Do Mormon bishops and missionaries have any training in counselling & in recognizing emotional distress?

Question

Most Evangelical pastors and missionaries have a great deal of training in counselling- as they frequently have to interact with people in crisis situations. Are lay pastors (as bishops would be) equipped to recognize and help when people are troubled? At what point do bishops- (who are called by the Bible to shepherd the flock) intervene? If someone misses a week or two at my church the pastor follows up to make sure everything is ok. In the situation in the link below- do you think anybody followed up with this young man to make sure he was ok?

If Bishops don't have counselling training- would the church be open to requiring that their bishops get training in Biblical counselling?

Of course, this situation can occur in any church. I just want to know if Bishops can really have enough time for their flock while working full-time on the outside. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,69...

Please understand- I am not trying to blame the shooting on the Mormon church- as it could happen anywhere to anyone. I am just wondering if the church is equipped to help people in these situations.

I posted this before, but it moved through the question line so quick, I don't think anyone saw it.

bad link- sorry-- Here's the link...http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695235839,00.html

Answer 1

If anyone needs counseling, they would go to LDS social services who have trained paid psychologists and therapists there or if they live outside a LDS social service area the church may pay for a therapist or psychologist.

Answer 2

Oh, wow, this is the first I've heard about the shooter being LDS. Wow.
No, to my knowledge Bishops aren't given any formal training in counseling. If missionaries are then it's probably only to refer them to the Bishop or Mission President.
The people who are relied upon to notice any problems that might be happening are the family members and friends of the member first, then the Home Teachers (for both men and women) and Visiting Teachers (for women) who are supposed to have at least monthly contact with the member outside of the church setting, preferably in the home. The HT/VT report any serious concerns to either the Bishop or the Relief Society President (who in turn takes it to the Bishop). While I know that the Bishop does meet with people (his "flock" as you call it) regularly as needed, and he has his counselors and the Stake Presidency to talk with, and he can always refer them to LDS Social Services to speak with a trained counselor, it is generally up to those that know the person to bring it to the attention of those who can help. I know of several instances where no one knew anything was wrong, yet the Bishop knew something was amiss and talked to the person and it wound up that it was something that needed attention. As for what happens if a person misses a couple of Sundays, usually - nothing, unless the person's friends call them or stop by, or if the HT/VT call to schedule a visit. Since the young man was pretty new to the church, he may have still been aclimating to the church. Unfortunately, sometimes HT/VT don't always see who they are supposed to see, sometimes HT/VT aren't assigned in as timely a manner as one would like. Sometimes a new convert attends until the missionaries that taught him/her are reassigned or go home and the new convert feels abandoned and stops coming, falls through the cracks, or deeper into the cracks, and becomes inactive. It's sad, but it happens. Given the little information in the article, and the fact that we will probably never know what happened within the church, it's impossible to know what might have been, or if anything further could have been done. Some people are troubled, seriously troubled, yet they come to church (any church, not just LDS) with sort of a mask on not letting anyone see just how truely troubled they really are, yet hoping that because they're trying and coming to church that this will be the week that they change and everything gets all better. I don't know the young man who did all of this, but I have to think that maybe he knew something was wrong with him, but didn't know where to turn or how to let someone in, to see what was wrong. Maybe he joined the church hoping that the missionaries or the church could "fix" him, or that God would heal him just because he was a member of the church. I know some people who have joined the church thinking that now that they are in the right church God will have mercy on them and immediately take the trial or sickness, or trouble that they experience away and that everything will be utopic. It's not. And when they realize that some leave the church, others continue attending church and learn more about it and their testimony changes and grows and through their perserverance and faith and the help of others in the church their ability to deal with their trials, sickness or troubleing times increases and they learn that things will get better, just not like they had originally hoped.

Answer 3

Church leaders are constantly being trained in many areas. While this may not necessarily be in "professional" counseling, it certainly entails scriptural counseling. The majority of the counseling that takes places involves worthiness, addictions, marriage and family relationships, finances, etc. Most of the counseling is done with the gospel perspective, as this is the route that will create lasting healing.

For Bishops and leaders dealing with members who have diagnosed disorders or need clinical/professional interventions for whatever reason, the church has established LDS social services. This organization offers professional counseling, adoption services, etc. to members of the church in need. The church cannot, however, force anyone to get counseling.

The church is incredibly organized. We have the Releif Society (women's organization) and the Priesthood (men's organization) which do monthly visits to members of the congregations. Ideally they are to report back to the bishop and other leaders to make them aware of any situations requiring assistance. We are all responsible for helping our fellow man not just the bishop.

I am certain that there would have been follow up with this young man. A new member is required to have additional gospel lessons and visits with missionaries. It is evident from all reports that the young man in question already had some
issues prior to his baptism. My guess is that he initially felt inspired, was baptised and then fell back into his depressed, unhealthy state. Missionaries and members typically follow up so much that the complaint is rarely that they are not doing enough, but rather too much.

Does a bishop have enough time? Every position in the church is part of the lay clergy. If a bishop tried to do everything alone, he would never have enough time. He has two counselors, presidencies of three over the children, young men, young women, women and men's organization. Every member is committed to helping and making sure that together we can get it all done. This may mean sacrifices, but that is part of following Christ. Even with all this in place, it is still possible for people to fall through the cracks. I am sure that any currently non-practicing member can attest that we will always try to find them and bring them back to the fold.

I hope this helps.

