Supporting the wellness of laity: clinicians and Catholic deacons as mental health collaborators

ABSTRACT Religion is a salient part of cultural competence for mental health clinicians. This paper describes rationales for clinicians to work with a less well-known Catholic clergy: permanent deacons. Demographic, personality structure and religious commitment data from nearly 2,000 deacons support collaboration with clinicians to improve the continuity of mental health care. Guidelines for this work are provided by the Clergy Outreach & Professional Engagement (COPE) model: clergy first support mental health without clinicians, then clergy may need to reach out to clinicians, then clinicians may need to reach out to clergy to provide care salient to persons of religious faith and to help sustain recovery. Deacon examples are provided throughout the paper. Future research is recommended.