Faith plays vital role in mental health recovery

Dispelling the old adage that politics and religion do not mix, ministers at the forefront of this dynamic new emergence in the Church joined forces to support the work of the human rights campaign group BMH UK (Black Mental Health UK) to put the role of Christian faith in mental health recovery firmly on the medical map. The emergence of a new mental health ministry within Black Majority Churches is not only plugging a care gap in mainstream services but is also saving patients lives. Currently church leaders have been excluded from the consultation process in the review of the 1983 Mental Health Act despite the large numbers of Black people affected by this issue who regularly attend church. Interim findings of the Christian Institute for Research's national census on church attendance indicate that over 75% of African Caribbean's attend church on a regular basis and yet there has been no acknowledgement of the significant role that faith plays in the life of black patients and their carers.

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