Mental illness affects 25% of pastors, according to a mental health professional.

Twenty-five per cent of pastors are experiencing mental illness, according to a mental health clinician.

Dr Kwame Frimpong says this is due to the burden of mixing running the church with challenges posed to them by their members.

The clinician, who practices in the USA, explained that the men of God play the role of psychologists and counsellors.

He revealed this on an episode of A Walk with Jesus with Pastor Ato Acquah on the ‘Christian and Mental Health’.

The discussion was based on a real-life story of a caller who phoned into Joy FM’s late afternoon programme, ‘Drive Time’, to talk about his decision to commit suicide due to a marital problem.

He said that the issue of mental health has become relevant, compelling some pastors to acquire knowledge in clinical psychology to put them in a good position to speak or help church members on such matters.

This he added, has made pastors become more interested in the subject of mental health.

The mental health clinician urged pastors to take good care of themselves and their souls.

“You can be spiritually powerful and mentally weak if you do not take care of yourself and your soul. Pastors will be overwhelmed if they do not take care of themselves”.

Although there is a growing and worrying inclination toward mental health disorders in churches, the clinician said, “Pastors must not turn themselves into counsellors or psychologists.

“They must employ clinical psychologists or professional counsellors to partner with them in their work”, Dr Frimpong advised.

“As typical Ghanaians, we associate every mental health disorder as spiritual and coming from the devil, and we become ineffective this way in our thinking to help our people. Some of these cases, however, could be demonic”, he said.

Dr Frimpong further recommended local churches get a psychologist or a professional counsellor on board with the church staff so they can partner with the church prayer warriors to work effectively.

He, however, revealed that some of the mental health disorders could be demonic, and others could be psychological.

Dr Frimpong also admonished churches to bring the subject of mental health back to the pulpit and educate its members, “if not, we will see so many things from the pulpit that will affect their performance and eventually cause them to burn out”, he warned.