Conversations about mental health and the world we live in: Religious communities and mental health - developing constructive, supportive responses

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Time: 6.30pm - 8.00pm
Venue: Room 5002, John Galsworthy building, Penrhyn Road campus, Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey KT1 2EE
Price: free

Please scroll down to view all of the events in this series. 

The School of Law, Social and Behavioural Sciences is proud to launch an exciting series of public lectures, workshops and panel discussions entitled Conversations about Mental Health and the World We Live In.

Together with a number of internationally renowned external speakers, national charity leaders, and experts by experience, mental health experts at Kingston University will engage in a series of discussions and workshops on the topic of mental ill health and wellness. 

The topics will range from understanding the causes and proposing solutions to the mental health crisis of our time, examining well-being of young people and carers, whether our modern-life work is detrimental to our well-being, how religious communities are engaging with the topic of mental ill health and the impact of the Brexit crisis on psychological well-being.

This Conversation is entitled Religious communities and mental health: Developing constructive, supportive responses and will be facilitated by Professor Adrian Coyle, from the Department of Psychology, and Dr Patrick Coyne, Arundel & Brighton Spirituality Network and formerly Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust.

In recent years, many religious communities (in churches, mosques, synagogues, etc.) have recognised a need to develop constructive responses to mental health issues to enable them to support members and visitors who are living with mental health conditions. This has led to a range of initiatives and activities, including community awareness-raising around mental health, training in providing support to people in need, identifying how to refer people to mental health services when required, and collaborative working with mental health professionals. However, challenges remain and some religious communities face greater challenges than others. 

In this discussion, we will begin by presenting research findings on how various religious communities have understood and responded to mental health issues. Drawing upon your insights and experiences, we will then try to identify what makes for constructive, useful responses, what gets in the way of this, and what resources might be needed to make religious communities places of safety and support for people living with mental health challenges. 

We encourage members of religious communities and congregations, ministers of religion, mental health professionals, students, and anyone with an interest or investment in religion and mental health (especially people with lived experience of mental health challenges) to attend, share your insights with us and help us to learn from each other. 

Join us for this fascinating event, take part in discussing a topic relevant to us all, and see below for the rest of the events in this series.

• Thursday 17th October:  Explaining psychological distress and the mental health crisis of our times
• Thursday 28th November:  Caring for our carers 
• Wednesday 22nd January: Where do I belong? Identity caught between EU and Brexit
• Thursday 19th March: Young people and mental health
• Thursday 23rd April: Right to disconnect from work - new horizons to improve our work-life balance 
• Thursday 21st May: What can be done to ameliorate the mental health crisis? 

For further information about this event:

Contact: Professor Adrian Coyle
Email: A.Coyle@kingston.ac.uk