Mental illness treatments

* The "Viewpoint" by Stafford Betty (NCR, Dec. 28) has raised some concerns among the members of the Council on Mental Illness of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability. We believe the article presented an imbalanced interpretation of mental illness. The author's suggestion that some mental illnesses could be the result of "spirits or 'entities' " attaching themselves to people is contrary to modern scientific research and inconsistent with church teaching. We are concerned that people reading this article uncritically could be left with a dangerously inaccurate snapshot of the treatment of mental illnesses. We particularly worry that people with mental illness will avoid or abandon well-established, effective therapies, which would then result in suffering to the person, the family, society and the church.

In our opinion, Pope Benedict XVI's "Letter for World Day of the Sick 2006" is a much more balanced and ultimately more helpful message. Our council's membership represents a wide range of experience and wisdom: clergy, licensed medical and mental health care providers, lay pastoral ministers, people with mental illness, and the family and friends of people living with mental illness. Believing that all people are made in the image and likeness of God, we wholeheartedly promote a comprehensive approach to the treatment of mental illness that recognizes the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions of people with mental illness. We pray your readers will do the same.

THOMAS WELCH

Portland. Ore.

[Dr. Thomas Welch is a member of the Council on Mental Illness of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability.]

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