Denver, Colo., Feb 15, 2020 / 04:00 am (CNA).- After the suicide of a Missouri priest last month, psychologists talked with CNA about the issues priests can face when they need help with caring for their mental heatlh.
Fr. Evan Harkins of Kansas City took his own life in late January, leaving parishioners and friends across the country mourning the beloved priest.
Shortly after Harkin’s death, Bishop Vann Johnston of Kansas City-St. Joseph said the priest had a “sunny” personality, but had begun to struggle with anxiety and his physical health.
The bishop said the priest’s decision to end his life might have been connected to his medication.
He said Harkins had developed serious stomach and gastrointestinal issues, which seemed to cause him anxiety.
“He was given a prescription drug to deal with the anxiety and was experiencing some of the extreme negative side effects of this drug including terrible nightmares, among other things,” Johnston explained.
Though the factors leading to his death are no doubt comlicated, the priest’s death has begun a discussion about the mental health needs of priests, and the stigmas that surround them.
Dr. Melinda Moore is a Licensed Psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Eastern Kentucky University and has studied Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS).
Moore told CNA that suicide prevention steps are incredibly important. She pointed to studies that show how a single individual’s suicide can have a devastating effect that ripples throughout the community.
“We’ve got 48,000 Americans who are dying by suicide every year. … [These are] Americans who are killing themselves and leaving entire families, networks, communities devastated by their deaths. We know that for every person who dies by suicide, there are 135 people exposed. Out of those 135, forty-eight people will be seriously impacted by the death.”
“What we know is these people who are impacted significantly, they have higher rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and another study showed suicide attempt. So not only are these 40,000 Americans killing themselves every year, they’re leaving all this collateral damage that amounts to over 2 million people every year,” she said.
Suicide among priests, and pastors of other Christian denominations, occurs more commonly than expected, Moore said. However, she said religious leaders often face stigmas about seeking psychological help.
“Priests are no different from the rest of us. The difference is that priests and other clergy oftentimes are idealized and held to a standard where they feel like they can’t ask for help. They are the individuals that other people come to for help, and so they themselves feel like they can’t seek help.”
Moore said suicide is not always tied to mental illness. But she said people who commit suicide often encounter three feelings – not belonging, being a burden to others, and the sense that that could carry out lethal self-harm.
“They oftentimes feel like they’re a burden, and then they also sometimes feel like they no longer belong to a community that they once belonged to … It’s like they really feel like people would be better off if they weren’t alive, that they are a burden to their loved ones, ” Moore said.
“Lastly, there’s this thing called acquired capability to enact lethal self-harm. It’s sort of a fearlessness in the face of death. It actually takes a lot of courage to kill yourself,” she added.
Dr. Christina Lynch was director of psychological services at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver from 2007 until she retired about a month ago. Lynch is still a supervising psychologist for the seminary, and is an advisor for the Catholic Psychotherapy Association (CPA), which she previously served as president.
Lynch told CNA that stigmas among priests regarding psychology differ depending on several factors, like location, age, and community. She said counseling may be looked down upon by older generations, noting that millennials are more sympathetic to it.
Lynch also said a sense of shame about getting psychological help may worsen if the priest or seminarian does not view the therapy setting as confidential or safe.
Shame among priests about seeking help gets worse among priests if mental health care is not supported by the bishop or laity. Lynch applauded the decision of Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, who announced in December that he was taking a leave of absence to focus on mental health.
Lynch also said the laity have a unique opportunity to support priests, even through simple actions like inviting them over to dinner.
“If they don’t have support from their bishop, they feel shame or they don’t want to go to counseling. So the support they received from the bishop is really important. I’m sure you read the article by Bishop Conley. I’ve heard from so many priests since then that this just gave them courage.”
“The laity have a role to play with the parish priest. They need to be praying for them, be friends with them. A lot of times laity are afraid to be really friends with their priests … They need to be attentive to their priests and make sure they’re supporting them … The more support a priest is going to get from everybody instead of criticism, the better it is going to be for them.”
Dr. Cynthia Hunt, a Catholic psychologist, is a board advisor for the Catholic Medical Association and has also served as Chief of the Department of Psychiatry at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.
