From the Revd Christopher
Newell
Sir, - You reported (News,
1 February) on the Bishop of Exeter's speech in the House of
Lords supporting the Mental Health (Discrimination) (No. 2) Bill on
18 January.
Bishop Langrish, in his
speech, cited the example of a priest in his diocese who had
previously been sectioned under the Mental Health Act, but had now
"fully recovered, with a most effective ministry". This was
evidence that full recovery from mental ill-health is "certainly"
possible.
In the neighbouring diocese
of Truro, I have, I hope, exercised an effective ministry for the
past 15 years, while continuing to live with a serious and ongoing
mental-health problem. I have not "fully recovered", and maybe
never will; but that has not prevented me, and the diocese
empowering me, from offering a full and flourishing ministry to my
Church.
For many people living with
long-term and chronic mental-health problems, it is not recovery
from, but recovery within, mental illness which requires
recognition and affirmation from the wider society, especially
including employment opportunities.
I am currently staying in a
mental-health unit in London on a Section 3 of the Mental Health
Act, which is a treatment order for up to six months. It is not the
first time I have been sectioned, and it may not be the last.
During this period, however, I have been writing, studying, and
even writing a letter to the Church Times. I very much
expect to return to active ministry in good time with the support
of my colleagues, my employer (Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation
Trust), and my diocese and Bishop.
Recovery, for me, is about
helping me to manage my mental-health problems while continuing to
offer my Church and community the very best I can be. It is not
about leaving behind for good my mental illness. That may never
happen.
I very much support the
spirit of the Bishop's speech and, indeed, the Bill. But there are
many people who continue to live with their mental illness while
seeking to live in our society and offer our Churches the very best
of who they can be. Please do not think we have to recover fully
from our mental-health problems before we can begin the process of
recovery and, in that process, become fully accepted and
flourishing human beings.
CHRISTOPHER NEWELL
Cygnet Hospital
London Road
Harrow on the Hill
Middlesex HA1 3JL