Hospital is Mair's unique new parish

Rev Mair Talbot, the new Hellesdon Hospital chaplain.

People who are admitted to a psychiatric hospital these days are usually very ill. Quite a few have complex social problems to cope with too, says Mair Talbot. "Their needs may be so great that you wonder where to start to help improve their condition. They need the skills of a variety of departments and we try to work as a team, treating individuals as whole persons, body, mind and soul," she explains. Mair spent four-and-a-half years before her January appointment, combining a parish job with a part-time chaplaincy at the City's Julian Hospital for elderly, mentally ill patients. Her skills are used with professionals who are committed to "whole person" medicine. Patients can benefit from medicine, physiotherapy and talking to psychiatrists, nurses, clinical psychologists and chaplains. Mair's previous job has been training for her new role at Hellesdon, where illnesses include depression, eating disorders, schizophrenia and nervous breakdowns. "The challenge for a chaplain is to find ways the Christian faith will illuminate the person's needs and meet some of them," explains Mair, who attends training courses and national conferences to network with other mental health chaplains. She also consults with medical staff and "taps into God" to help meet sufferers' needs. Mair hopes her expertise will help churches feel more confident about welcoming people with a mental illness. "I am open to churches contacting me to discuss how I might help and I am happy to put together a course," she explains.

"The most fundamental human need is to be loved. It affirms our worth as people and is, therefore, healing in itelf. To know that God loves us unconditionally and can deal effectively with guilt and feelings of failure is liberating for people," says Mair. "One to one talks enable me to listen, respond and befriend," says Mair, who sees friendship as the key to her work and shows God's love through pastoral care. Bad experiences in the past may result in no self-esteen and false guilt, so God is perceived to condemn and demand impossible standards. "Sometimes people need a lot of reassurance that God wants them to be able to feel good about themselves. Churches quite often make a false equation between pride and self-esteem, when the two things are really quite different," explains Mair.

She has found that Christians suffering from mental illness may find God closer to them while others feel abandoned. But chaplains are not only there for people who already have a faith. "Sceptics and those who have never thought much about religion before often welcome the chance to explore the meaning of life. We have a role in pastoral care of staff too," explains Mair. "Those who normally do not attend church may start visiting the chapel and occasionally ask to see me to find out more about Christianity because they sense they need more than just the resources of this world."
Contact Rev Mair Talbot at Hellesdon Hospital on 01603 421421.