Hunt said that stigmas about mental therapy are pervasive among clergy. She highlighted several reasons why priests might consider therapy a difficult process to access.
“There seems to be a shame surrounding the very human need for assistance in the mental health realm,” she said.
“Some difficulties which might bar priests from accessing therapy include their desire for more privacy (not wanting to sit in a waiting room), issues of shame, as noted above, as well as the desire to ‘work things out on their own’.”
“Priests may consider their depression or anxiety a ‘flaw’ in their character. They also may not recognize the severity of their symptoms or realize that there is treatment,” Hunt added.
Hunt said that anxiety and depression can be as common among priests as it is among the general population. She said hereditary traits may contribute to a priest’s emotional issues, and addictions, like alcohol abuse, can exacerbate the problems.
The psychologist highlighted the options that priests can take to address these concerns.
“Priests may obtain therapy from a variety of disciplines including Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Marriage Family Therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and other licensed professional counselors. The type of therapy can be tailored to the needs of the priest to include but not limited to psychodynamic Therapy, trauma-informed therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, and affirmation therapy,” she said.
While rural areas may face a lack of counselors, Hunt noted, there has been an increase in telemedicine, where priests can access therapy through video-platforms.
Hunt said psychological healing is best addressed through a holistic approach – a combination of biological, psychological, social and spiritual efforts. She said that while medication is not always necessary, it can be helpful, especially when coupled with counseling.
However, she added that some medications, like Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), have an occasional side effect, and people may continue to have recurring anxiety and depression throughout their life.
“SSRIs improve many symptoms of anxiety and depression through their biochemical action on neurotransmitters such as serotonin and others … With more balance again in the neurotransmitter system, many symptoms improve including but not limited to panic, chronic anxiety levels, low mood, sleep or appetite issues, fatigue, lack of enjoyment of things once enjoyed and suicidal thinking,” she said.
“As with all medications, there can be side effects. In the case of SSRIs these tend to be quite mild and short-lived such as nausea and headache. There are very rare but serious effects which can include increased agitation, restlessness or suicidal thinking.”
In order to address the possibility of suicide among priests, Dr. Moore told CNA that dioceses should focus strongly on education regarding suicide awareness and suicide prevention methods.
She said the topic should be addressed at the pulpit, and dioceses should also make more resources available, including the suicide hotline number and health care professionals. She also said priests should educate themselves through books designed to address their needs. Hunt mentioned “Preventing Suicide: A Handbook for Pastors, Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors” by Karen Mason.
For her part, Moore applauded initiatives the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky has begun to support suicide prevention and mental health. She the dioceses has provided resources and sought to be more sympathetic to the deceased and their families.
“[I am] very pleased that the Diocese of Lexington, which is led by Bishop John Stowe, has been very much an ally in putting out messages around being attuned and being sensitive to people who are in crisis … but then also those people who’ve lost a loved one to suicide, making sure that the loved one who died is not demonized, and that the loved ones are provided resources.”
Father Anthony Sciarappa, the parochial vicar of Holy Spirit Parish of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, told CNA about his experience with therapy and mental health. He said, during his first year of seminary, he struggled with anxiety and depression.
“We had lots of events as seminarians where we put on our seminary uniform and we were supposed to meet with people, talk with people and all that was overwhelming. I would be physically, like, ill and sick, just paralyzed with that.”
“I have been suffering from anxiety and depression and I thought that’s just how everyone lives and that was just normal,” he said.
Sciarrappa’s bishop lived at the seminary where he studied. About six months into Scriarappa’s formation, the bishop, having spoken with the seminary faculty, encouraged the young seminarian to enter into therapy.
“When the bishop told me, I think I just started crying and his office right there, because it was just so overwhelming to be faced with the fact that I do need help,” he said.
It was a difficult concept to grasp, he noted, because therapy and mental illness were not topics typically discussed during his childhood. He said, among other stigmas, he considered therapy to be a tool for crazy people.
“I didn’t know anybody who had done this before. It wasn’t something that was ever just talked about in my circles growing up,” he said.
He went to a therapist for about three years. He went back to counseling during major seminary in Washington D.C. He described therapy as both a difficult and valuable process.
