Elder Erich W. Kopischke (Oct. '21): "Addressing Mental Health"

 I work with young people in my daily 9-5 (although it isn't really a 9-5), and I can attest that we are seeing more and more issues with mental illness across all strata of society.  While some of this simply comes from increased awareness, I also wonder if there isn't a definite uptick in the number of cases.  Whatever the facts are, it seems obvious that this is a much needed topic for us to think and talk about from a gospel perspective.  It reminds me of Pres. Ballard's talk on suicide in 1987 in that this is a talk that raises an important issue that we are all too hesitant to talk about.

The Activity:

1. Make sure that everyone has access to a copy of the talk either digitally or physically.
2. Point out that Elder Kopischke's talk is full of counsel for those with mental illnesses and those who love and desire to help them.
3. Ask the class members to skim the talk and mark some of the counsel that they find.
4. After a few minutes, ask the class members to choose one piece of counsel that they find especially powerful.
5. Divide the class into small groups of no more than 5 class members each.
6. Ask the class members to share one-by-one their chosen piece of counsel without any comment from themselves or anyone else-- just read the counsel.
7. After every person in the group has shared, ask the groups to discuss common threads they noticed in what was shared/read.  They should also try to identify (if not made clear) the gospel principles underlying each piece of counsel.
8. When the groups have had a few minutes to discuss, come back together as a class and ask them to share.

Using the Activity:

The first thing I would say about teaching this talk is that it will be important to set some ground rules governing how the idea of mental illness is spoken of.  For many people who do not suffer from mental illness, it is difficult to grasp the reality or the depths of mental illness.  As a result, even the best of people can say something that hurts another person whether they mean to or not.  So, I would address this right out of the gate and suggest that people talk about mental illness the same way they would any physical ailment such as diabetes or high blood pressure that may impact some people in debilitating ways while leaving others untouched.

One of the goals of the activity itself is to provide a venue where several pieces of counsel from a general authority are shared with no need for comment.  The idea is to simply listen to the counsel given.  Then, by connecting as possible the counsel to gospel principles it is hoped that all class members will gain a greater degree of empathy for all people and their struggles.  

Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope that this activity can serve you well either in this form or as a catalyst for other ideas.