Answer 4

I don't know what training they are given. I do know that they are counseled to refer people to professionals when they need something major. I think they are given training to help very mild situations- but having never been a missionary or bishop I can't answer that question.

It is sad that new members seem to fall through the cracks. You have probably not watched any of our recent conferences (I am making that assumption because I know you aren't a member), but this is something that the Leadership of the Church is concerned about. They don't like to see new members be baptized and then forgotten about. They have spoken about it at conference to the general membership and I am sure that they have spoken about it in leadership training as well.

It is certainly unfortunate if he did fall through the cracks. However, if the members are effectively doing their visiting and home teaching- everyone, whether or not they are active should at least have contact from the church a minimum of once a month. Preferably he should have had a visit from his home teachers every month, at the least he should have received a phone call. Many times the members are better about getting out to visit/home teach the inactive members than they are about the active members. However, we are all human and get busy and sometimes we fail in our duties. I am sure his ward members are feeling terribly about this now, whether or not they did all they could.

Answer 5

I haven't been a bishop, so I don't know exactly. But as I understand, they do receive some training, and the handbook of instruction has a lot of answers in it. However, in the LDS Church, a lot of the responsibility that usually falls on pastors in other churches falls on the home and visiting teachers. They should be in every home every month. This rarely happens. But ideally, it would have been the home teachers who should have been visiting this guy and realized there were serious problems. Then the EQ Pres. and bishop would have been notified and able to take care of it.

The organization is there to prevent these types of situations, but the members don't always utilize it.

Answer 6

No unless its something they do in "real life".

They may recieve counsel on things to say or do about certain situations and of course members believe that the leaders are "inspired of God" about what to say and do. BUT reality is they are just people like you and me asked to do this job and they dont really have training like what you are asking about.

Missionaries are young kids that are college age or slightly older (If female) so they dont. As a former missionary we were told to simply bear our testimony if things got too difficult (be it the people we were chatting with got argumentative,etc).

I was inactive for 8 yrs before resigning from the mormon church and most of those years were uninterrupted (if you will) by church leaders calling or stopping by to see how I was doing or why I wasnt at church,etc. Many are never contacted by leaders.

Just really depends on who the leader is and where they live and all that. Sometimes they get too much on their plate and miss things. Its human nature for that to happen sometimes.

HTH a bit.

Answer 7

I didn't realize that dude was a Mormon.

I don't know whether Bishops get this kind of training on a regular basis. I know they do church-sponsored training but I don't know what their "professional" training requirements are, if any. It certainly wouldn't hurt. If I were a bishop, I would definitely get this type of training. Being a bishop is a huge responsibility that I wouldn't ever seek to take upon myself.

Answer 8

I saw the question earlier and didn't answer as I don't have a definitive answer for you. I do know that bishops, stake presidents, etc receive a handbook which they are expected to read and gives instruction along these lines. I have not read the handbook, so I don't know what all it details. I was expecting that some of the others here with greater experience and knowledge would answer. [like plastik or rac or hibby76 or betafish or...]
As for missionaries - my understanding is that most do not, but those who are placed in leadership roles do receive more training.
I saw the information on this young man yesterday. In today's world it is easy to slip through the cracks in society. Whether that be at school, work, church or community -- even within our homes, we too often don't see the troubled. This young man was undoubtedly in a tremendous amount of pain and reached out to several communities in a variety of ways as he sought balm for his soul.
One thing I appreciate about the organization of the LDS church is the delegation. The Bishop is not expected to handle all the needs of the 'flock' on his own. There are regular meetings of the 'welfare committee' which include the Relief Society president, Elders quorum president, High Priest group leader, ward missionary leader. They in turn have organizations which help them know when members are in need. The church seeks to have a personal meeting with each member at least monthly through visits in the home [organized through both men and women's organizations].
We do not have enough information as to whether this young man was fellowshipped properly into the church - helped to feel welcome and a part of his local ward or what friendships he may or may not have developed. We do not know if his home teachers made regular visits. We do not know if he visited with his ward leadership regarding problems in his life. We do not know how active he remained in the church. These statistics are not generally published as per individuals.
One of the ways the LDS church differs from most congregations is that we are expected to take a greater role in keeping the church running. I do not see this as a weakness, especially when everyone pulls their weight. Rather, it means that instead of one person having the burden of protecting the flock, we all work together to fellowship and protect and aid one another. A couple years ago, the area where I live suffered a tremendous storm and flooding. Many homes were damaged. Before the storm was even over, the members were out passing word along that help was needed at a particular home to save furniture, remove mud & water, etc. The organization of the ward assisted in gathering the information of what was needed and diseminating it to persons who were in a position to help. Backhoes shored up roads & embankments. Shovels & volunteers appeared to clear the debris & sort through the muck. Damaged items were cleaned and repaired.
The goal of any Christ-seeking church is to become like Him. With everyone pitching in to take care of the needy - whether that be psychological, physical or emotional.

Answer 9

Bishops are well aware of LDS Social Services, which staffs professional mental health counselors. In every ward, there are members who are assigned to visit and check in on the "flock" as you put it on a regular basis...

I read into the article that this disturbed young man went off the radar....

As far as pastoral counseling training, I don't think that fits into their concept...once you start that, you clearly start setting your self up to pastoral malpractice claims in tort, and all the non-sense that brings....

Answer 10

If there is something brought to the Bishops attention that they cannot handle...there is a Church program to help those with mental health problems.