a catholic mental health spiritual support ministry
Catholic Companions In Mental Health
Our mission is to provide spiritual peer-led support for individuals experiencing mental health challenges and the families, friends and loved ones who accompany and support them. We exist as well to educate and advocate for mental healthcare and accompaniment by assisting Catholic parishes in establishing their own mental health ministries offering spiritual peer support for individuals navigating mental health challenges as well as their dedicated caregivers.
Emmaus Spiritual Peer Support groups are an exclusively peer-led ministry made up of individuals who experience mental health challenges as well as those who accompany and support them. Our groups do not offer and are not a replacement for professional counselling, therapy or clinical advice.
Our Story
We are Deacon Eric Gurash and Melissa Gurash. Together we founded Emmaus Family Support Ministries in 2018…
Belief, Hope, & Resilience Blog
Exploring the intersection between faith and mental health and discovering paths to well-being and resilience.
Crisis Resources and Prayer Supports
“I would like to remember our brothers and sisters who suffer from mental illness, and also victims – often young people – of suicide. Let us pray for them and their families, so that they are never left alone, or discriminated against, but instead are welcomed and supported.”
Pope Francis
Mental Health First Aid for Catholic Communities
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) equips clergy, staff, and volunteers with the tools to recognize signs of mental health challenges, respond with confidence and compassion, and connect individuals to appropriate support. As part of a faith-filled response to suffering, MHFA strengthens our call to care for the whole person—body, mind, and spirit—through practical, life-affirming accompaniment.
Available in person or online, our certified trainers are ready to help your community grow in awareness, reduce stigma, and walk with those in need.
Featured Resource: A Mental Health Way of the Cross
A new version of an ancient devotion. This unique Way of the Cross invites participants to walk with Christ through the lens of mental health challenges, discovering God’s presence, compassion, and hope in the midst of suffering. Written from lived experience and within the Catholic spiritual tradition, this resource is available for purchase by individuals, parishes or groups.
Join An Emmaus Peer Support Group
Emmaus support groups are open to men and women currently living with mental health challenges, as well as friends, family members, and loved ones who offer accompaniment and support.
Mental Health on the Thinking Faith Catholic Podcast
The Thinking Faith Catholic Podcast a production of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina. Hosts Deacon Eric Gurash and Dr. Brett Salkeld regularly speak about the topic of mental health in a variety of ways as they navigate the winding road of faith in Jesus Christ so that we might know him more intimately, love him more profoundly and together serve him more deeply in our daily lives.
Emmaus Support Mental Health Ministries 