by Martin Murray

Is being a Catholic good for your mental health? Before we can answer this question, we must ask what is ‘mental health’?  When speaking of “mental health” frequently people actually mean mental illness or lack of mental health. When we say that someone has mental health issues or a mental health problem, clearly we are not indicating that they are mentally healthy. Quite the opposite; someone described as having mental health issues is probably not particularly mentally healthy and may even be suffering from a psychiatric illness.

Despite the frequent use of the term “mental health”, psychiatry - and to a large extent psychiatric nursing – have been preoccupied with mental illness. Most psychiatric textbooks contain almost no serious discussion of positive mental health and instead concentrate on the signs, symptoms and treatments for mental illnesses. This may be because mental illness is easier to define than mental health.

Despite this, it is very difficult to find a clear legally binding definition of either mental health or mental illness. The law has always refused to define mental illness. The different terminology used in the legislation over time, in particular the titles of the acts of parliament, indicates different attitudes and beliefs about mental illness and how they have changed over the past 200 years. The term “mental disorder” is used in the current legislation to cover both learning disability and mental illness. However, there is no legal definition of either. It seems that the legal draftsmen have decided that the definition of mental illness is a clinical rather than a legal decision. Is up to the mental health professionals, in particular the psychiatrists, to determine what constitutes mental illness and advise the courts accordingly.  The courts of course, are always willing to listen to the opinions of experts if they are needed to help the court make a decision, but are reluctant to make legally binding definitions.

Martin Murray is the guest editor of this edition of Open House

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Image: Pope Leo XIV Inauguration Mass In St. Peter's Square
© Mazur/Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales