Children
Articles/Commentaries
How Digital Media is Changing Our Children’s Mental Health by Dr. Kevin Skinner ParenetalGuidance
New York State Failed to Provide Legally Required Mental Health Care to Kids, Lawsuit Claims by ProPublica
Mental Health Surveillance Among Children — United States, 2013–2019 by CDC
Rwandan rehabilitation center cares for children with mental illness by Aimable Twahirwa National Catholic Reporter
Pediatricians say the mental health crisis among kids has become a national emergency by Deepa Shivram NPR
Children face a mental health crisis, but they need more than antidepressants by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett The Guardian
8-Year-Olds in Despair: The Mental Health Crisis Is Getting Younger by Christina Caron The New York Times
Global rise in childhood mental health issues amid pandemic by John Leicester The Associated Press
Women
Articles/Commentaries
Mentally ill' woman with dog sparks Indonesian mosque storm by Konradus Epa, UCA News
Dublin mother, who killed her three children, committed to mental hospital by IrishCentral
Assessing incarcerated women’s physical and mental health status and needs in a Swiss prison: a cross-sectional study by Aurélie Augsburger, Céline Neri, Patrick Bodenmann, et al Health & Justice volume 10, Article number: 8 (2022)
A systematic review of post-release programs for women exiting prison with substance-use disorders: assessing current programs and weighing the evidence by Layla Edwards, Sacha Kendall Jamieson, Julia Bowman, et al Health & Justice volume 10, Article number: 1 (2022
A qualitative study examining the perceived barriers and facilitators to medical healthcare services among women with a serious mental illness by Christina P C Borba , Lara DePadilla, Frances A McCarty, et al Womens Health Issues. 2012 Mar;22(2):e217-24.
Walking Mama Home: Dementia Patients can Lead Happy Lives that Matter by Rebecca Hamilton Patheos
Suicidal Fruit: What Happens When the Mental Health Profession Fails Post Abortive Women by Rachael Popcak and Dr. Gregory Popcak Patheos
Learning to Cope With Her Husband’s Mental Illness: the Story of Suhad by International Catholic Migration Commission
Medical Journal Articles
Effect of a Community-Based Medical Oncology Depression Screening Program on Behavioral Health Referrals Among Patients With Breast Cancer by Erin E. Hahn, PhD, MPH, Corrine E. Munoz-Plaza, MPH, Dana Pounds, MS, et al JAMA January 4, 2022
Practicing exorcism in schizophrenia by Kazuhiro Tajima-Pozo Diana Zambrano-Enriquez, Laura de Anta, et al MJ Case Rep. 2011 Feb 15;2011:bcr1020092350. Link to Exorcism and Satanism
Prevalence and Persistence of Psychiatric Disorders in Youth After Detention. A Prospective Longitudinal Study by Linda A. Teplin, PhD; Leah J. Welty, PhD; Karen M. Abram, PhD; et al Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2012;69(10):
Adverse Childhood Experiences, Neighborhood Support, and Internalizing and Externalizing Mental Disorders among 6–17 years old US Children: Evidence from a Population-Based Study by Ahmad Khanijahani & Kenan Sualp Community Mental Health Journal volume 58, pages166–178 (2022)
Adverse Childhood Experiences, Neighborhood Support, and Internalizing and Externalizing Mental Disorders among 6–17 years old US Children: Evidence from a Population-Based Study by Ahmad Khanijahani & Kenan Sualp Community Mental Health Journal volume 58, pages166–178 (2022)
The Pharmacologic Treatment of Schizophrenia—2021 by Donald C. Goff, JAMA. December 28, 2020.
Book Reviews/Commentaries/Excerpts
The Catholic Guide to Depression by Aaron Kheriaty, MD with Fr. John Cihak, STD Reviewed by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism
Catholic Christianity and Mental Health: Beliefs, Research and Applications by Harold G. Koenig, MD Reviewed by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism
Surviving Depression: A Catholic Approach by Kathryn j. Hermes, FSP Reviewed by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism
The Birth of the Living God: A Psychoanalytic Study by Ana-Maria Rizzuto, M.D. Reviewed by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism
Teens and the Impact of Sleep on Mental Health by Slumber Yard Team Reviewed by Dr. Gregory Minnis, DPT Slumber Yard
Depression, Anxiety, and Other Things We Don’t Want to Talk About by Ryan Casey Waller Commentary by Busted Halo
Film Reviews/Commentaries
The Father Reviewed by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality and Practice
The Son Reviewed by Nell Minow RogerEbert.com
Ginny & Georgia Reviewed by Olivia Truffaut-Wong Teen Vogue
Bloom Commentary by Maria Popova Brain Pickings
Words on Bathroom Walls Reviewed by Brad Miner The Catholic Thing
Television Reviews/Commentaries
Spinning Out Reviewed by Pamela Hill Nettleton U.S.Catholic
What Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s Depiction of Mental Illness Has Meant to Me This Season Reviewed by Angelica Jade Bastién Vulture
A Week Away Reviewed by Kate O'Hare Patheos
Theater Reviews
Clowns Like Me Commentary by Chava Pearl Lansky Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Birthday Candles Reviewed by Mark Kennedy The Associated Press
Music Reviews
First Generation American Reviewed by Steven Wine The Associated Press
Research Papers
A Mapping Field of Schizophrenia: A Study of Bangladesh by Dr. Anwar H Biswas Profiles in Catholicism
Resources
Book Reviews, Commentaries, and Announcements
The Word in Your Heart: Mary, Youth, & Mental Health. A Collection of Articles, Prayers, and an Experience of Pilgrimage. A Biography and Foreword by Maria McFadden Maffucci. A Biography and End WorD by Francis Etheredge Reviewed by Father. Vivian Boland, OP Assistant Professor at Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas – Angelicum
Videos
Early Warning signs for children with Mental Illness
It's Time: There is Hope for Mental Health
Childhood Schizophrenia: What Are the First Signs?
St. Benedict Joseph Labre - Patron of Those who suffers from Anxiety
Found