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What to look for as a Clergy member

Introduction

People living with mental illness and or suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts are mostly professionals, parents, friends, and neighbors - people with jobs, homes and kids. This fact is contrary to society stereotypes and therefore it is essential to learn, observe, act, and advocate ensuring that suicide prevention efforts increase and succeed.

Listening to the pain

Sometimes people can pass through life events without seriously compromising their mental health or their ability to think clearly. But, in certain cases and with some people, these events and their fallout can trigger anxiety, stress, depression and even thoughts of suicide as a way to alleviate the pain of living.

As a member of the clergy you can make a difference by listening and offering calming support to individuals who seek your advice and counsel. Listening closely to the words offered by individuals seeking your services can help you to proactively refer people to appropriate mental health or crisis services.

If a person has suicidal thoughts, they may exhibit the following emotional and behavioral indicators associated with suicide (References 2&3):

Overwhelming emotional pain that is beyond what the person can endure – given their coping capacity or recent loss of coping resources
Hopelessness that their situation can improve, that the future holds any promise of relief from pain

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References for What to look for as a Clergy member

Case Study

The following case study represents a scenario that a clergy member may encounter during their career.

Mr. and Mrs. Caron come to you for marital counseling. They have been having problems for about 1 year and decided that they had waited long enough...

Resources

Electronic, print, and multimedia resources are provided to help you to find additional authoritative information on What to look for as a Clergy member. These resources are available from such national organizations as The National Institute of Mental Health as well as professional organizations, not-for-profit organizations, and educational institutions.

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Internet

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

The NIMH is the primary National Institute of Health organization for research on suicide and suicide prevention. The NIMH offers specific resources, research, tools, and reports for individuals in helping roles, health care professionals, and researchers interested in learning more about suicide and suicide prevention.

The NIMH provides a Web page dedicated to men and depression including a subsection titled Signs and Symptoms available at the following Web address:

http://menanddepression.nimh.nih.gov/

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What to look for

>>Myths

>Professional resources

>>Professional screening tools