Catholic mental health leader calls for greater support for clergy and religious

As mental health challenges continue to rise, the head of one of the nation’s premier Catholic behavioral health centers is calling for renewed awareness and support for those serving in the Church.

David Shellenberger, president and CEO of the Saint John Vianney Center, which helps those in ministry navigate stress, anxiety, addiction, vocational transitions, and other challenges, stressed in an interview the importance of caring for them.

When asked by anchor Veronica Dudo on “EWTN News Nightly” why it is so important for Catholics to talk openly about the mental health needs of clergy, Shellenberger emphasized the humanity of those called to ministry.

We need “to make sure that we are always aware of the stressors that come up in their lives. While they’re called to ministry, they are human first,” he said.

They are “just like all of us,” he continued, “[who] come preconditioned with certain situations that we may be predisposed to.”

Catholics must make “sure that spiritually, physically, and emotionally we are always caring for our clergy and religious,” he said. It is “essential because they are being challenged every single day to do more with less. And we as a laity can continue to support them with our time and our talent, and also, most importantly, our prayers.”

The Saint John Vianney Center, founded in 1946 in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, is the longest-running Catholic behavioral health and addictions treatment center for clergy and consecrated religious in the world. It also serves clergy from other religious denominations.

Shellenberger highlighted a milestone the center is observing in 2026: “This year we celebrate 80 years of ministry to the Church,” he said.

“Our approach begins from Christ’s healing presence and addresses the multi-dimensional nature of the healing process — the integration of spiritual, human, intellectual, and pastoral well-being,” the website reads.

The center offers residential and outpatient treatment, spiritual direction, mental health counseling and psychotherapy, vocational assessments, and consultation services that integrate Catholic spirituality with clinical excellence. It also offers education programs and wellness initiatives to religious orders and parishes, both online and in person.

The center also maintains outpatient services on the West Coast through a partnership with the Kairos Psychology Group in Oakland, California.

When asked about the role of bishops, parish staff, and parishioners in caring for the psychological and spiritual well-being of clergy, Shellenberger replied that first, we must acknowledge “that the stressors exist for all of our Church ministers.”

The next step is “being able to coordinate the supportive services that our clergy and religious need.”

“It’s not just top-down and it’s not just bottom-up. It’s both. And when we can care and cradle our clergy and religious in that way, they will be successful in providing us the ministry they were called to,” he said.