Thinking Anglicans

Opinion – 17 October 2020

Meg Munn Chair of the National Safeguarding Panel First reflections on IICSA’s second report

Helen King ViaMedia.News Why the Church of England Must ‘Connect the Dots’ – IICSA and LLF

Shirley O’Shea The Living Church What Mentally Ill Persons Wish Their Clergy Understood

Anne Atkins Church Times When people won’t believe you
“Victims are often doubted, Anne Atkins finds”

Andrew Graystone Surviving Church Towards a Theology of Redress

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Simon Dawson
Simon Dawson
3 years ago

I don’t know if this counts as opinion, but I thought it worth linking here:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/17/uk-churches-urged-to-wake-up-to-spiritual-abuse-of-lgbt-people

The conference mentioned is this:

https://www.oasisuk.org/creating-sanctuary-conference/

Stanley Monkhouse
3 years ago

Shirley O’Shea, thank you. I’ve benefitted from two prolonged courses of therapy, one in the 1990s and another a few years ago after my son died. For the more recent I was a clerk in holy orders and the therapist was a churchgoer, and I made it plain that under no circumstances did I want the “love of God” shoved down my throat or even mentioned. I am in no doubt whatsoever that in both cases the therapists were in persona Christi, listening, gently provoking, and helping me to see for myself. It is sad that some clergy are so insecure in… Read more »

Stanley Monkhouse
Reply to  Stanley Monkhouse
3 years ago

Addendum. Drugs and therapy: both and, or either or? This is worth reading: “Has the Drug-Based Approach to Mental Illness Failed?”
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/has-the-drug-based-approach-to-mental-illness-failed/?fbclid=IwAR3YxIlLFWEtGpayJ74mz_1hJXTomKGExnQmHpUyapQaeKlwTeGL277ESBE

ShirleyO'Shea
ShirleyO'Shea
Reply to  Stanley Monkhouse
3 years ago

I just finished reading Dr. Bessel van der Kolk’s masterpiece, “The Body Keeps the Score,”(2014) about the treatment of trauma, and he advocates for alternatives to drug therapy for patients with PTSD. Given that so many people with psychiatric diagnoses have experienced early trauma, it is likely they would experience relief from their symptoms from other, non-psychopharmaceutical therapies, as well.

ShirleyO'Shea
ShirleyO'Shea
Reply to  Stanley Monkhouse
3 years ago

Rev. Monkhouse, On this past Sunday, on the Feast of St. Luke, I was gratified as the lay reader, especially, to read from the following passage from Ecclesiasticus: “Honor the physician with the honor due him, according to your need of him, for the LORD created him…The LORD created medicines from the earth, and a sensible man will not despise them…And he gave skill to men that he may be glorified in his marvelous works. By them he heals and takes away pain; the pharmacist makes of them a compound…And give the physician his place, for the LORD created him…”

Ann Reddecliffe
3 years ago

Wise words from Helen King.
She is absolutely right that when the church fails to be able to discuss sexuality openly that it drives a culture of secrecy that is unhealthy. When the only form of sexuality that the church tries to understand is one man and one woman in marriage then it does not have the spiritual tools to discuss appropriate and inappropriate relationships wherever they occur.

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