Church Liaison [eBook]

We are excited to announce our newest ebook, Church Liaison, a resource for churches and communities. For those following our website, we have been sharing recent data about concerns about a national behavioral health workforce shortage that only appears to be worsening. Further, some churches are starting to see shortages in their pastoral staff. This has led to our concerns about the scarcity of mental health services and pastoral care from churches and counseling agencies.

Our solutions? The church liaison position.

Whether your church wants to expand to offer mental health support, your counseling agency wants to collaborate, educate, and empower the local religious community, or you have other supports, you absolutely should check out this ebook. As we have seen it elsewhere, this is not a new concept, but we fleshed it out for you guys.

Lots More Than Just Needing Another Hire

We know that a quarter of all people who struggle with mental illness and seek out treatment go to a pastor to get help. (NIH, 2022) Our experience is that this is where breakdowns tend to happen.

From the pastor’s viewpoint:

• Do you refer someone to a counseling agency?
• If so, what relationships do you have in the community?
• Are you and your volunteers trained in appropriate and practical techniques to manage or identify symptoms?
• What other resources are available for the physiological and safety needs that must be managed first?

From the counseling agency:

• Do you have someone who can dedicate full time to networking, consulting, and referring people from the churches in the area?
• Do you have someone to offer specialized training for religious individuals that can improve working relationships with the church?

This guide is for you, whether you are coming from the church or the counseling agency. We encourage you to check it out to see if your community could benefit from this.

Click here to go get your copy today.