During counseling, Sciarappa said, he had to work through “core wounds” and the issues affected by habits learned during childhood. He said, “going through that is really hard work.”
“There were so many days I’d be exhausted after everything, but once [I brought] those things into the light I could make more sense of my life.”
It got easier as he progressed through the process, Sciarappa noted, stating that he began to acknowledge the fruits of therapy and witness its impact on his health. He said, because of therapy, he learned the tools and skills to cope with depression and anxiety. He said it helped to better understand himself and what to expect from these kinds of struggles
“It was like mechanisms and how to cope and strategies,” he said. “Now we see what’s going on with the problem and why that’s going on. For me, finding out why I struggled with this then helped me deal with it more and more.”
When asked about how to best priests can maintain mental health, Sciarappa stressed the importance of outside support, including spiritual direction, close friendships, and a priest support group to which he belongs.
The priestly support group meets once a month at one of the member’s rectories. At each meeting, there are two moderators, one a trained therapist, to help the team keep on track.
He said the group discusses personal struggles, like loneliness, but also struggles particular to priests, including the clerical abuse scandals, and priest relocation. Sciarappa said it is significant to have peers to confide in. It is not appropriate to be as open with parishioners, he added, noting it is nevertheless valuable to have community among the laity.
“It’s so important to have a brother priest so he can talk honestly about stuff, about difficulties, about insecurities,” he said. “I’m not going to spill my guts out to the random parishioner– that would be unhealthy for them and for me.”
“I think it’s [valuable to have] supportive, close friends, priests, laypeople. That’s the biggest thing,” he said. “I’ll talk about different things in those different circles or talk about them in different ways, but that way nothing that is going on stays in the darkness.”
Sciarappa said it’s difficult to enter into these suffering places, recognizing one’s need for help and therapy. However, he said the experience has also given him more empathy and allowed him to truly experience the grace of God.
“It’s given me tools where I can recognize it in other people. The big thing … it’s made me a more empathetic person,” he said.
“Going through that suffering and having Christ redeem it and heal me more and more, when I speak to people about hope, when I speak to people [about] how healing can happen, I can speak about it from a place of experience. It’s not theoretical, I really mean it. And that’s going to change the way you preach. That’s going to change the way you talk to people.”
[…]
As the results of this fair, unfair, take your choice election play out, and the illusory start of an era of peace and brotherly unity, the malignancy of self deception will come to fore to the delight of atheists and socialists and the chagrin, better dismay of Republicans and Catholics who voted for him. We need but wait until Biden if he is confirmed having promised to remove previous protection from the Little Sisters of the Poor noted here by CNA, enforces [here the senatorial miracle of the Marne and Trumps’ three Supreme Court justices may save the day] provision of abortifacients, and unrestricted abortion as rule of the Land. Minorities who voted for him with alacrity will find the only benefit the continued construction of Planned Parenthood facilities in their neighborhoods. Homosexuals will continue to propagate their self destructive moral disease on our children with Biden’s blessings. All under the pall of a deluded idea of freedom as true freedom. Faithful Catholics will suffer far more than previously but in doing so will merit far more than previously.
Let’s hope and pray Republicans can keep the Senate. Biden can’t do much with gridlock. Georgia voters, we’re watching you!
What a shame that our Bishops decided to wait until 2 weeks before the election to even MENTION abortion as a factor in one’s Catholic vote?? I can’t recall the last time I heard Catholic INSTRUCTION from the pulpit regarding Catholic position on homosexuality, abortion, trans-genderism or couples living together unmarried. The church has evidently decided to opt out of instructing its members in Catholic morals. Are they afraid that some will leave if their sin is pointed out? Or concerned about the loss of their donations? Or both? To that I say a smaller more faithful flock would not be a bad thing. And at least people would be fully informed about the TRUTH of Catholic belief. This election was a case of too little, too late, stated in a manner which was too timid.
Yes, the Senate is the thing now, as far as I can see. (Canadian here trying to follow the proceedings).
It will be interesting to see if/how Biden tries to rein in his left flank.
So God is cool with Francis as Pope and Uncle Joe as President of the USA. What good did prayer do, if this is the result? Call me Doubting Thomas: I need to see evidence that God is doing good things in the world and that perseverance in faithfully adhering to Catholic doctrine is worth it. Seems to me that being a Francis or Biden or Pelosi Catholic is the way to go. God doesn’t seem to mind.
