Why Does the Church Need to Talk About Mental Health in 2026?

By Dr Cheryl Hawkins

Mental Illness is not a new thing. Throughout the Bible there are accounts of people experiencing poor mental health. Well known Christian leaders such as Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon and William Cowper are known to have had struggles. And today anxiety, depression, loneliness, grief, psychosis, OCD, trauma all sorts of other conditions are experienced by many people in our congregations.

Generally over the last few years, people have been more openly talking about mental health issues in everyday life, but churches have seemed reluctant to join in the discussion, and many people feel like they can’t talk about it as mental health awareness in churches lags behind the rest of society.

Conversations around mental health have largely been driven by younger generations who are much more open to think about the impact work-life balance, past trauma and neurodiversity among other things have on mental health. As recent church growth has been among these younger generations who are keen to explore faith and have many questions about what we believe and how and why we do the things we do, it is time that the church examined its theology of mental health and thought about how it can be more proactive in supporting people with mental illness in church.

This doesn’t mean churches have to become therapy centres or have mental health professionals, but it does mean that we need to think through how we talk about mental health and what we can actually do to help.

Mental health is already part of church life

The NHS General Household survey showed 1 in 5 adults have experienced a common mental health condition in the last week, and research shows that there are similar rates of mental illness within our church populations as in the general population. So that means that if your church has 100 people, 20 of them may have been struggling with something last Sunday.

Sometimes those people will stay at home and miss a week or more of coming to church because it’s too hard to face everyone when they are feeling like that. Some will go to church, smile and be able to put on their “Sunday face” for a couple of hours, then go home and crumble where they are not seen. A few will go to church and be honest about how they are feeling, seeking to get help and support. Some of those may be met with compassion, but we know some of them will be judged, ignored or given harmful information.

What happens when we don't talk about mental health?

We need to talk about supporting people with mental illness in church because there are so many myths and harmful beliefs around mental health that it has an impact on how people ask for and receive help. Even if your church does not officially hold judgemental, harmful or false beliefs about mental health, unless they are explicitly tackling the stigma about it, it may still prevent people seeking the support they need.

Why are churches sometimes reluctant to talk about mental health?

• We don’t see the extent of the problem.  Often mental health issues are hidden away, so we don’t see the extent of the problems or the impact it is having on people. If 1 in 5 people are struggling with their mental health why are we not seeing it? For those struggling it can sometimes be easier to mask the problem than talk about what is really going on and risk judgement. It is only when a crisis point is reached and it can no longer be hidden away that we start to notice it and think we need to do something about it.

• Churches are busy places with a lot going on and never enough volunteers or money to do everything we want to do. So, if we are not seeing the extent of the problem, it is easier for us to think that not there and we don’t need to do anything about it.

• We don't know what to say. We want to help but are afraid of saying the wrong thing or making matters worse. Because it is not talked about people have less confidence in their ability to get it right. They may have heard about people who have been harmed by churches intervening in mental health matters in negative ways. Mental health training for churches and pastoral leaders has not been prioritised and many have a lack of theological understanding of mental health.

• Isn’t mental illness a spiritual problem? There is a lot of confusion about whether mental illness is a spiritual problem. Many Christians that have disclosed their poor mental health in church have been met with unhelpful responses that have told them they just need to pray more or believe harder in order to be healed. We do not deny the ability of God to heal people but to equate mental health issue with spiritual health issues is not supported by the Bible. Reading through the Psalms it is easy to see that you can struggle with mental distress and yet still have a strong spiritual relationship with God, and healing just as with physical illnesses comes because of God’s love not our spiritual labour.

• We aren't mental health professionals. Often because we have heard about the harm done to people struggling with their mental health by churches, we feel that mental health issues should just be left to the professionals. This can lead to people backing off when they hear someone has a mental health diagnosis, leaving that person to feel isolated and with no support at the time when they most need it.

What could a church do differently?

1. Talk about mental health openly - make it a part of your everyday conversations, ask how people are really doing and listen to them without judgement when they tell you what they are dealing with.
2. Learn about mental illness - Increase mental health awareness in your church by organising a training day or reading through a book together.
3. Listen rather than try to fix - Most of the time there are no easy words to fix someone's situation, but having someone there to listen to them as they wrestle with their feelings and offer practical and compassionate help can make a huge difference.
4. Know your boundaries - You don't have to do everything, but everyone can do something. Mental illness can take a long time to heal. Only offer support that you can maintain over a period of time, don't overpromise and don't try to replace professional care if that is needed.
5. Create a culture where people don't have to hide - Talk about mental health in your sermons, bible studies and prayer times. Be open about your own struggles and signpost to organisations that can help.

The church has something important to offer

Churches are amazing places of community, care and support which can really help someone when they are experiencing poor mental health. So much of what our churches do can aid in recovery from mental illness. Even if your church doesn't have a specific ministry around mental health, by being a place where mental health is talked about openly and people can access practical non-judgemental support you are making a difference to people at a time when they most need it. This not only helps them get through the difficult times it helps their faith to grow as they experience a place where they belong and are loved.

Where do we start?

If you don't know where to start with all of this check out the training and resources we offer on our website and email me on cheryl@encouragementalhealth.org with any questions about how we can encourage your church to support people with poor mental health.