Asking the Big Questions: How Can Churches Support Mental Health?
Mental health problems are steadily rising in England, according to mental health charity Mind, with one in five adults now living with a common mental health problem.
For someone struggling with their mental health, a church can be a source of support to help with all the challenges in their life. In this episode of Asking the Big Questions, Sara Taylor of Sanctuary UK explores how churches can support mental health, explaining that churches are uniquely placed to help as they offer a sense of community, belonging and potentially purpose and calling too.
Benefact Trust has funded Sanctuary UK, supporting its work to decrease stigma, foster inclusion and build support for mental health recovery. Through our Asking the Big Questions series, we share insights from the charities we support to raise awareness of the challenges facing communities and the work being done to address them.
Are churches safe spaces for mental health needs?
The churches that Sara works with recognise that mental health conditions affect many people, either directly or indirectly. Members of their own congregations will have a mental health challenge – or know someone who is dealing with one.
Working with clergy and church leaders, Sara and her team at Sanctuary UK help increase their knowledge about mental health, offering free online resources and a course for small-group study.
“They are really wanting to lean into understanding more, to training and growing,” Sara says.
Should churches talk more about mental health?
For some people, their biggest hurdle is not so much the mental health condition itself but feeling that they can’t talk about it with the people they know.
Sara explains that “they don’t necessarily feel that the space they’re in is a safe space to be able to talk about it”.
Keeping their mental health struggles to themselves can make their burden feel heavier.
If someone feels that conversations around mental health are part of church life, that can help them share their worries and get support. According to Sara, that’s part of the church’s role in caring about people holistically – their emotional and physical needs as well as their spiritual needs.
And when churches make mental health part of day-to-day conversation, that can encourage a more joined-up approach across their wider communities. That’s something Sara supports in her work – as she discusses with Kintsugi Hope CEO Ellie Gage in Asking the Big Questions: Is Mental Health Real?
What mental health support does the church provide?
Sara says that while churches are not mental health services – and shouldn’t try to be – they are in a unique position to support people struggling with their mental health.
“What they can bring to the table is things like community, belonging, helping people identify and live in their sense of purpose and calling.”
Those are types of support that clinical care – vital as it is for people with mental health conditions – doesn’t provide.
And community and belonging are linked to lower rates of depression – a 2025 Office for National Statistics survey found that adults with no or mild depressive symptoms were more likely to feel that they belonged to their neighbourhood (57%) than those with moderate to severe depressive symptoms (35%).
Sara adds: “The healthiest churches are ones that know how to recognise symptoms but then walk with people compassionately…and know how to signpost responsibly.”
Watch: How can churches support mental health?
Watch the full Asking the Big Questions episode with Sara Taylor from Sanctuary UK to hear more about the role churches can play in supporting mental health.
If you’re interested to learn more about mental health and churches, explore Asking the Big Questions: Is Mental Health Real and How to create a mental health-friendly church.
You can also watch more episodes of Asking the Big Questions, where charities supported by Benefact Trust share their expertise on the issues affecting communities across the UK.