Promoting Mental Health Awareness in the Christian Community Through Collaboration: In Reply

IN REPLY: The letter by Jones-Bourne et al. highlights a welcome example of cooperation between clergy and psychiatrists bringing to church members what each offers to people struggling with the relationship between mental illness and faith. Fortunately, a growing number of resources for informing such grass-roots efforts now exist, such as the Khalil Center for Muslim Mental Health, Pathways to Promise, and the American Psychiatric Association’s Mental Health and Faith Community Partnership, with its online Mental Health Guide for Faith Leaders. The model described by Jones-Bourne et al. has several important strengths: it was thoughtfully prepared and clearly structured, was geared to both inform and engage, was offered at a convenient time by trusted leaders, and included both practical resources and an evaluation of the program. As such, it deserves to be emulated and adapted to the particular needs of other faith communities.