The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) recently hosted its 14th annual Conference on Mental Health and Spirituality, themed "Journey Called Life," on May 28, during which speakers from diverse faith backgrounds -- including Native American spiritists, Buddhists, Hindus, and Christians -- spoke on various topics regarding mental and emotional health. Christian speakers led sessions on helping those with post-traumatic stress disorder; engaging faith communities to fight against human trafficking; and the relationship between "love' and mental health in an individual.
In particular, one workshop touched upon the Clergy Academy Program offered by the LACDMH, which was formed to help equip clergy with knowledge to better serve their communities in the area of mental health.
Currently, there are 10 different sites that are participating in the Clergy Academy, and the program offers classes on over 27 different topics, including depression, life stage transitions, bullying, and pornography addiction, to name a few. Classes such as "Navigating the LA County Department of Mental Health System" and "Complementing Caring Congregations" try to help clergy to better understand how to access and provide the resources that their congregation needs for their mental health.
During the workshop itself, three representatives from the LACDMH who currently lead the Clergy Academy gave attendees a glimpse of what the workshops and seminars provided by the Clergy Academy look like, and also explained some basic ways clergy could help to promote mental health in their communities.
For example, they advised clergy to "help reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness" by changing the language surrounding mental illnesses.
"Instead of calling someone "schizophrenic,' identify them as "a person with schizophrenia,'" advised Adrienne C. Hament, one of the LACDMH representatives who lead the Clergy Academy.
"Let them know that the mental illness does not define them," said Luis Orozco, who also leads the Clergy Academy program. "A man with a mental illness -- he is a father, a worker, a husband. He is so much more than just a disorder."
The representatives also did a demonstration to show an example of the interactive activities clergy can participate in through the Clergy Academy. Volunteers acted as a therapist, a client suffering with psychosis, and "voices" in the mind of the client. As the client tried to listen to the therapist explaining the side effects of a certain medication, the volunteers acting as "voices" incessantly chattered indecipherable words and sentences in his ear. Orozco elaborated that through such activities as this, the program hopes to equip clergy with deeper knowledge and understanding of what individuals with mental health may be going through.
The Clergy Academy classes are usually three hours long, and each series is 10 sessions long. All of the classes are free of charge. Classes are provided on evenings and weekends, and representatives come to the location requested by the church or organization.
