Uses of ministerial support by African Americans: A focus group study.

Abstract

This focus group study examines the use of ministerial support among African American adults with regard to (1) the issues taken to ministers by church members, (2) the issues not taken to ministers by church members, and (3) the factors that inform people's decisions about whether or not to seek ministerial support. Content analysis of narratives from 13 focus groups revealed significant overlap in the range of concerns for which people seek support and those issues for which they will not seek ministerial help. The factors that influence peoples' decisions included shame as well as evaluations of minister character, sincerity, and skill set. Narrative examples are used to elucidate each theme, and the implications of the findings for theory, research, and practice are discussed.

Being Examples to the Flock: The Role of Church Leaders and African American Families Seeking Mental Health Care Services

“…Conversely, often unintended messages about mental illness can be integrated within the culture (e.g., spiritual and religious spectrum) of the Black church. In some cases, having mental illnesses that might require more professional mental health care services outside the spiritual realm may be viewed as a sign of weakness in congregants or failure to have faith in God (Mattis et al 2007). Indeed, there is a strong need to understand the various religious and spiritual factors that are deeply embedded in the culture of the African American community.…”

“…African Americans also may have feelings of shame or guilt when in need of outside help for personal problems, fears of being misdiagnosed and misunderstood by clinicians, and a general cultural mistrust of the mental health care system (Whaley 2001). Due to these barriers, many African Americans tend first to seek support from pastors or ministers during personal crises, and in some cases they may be the only professionals encountered (Davey and Watson 2008;Mattis et al 2007;Taylor et al 2000).…”

“…African American clergy thus are on the front lines, often functioning as a 24 hour triage unit and serving as an alternative to mainstream health providers (Blank et al 2002;Mattis et al 2007;Taylor et al 2000). They tend to be highly accessible, shouldering a significant therapeutic responsibility for the African American families in their church communities.…”

“…Black mega-churches have employed a hierarchical leadership structure in order to meet the many needs of their parishioners (Mattis et al 2007). The senior pastor (the first level of Black church leadership) ensures that the church leaders under his/her leadership effectively meet their parishioners' and families' needs.…”

“…The senior pastor (the first level of Black church leadership) ensures that the church leaders under his/her leadership effectively meet their parishioners' and families' needs. However, the senior pastor could have no contact with a parishioner who is receiving counseling within a mega-church structure from other church leaders, such as the associate pastors/ ministers (second level of leadership), deacons/deaconesses (third level of leadership), and congregation caregivers/deacon aids (fourth level of leadership) (Mattis et al 2007).…”