By Ryan Otteson | Reporter
While there are various medical and therapeutic treatments for mental illnesses, social workers around the U.S. can help people make sense of the world around them through the lens of faith.
Dr. Holly Oxhandler, School of Social Work professor and associate dean for research, is involved with research having to do with the connection between faith and mental wellbeing. She wrote a book titled “The Soul of the Helper: Seven Stages to Seeing the Sacred Within Yourself So You Can See It in Others,” which relates to how social workers must train to look out for their own needs, as well as those that they are serving.
Oxhandler has also co-hosted a podcast with Robert Vore, a counselor outside of Atlanta, discussing the topic of mental health. Several Baylor faculty, former faculty and alumni have been interviewed and featured on it, including those involved with social work as well as other fields.
“When mental health care providers integrate and talk about and ask about their client’s faith in mental health treatment, the clients tend to get better faster as compared to if they do not talk about this,” Oxhandler said.
Oxhandler said that social workers make up the vast majority of mental healthcare workers in the U.S., so it is crucial that they take into account every aspect of a person, including their religious background in order to treat them. Asking a client about their faith can help uncover reasons for certain thoughts or feelings. This includes all religious backgrounds, not just people from Christian backgrounds.
“Those [mental health care providers] that were more deeply motivated to live out their faith tended to ask about and ethically consider their client’s faith in treatment more often,” she said.
Oxhandler recognizes that treating people and asking about their faith may bring up positive aspects, but there are also many people that have been hurt by their religion which can impact their mental health as well.
Social work overall can be a challenging field, as workers can often experience burnout and compassion fatigue, which Case Care Manager Jazmine Reed emphasized as a challenging part of social work. Reed is a part-time faculty member at Baylor and works with students who may be struggling with their mental health.
“I can use my voice, knowledge and experience to advocate for others, but at times advocacy can also be challenging depending on the policy, topic or system,” she said.
