Faith and spirituality play a vital role in how people understand, cope with, and seek support for mental health challenges. Across cultures and communities, spiritual beliefs shape how individuals make meaning of distress, healing, and hope. For many, a pastor, imam, rabbi, priest, or other faith leader is the first point of contact when mental health concerns arise. NAMI Affiliates also provide trusted education, peer support, advocacy, and pathways to care. When faith communities and NAMI Affiliates collaborate intentionally, communities gain stronger safety nets, deeper trust, and more culturally responsive support systems.

This session brings together NAMI Affiliate leaders and faith leaders from diverse traditions to explore how collaboration can reduce stigma, increase early help-seeking, and expand access to mental health education and support while honoring both lived experience and spiritual values. Panelists will share real-world examples, lessons learned, and practical strategies for building trauma-informed, stigma-free, and spiritually inclusive mental health ecosystems.

Key topics include:

• Why faith and spirituality matter in mental health recovery
• The role of pastors and faith leaders as frontline responders
• Building trust and sustainable partnerships with faith communities
• Models of successful collaboration from NAMI Affiliates and congregations
• Creating stigma-free, trauma-informed, mental health–friendly spaces
• Opportunities for collaboration through NAMI FaithNet and other NAMI initiatives