Kevin: first piece of advice: turn off the TV. If you have FB or Instagram, suspend the accounts for awhile. Pick up a good book and read. Find a subject that interests you.
Things are bad, and I don’t mean to downplay that, nor downplay how much worse things can get. They may get much, much worse indeed.
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But as bad as things may get, they have been much worse than even that. God willing, we will not go through another Year A.D. 536 any time soon. That actually is the one Youtube video you might want to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JBdedLx-GI
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Be thankful we will line 2020 and not 536.
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God gave people free will. Some choose to do truly horrific things, but others choose to help out their neightbor’s flooded home. I know, because I was a recipient of such assistance.
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Stop waiting for God to do good. YOU go do good. Perhaps then you will see that no, you have not been abadndonned.
*we live in 2020 not 536
Timeline is a great series. Ive actually watched that episode before.
There’s a wealth of good things to watch on YouTube. Thank you for sharing that link.
Come January 2021, the United States of America likely will have a Catholic President, Speaker of the House and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. We have finally made it in America! These three, and so many others like them, are a testament to what the Church in the US has become over the last sixty years. Bishops, behold the fruits of your and your predecessors’ labors.
That’s a good one.
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Hope they USCCB gets everything they have been promoting . . . good and hard.
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The following actions by Trump continue to validate that his narcissism just can’t allow him to lose. His close advisers have asked him not to pursue the frivolous and not supported by fact legal attempts, post election. Just imagine that Trump has not called Biden to offer “congratulations”. His DNA will not allow him to accept any advice he disagrees with even when facts support that difference. His epitaph will include he was the most polarizing president in history.
Because Trump’s arch supporters will no longer be able to enable him, thus they may put a “for sale” sign on their front doors. Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Newsmax and yes even the church. A major polarization is the subject of abortion. Trump, for political reasons, calls himself a “right to life” candidate when he was a pro-choice individual for most of this adult life. Biden has waffled on the subject. I do hold some hope that he will respect his churches value of life. I would ask Biden… look into the eyes of your precious children and tell me which one would you have aborted for frivolous reasons?
Excerpt:
“President Donald Trump has not conceded the election, citing recounts and legal challenges to some statewide counts. Since election night, Trump has alleged widespread fraud in the election and claimed himself to be the winner of all “legal votes.” On Saturday, he said calling the race was premature.
Tell me, morganB, back in 2000 when Kerry insisted that Bush hadn’t won and demanded a recount, were you advising him and his supporters that it was frivolous to demand a recount?
“Biden has waffled on the subject. I do hold some hope that he will respect his churches value of life. I would ask Biden… look into the eyes of your precious children and tell me which one would you have aborted for frivolous reasons?”
You are gullible beyond belief if you think that he will respect life, any more than Nancy Pelosi does. I’ll grant you that his surviving son is so precious to him that there is considerable evidence that he colluded with him to peddle influece and rake in money. But he sold his soul to the devil of abortion in order to get power; he’s unlikely to renege on his bargain now.
And abortion is wrong whether the reasons are frivolous or not.
Have you read about any of the shenanigans that went on regarding the vote? They’re not appearing on the mainstream media, of course, s perhaps you ought to do a little investigating of things like the late-night ballot dumps that all seemed to go in one direction, the statistical improbabilities, the preventing of Republican observers from geting close enough to observe…
Leslie, you seem to be anxious to convey your message. I don’t mind being tarred with a broad brush, but other souls may be insulted. All life is precocious. I would suggest that you lower the heat on the polarizing rhetoric. Your introspection would be a blessing.
If they are insulted by the truth, that’s a problem with which they will have to deal.
If you do indeed believe that all life is precious, why would you vote for the representatives of a party who support abortion to the last moment before birth and have not repudiated those members who approve the killing of babies who have already been born?
MorganB – so you don’t see the ridiculous irony of you telling someone to tone down on the polarizing rhetoric, you of all people! Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. You have no self-awareness.
