Valerie Ling

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Valerie Ling

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14/08/2026

This week we had the joy of being with the pastoral leadership team of C3 churches in training them in Mental Health First Aid. How wonderful it is to equip and be equipped to respond to the escalating mental health needs of our communities.

13/08/2026

USA - Baptist Pastors’ Well-Being, Help-Seeking – and Su***de Risk (2026 publication)

This week I have been struck by the depths of suffering some of our ministry workers and their families experience. Again - this study echoes previous findings - about half of clergy are doing ok, but the other half have varying levels of distress including suicidal and self-harm thoughts (in this study 8.6%, 36 participants). The source of distress is intimately linked to relational support and conflict. It's not just about time management, or better personal boundaries, it is also the quality of the relationships pastors have.

06/08/2026

Tice et al. (2025) surveyed 1,460 United Methodist clergy and interviewed 49 pastors to ask: what actually stresses clergy out, and does it look different depending on their mental health?

Three big buckets emerged — professional conflict (92% cite conflict with supervisors), family strain (73%), and ministry-specific pressures like political polarization (65%, jumping to 93% among the most distressed clergy).

These stressors show up across every mental health profile — including clergy who are thriving. Flourishing isn't the absence of stress. In the presence of stress, it is also whether clergy have the resources, meaning, purpose, and support to carry it.

Full Citation

Tice, L., Salgado, G., Johnston, E., Nascimento, B., Lee Bo-Hyeong, J., Proeschold-Bell, R. J., & Eagle, D. (2025). The weight of the yoke: a qualitative analysis of the stressors for clergy across a mental health continuum. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 28(2), 111-127. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2025.2536533

30/06/2026

Coming up if you are a psychologist in Sydney

24/06/2026

I am grateful and appreciative to be included on the Baptist Churches Western Australia pastoral supervisory team!

23/06/2026

Clergy Wellbeing Down Under Podcast - Throwback

In the first season (episode 6), we spoke with Dr. Megan Powell Dutois, discussing the challenges faced by women in ministry, including burnout, systemic bias, trauma, and sexual violence. It highlights the need for systemic change, support networks, and intentional policies to enhance the wellbeing for women in ministry.

One of the strongest reminders from this episode is that healthy communities do not emerge by accident. They require intentional systems, fair processes, and leaders willing to delve deeper into systemic issues that impact not only wellbeing, but broader ministry implications.

13/06/2026

In 2023 one of the surprises that came from my research project was the number of clergy who said they had experienced slander. Here is what Google Gemini says and relates to current WHS laws

In Work Health and Safety (WHS) and general Australian law, slander (spoken defamation) refers to false, damaging statements made about someone to a third party that harms their reputation.

Legally, Australian courts do not distinguish between slander (spoken) and libel (written); both are legally termed defamation.The Core ElementsFor a statement to be considered defamatory (including slanderous) in an Australian workplace, it must meet four specific criteria:

Communication: The false statement must be spoken to or heard by at least one other person (a third party).Identification: It must explicitly or implicitly identify the victim.

Harm: The statement must cause, or be likely to cause, serious harm to the person’s professional or personal reputation.Untruth: It must be factually incorrect (truth is a complete defense).

WHS Implications

While defamation is typically a civil matter rather than a direct WHS breach, slanderous behavior often crosses into WHS violations.Psychosocial Hazards: Slander in the workplace can contribute to chronic workplace bullying, harassment, and severe psychological distress.

Duty of Care: Under WHS laws, employers have a duty to eliminate or minimize psychological risks. Slander can breach an employer's requirement to provide a safe and healthy work environment.

04/06/2026

A major Australian workplace study (Rahimi et al., 2025) examined psychosocial stress across thousands of workers — showing that not all work environments are the same for everyone.

Female workers reported significantly higher work pace and emotional demands. They also experienced higher rates of bullying than men — 24% vs 15%.

Full-time workers face greater cognitive demands and less job influence, though both groups reported almost identical rates of workplace threats (~13%).

Public sector employees carry heavier quantitative and emotional workloads, and report more bullying and threats of violence than their private sector counterparts.

White-collar workers report higher cognitive demands and more exposure to psychosocial adversities like bullying.

Professionals face the highest emotional demands (mean 58.3), while managers enjoy more influence and development opportunities. Technicians and professionals both show elevated stress and conflict levels

Where you work, what you do, and who you are all shape your psychological experience at work — in very different ways.

Source: Rahimi, I., et al. (2025). "Subgroup comparisons in psychosocial workplace factors." BMC Public Health, 25, 830.

03/06/2026

I have been toying around with conceptualising the changes in ministry using a VUCA framework. Reading through some leadership literature, I came across thinking in the military space around how the world shifts in Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity leads to shifts in the way we organise teams/groups and adapt leadership. I am interested in what you think about how this parallels the growing load on clergy. I have been thinking about how role and job creep has really expanded and accelerated over the last few years, and how we need a more concerted effort to re-imagine how ministry is done, for more sustainability.

02/06/2026

Because the ministry setting brings about traumatic material, I took the path of accreditation. I am pleased to be a full member of the EMDR Association of Australia.

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Sydney, NSW

Website

http://www.effectiveserving.com.au/

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