Alternative Mental Health Services: The Role of the Black Church in the South

Abstract

Results are discussed in terms of the potential for linking faith communities and formal systems of care, given the centrality of the Black church in historical context.

Congregation-Based Programs to Address HIV/AIDS: Elements of Successful Implementation

“…Recent reviews of the literature on congregation-based health programs (CBHP) [7][8][9][10] suggest that faith-based organizations may be ideally suited for engaging in health promotion and disease prevention activities. There are 2 primary reasons for this.…”

“…7 Nevertheless, there are also several potential barriers to implementing health programs and in particular those addressing HIV within religious settings. These include the presence of mistrust and a reciprocal lack of understanding of the values, norms, and customs between religious organizations and their partners in science, public health, or academia; 7,8,10 separating the interests of churches (which may include evangelism) and those of their partners (who may be government agencies); 7,8 ethical concerns related to study design (e.g., those in which comparison churches do not receive an intervention), 7 or other factors such as asking churches to take on health issues like HIV that challenge their moral values; 8 and finally, competing church priorities may make it difficult to implement all aspects of the intervention. 7 Addressing the Health of Racial and Ethnic Minorities In spite of these challenges, religious organizations may be particularly well-suited to improving the health of minorities.…”

“…7,9 Successful efforts by black churches have been noted in the areas of community medicine, primary care delivery, community mental health, health promotion and disease prevention, and health policy. 10 Involvement in health issues is likely due to the history of social engagement that many minority congregations share. 7,8,10,11 Their work on this issue is crucial since these organizations serve populations that may be skeptical of government public health efforts and are often underserved by public health and health care services.…”

“…10 Involvement in health issues is likely due to the history of social engagement that many minority congregations share. 7,8,10,11 Their work on this issue is crucial since these organizations serve populations that may be skeptical of government public health efforts and are often underserved by public health and health care services. 7,8,10,11 Elements of Successful CBHPs There seems to be broad agreement that several factors are critical to the success of CBHPs, including relying on collaborative relationships with outside organizations, being sensitive to the specific cultural and spiritual context of the congregation in the development of such programs, and using CBPR methods to develop interventions.…”

Family First: The Development of an Evidence‐Based Family Intervention for Increasing Participation in Psychiatric Clinical Care and Research in Depressed African American Adolescents

“…In general, this literature suggests that African Americans initially consult a member of the religious community for guidance and interventions regarding behavioral and emotional problems (Blank, Mahmood, Fox, & Guterbock, 2002;Neighbors, 2000). Often, such consultation is employed in the place of other forms of mental health services, if these types of services are even considered at all.…”