All life is precocious(sic) morganB
You’re as much of a gaffeman as infanticide promoting Biden is, morgan. The sad thing is that neither one of you realizes it.
precocious adjective
pre·co·cious | \ pri-ˈkō-shəs
1 : exceptionally early in development or occurrence // precocious puberty
2 : exhibiting mature qualities at an unusually early age // a precocious child
Trump has the right and responsibility to verify the results of the election, particularly in those states where there are clear indications of possible fraud. Your own narcissism prevents you from seeing that. Your assumption that Biden will change course on his unequivocal support for abortion is also disconnected from reality, which is par for the course in terms of your posts.
If Biden had not capitulated to the extremist edge of the pro feticide lobby his chances of being the Democrat candidate would have been nil. He really has not said no to any scenario right up until infanticide. Perhaps even that.
It’s just appalling.
Morgan,
Does it matter to a dead child if their life was taken frivolously? Does seriously considering the options before committing feticide make a difference to the deceased infant? The end result is the same.
Don’t presume to speak in ignorance on God’s behalf. The scriptures clearly teach that God’s patience in not punishing sin immediately should not be interpreted as Him being indifferent. The wrath of God will be revealed against all ungodliness at some point, even yourself you do not repent. Don’t worry about Francis, Pelosi, or Biden. Get your own spiritual house in order.
Then don’t ask me to help fix the world if God won’t do his part. How many prolifers have spent decades trying to make the country more prolife, only to have that go down the tubes with a “Catholic” president who will undo much of their work? They should be among the most demoralized of all. Thanks a lot, God.
How many pro-life people are undermining their pro-life-ness and the policies they wish to implement (elimination of abortion) while using contraception? The vast majority. I am even willing to bet a huge hunk of young people who go to pro-life rallies are participating in unrepentent fornication. They barely know any better. Many older ones are divorced/remarried.
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Contraception and abortion are linked. Always have been. Always will be. Planned Parenthood and Abortion, Inc. know it well even if “pro-life people” refuse to believe it. No one fights harder to flood society with contraceptives than Planned Parenthood. They would not do so except that it increases the “need” for abortion and their services. Planned Parenthood gleefully go into public schools and teach about the need for contraception so teens can explore their “sexuality” and engage in fornication–thereby increasing the need for contracptives and abortions.
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And based on what I have experienced with doctors, regular ob/gyns would rather have young people be on contraceptives, sexually active, and come down with a fertility-reducing STD than deal with a happily pregnant patient–because the happily pregnant patient is a walking medical malpractice lawsuite if she becomes unhappy and doesn’t have a perfect Gerber baby. It is simply not in an ob/gyn’s financial-bottom-line interest to have pregnant patients. Teens on contraceptives and treating STDs pay the bill and are far safer.
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Honestly, pro-lifers are like people who hear their CO detector go off and open the windows, but refuse to go check the furnance and/or have it repaired.
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As Father Anthony Zimmerman once wrote: Contraception is creeping death.
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https://catholicsagainstcontraception.com/fr_anthony_zimmerman_contraception_is_creeping_death.htm
Yup.
Sonia Albright, don’t blame God. Blame the “Catholics” who really don’t know their faith and what it teaches. Many have not bothered to inform themselves nor delve into the issues, and are content with misinformation from a sound bite on the evening news. And this often leads to an ill-formed conscience.
The Catholic vote in this election was split right down the middle, with roughly 51% in favor of Trump, and 49% in favor of Biden.
Bishops and pastors need to lead. The number one social justice issue is the pro-life issue.
For whatever it might be worth, the following is part of a longer posting now making the rounds…
“1st…the winner of the President is not official until the electoral college meets and casts their votes. Until that happens, it is not final….regardless of what the MEDIA tells you. The electoral college can’t decide anything because there are lawsuits and the court proceedings must take place first.
“2nd….Court proceedings are GUARANTEED to happen in Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia and Pennsylvania, and possibly Nevada and Arizona. But as of now they are GUARANTEED to happen in those 4 states. The SCOTUS won’t allow any litigation to proceed beyond inauguration because that would be a constitutional crisis. So they’ll make quick decisions.”
In short, let every vote count…but let every ballot counted be verified as a legitimate vote. For good form, at least, the bishops should have withheld their congratulations until all votes are certified, not only until the media (the Associated Press) made its projection.