Clergy should be trained in how to support people with mental health problems in their communities, the General Synod voted today.

Members of the Synod backed calls for training for ordinands and curates and priests already in post on how to support people with mental health needs, amid rising levels of mental health challenges in communities.

In a debate on mental health and the Church, where Synod members heard personal testimonies from both lay and clergy people, the Synod also acknowledged the pressures facing clergy, voting to ensure that they are able to access independently provided counselling and therapy.

Synod members further voted in favour of requesting that the National Society, which leads the Church of England’s national work in education, develops more training materials on mental health for church schools and children’s groups.

And the General Synod called on the Liturgical Commission to ensure that where new liturgy is drafted that it considers the outlook of people facing mental health challenges and  that there are  guidance notes drawn up relating to the use of liturgy that take into account the particular circumstances of those facing mental health challenges.

Introducing the debate, Dr Jamie Harrison, a GP from the Diocese of Durham, said: “Mental health issues can appear from nowhere or follow significant periods of overwork, loss, or other life events, or just the pressure of ministry in a hard place.

“Being self-aware, being open to the wisdom of others, such as a spiritual director, should trigger the need to seek further guidance and help and we pray that will be available.

“So if we look beyond ourselves – the needs and concerns of our parishes, our communities, our schools – this is a mission imperative, it is a Gospel imperative, for we have Good News to share, that we might be informed and able to act through our work, welcome and support which the Church can and should offer.”

He added that the challenges facing young people today are “immense, not least in the context of social media, body image, gender matters, and how they see their futures unfolding.”

He said the Synod request was for further training materials for schools and children’s groups, and acknowledged the quality of the materials that are already available.  

“This request is around developing such material in the light of a fast changing social environment and in no way an attempt to undervalue what we already have,” he said.

The motion was backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, who said there is a role for the Church of England to work alongside the NHS on mental health.

“Access to mental health support is essential because mental well being is part of what makes a flourishing life,” she said.

“When Jesus declared that he came to bring life and life to the full, he spoke of every aspect of human experience.”

She said mental health services remained overstretched, with long waiting times, while community services remain under resourced.

“At the same time, the Government and health services have recognised that being part of a community like a faith group gives great support to ones well being and sometimes even prevents crisis.”

The Archbishop led the Synod in prayer before a vote, by show of hands, was taken on the motion.

Here the wording of the motion agreed by the General Synod:

That this Synod, affirming the work of the national mental health working group, and recognising the high prevalence of mental health conditions in the population, especially post-COVID, and the close relationship between spiritual and mental wellbeing, believes that responding to people’s mental health needs in an informed, prayerful, and compassionate way is integral to our mission, and therefore:

a) Call on diocesan ministry training leads to include specific content in their IME and CME courses on how to support those facing mental health challenges

b) request the National Society to develop further training materials on responding to mental health challenges for use in Church Schools and children’s groups, with a focus not only on those directly affected, but also for those children and young people who live with, or are carers for, others with mental health challenges.

c) request the Liturgical Commission to ensure that the church’s liturgical materials are drafted with attention to the needs of, and impact upon, people facing mental health challenges and supported by guidance notes relating to their use in the particular circumstances of those facing mental health challenges,

 d) Recognising the 2025 report from St Luke’s for Clergy Wellbeing on counselling provision for clergy, call upon all dioceses to ensure that their offering of mental health support for clergy provides accessibility, independence and clarity so that the best practice celebrated in the report can be reflected across all parts of the Church of England.