title: The pew versus the couch: relationship between mental health and faith communities and lessons learned from a VA/clergy partnership project.
abstract: The history of the relationship between religion and mental health is one of commonality, conflict, controversy, and distrust. An awareness of this complex relationship is essential to clinicians and clergy seeking to holistically meet the needs of people in our clinics, our churches, and our communities. Understanding this relationship may be particularly important in rural communities. This paper briefly discusses the history of this relationship and important areas of disagreement and contention. The paper moves beyond theory to present some current practical tensions identified in a brief case study of VA/Clergy partnerships in rural Arkansas. The paper concludes with a framework of three models for understanding how most faith communities perceive mental health and suggests opportunities to overcome the tensions between "the pew" and "the couch."
authors.affiliation: South Central Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, 2200 Fort Roots Drive (152/NLR), Building 58, North Little Rock, AR, 72114, USA, steve.sullivan@va.gov.
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.forename: Jeffrey M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pyne
authors.forename: Ann M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Cheney
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.forename: Tiffany F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Haynes
authors.forename: Greer
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sullivan
mesh_terms: D001131:Arkansas; D002977:Clergy / Q000523:psychology*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012424:Rural Population; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology