Top

Published in:

01-09-2012 | Original paper

African American Clergy: What are Their Perceptions of Pastoral Care and Pastoral Counseling?

Authors: Kim L. Stansbury, Debra A. Harley, Lois King, Nancy Nelson, Gillian Speight

Published in: Journal of Religion and Health | Issue 3/2012

Abstract

This qualitative study explores African American clergy’s perspectives on pastoral care and pastoral counseling. Interviews were conducted with 18 African American clergy of diverse ages, locales, and educational levels who were recruited from a southern state. Two major themes emerged from the data: (a) Shepherding the Flock and (b) Distinguishable Concepts with Different Meaning and Functions. Implications for social work practice and research are addressed.

Blasi, A. J., Husaini, B. A., & Drumwright, D. A. (1998). Seniors’ mental health and pastoral practices in African American churches: An exploratory study in a southern city. Review of Religious Research, 40(2), 168–177.CrossRef

Clinebell, H. J. (1984). Basic types of pastoral care and counseling: Resources for the ministry of healing and growth. Nashville: Abington Press.

Council on Social Work Education. (2001). Curriculum policy statement for master’s degree programs. http:www.cswe.org/accreditation. Retrieved 12 May 2007.

Dhooper, S. S., & Moore, S. E. (2001). Social work practice with culturally diverse people. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Everly, G. S. (2000). Pastoral crisis intervention: Toward a definition. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, 2, 69–71.PubMed

Gerkin, C. V. (1997). An introduction to pastoral care. Nashville: Abingdon Press.

Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory. Chicago: Aldine.

Gottlieb, N. H., & Olfson, L. W. (1987). Current referral practices of mental health care providers. Hospital & Community Psychiatry, 38, 117–1181.

Hiltner, S. (1949). Pastoral counseling. Nashville: Abingdon-Cokebury Press.

Holifield, E. B. (1983). A history of pastoral care in America: From salvation to self-realization. Nashville: Abingdon Press.

Kemp, C. F. (1947). Physicians of the soul: A history of pastoral counseling. New York, NY: Macmillan.

Lyles, M. R. (1992). Mental health perceptions of black pastors: Implications for psychotherapy with Black patients. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 11(4), 368–377.

Moore, S. E., & Collins, W. L. (2002). A model for social work field practicums in African American churches. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 22(3/4), 171–188.CrossRef

Neighbors, H. W., Musick, M. A., & Williams, D. R. (1998). The African American minister as a source of help for serious personal crises: Bridge or barrier to mental health care? Health Education and Behavior, 25, 759–777.PubMedCrossRef

O’Connor, T. S. (2003). Pastoral counseling and pastoral care: Is there a difference? The Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling, 57, 3–14.

Sexton, R. L., Carlson, R. G., Booth, B., Siegal, H. A., & Leukefeld, C. (2005). The role of African American clergy in providing informal services to drug users in the rural south: Preliminary ethnographic findings. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 5, 1–21.CrossRef

Stansbury, K., Harley, D. A., & Brown-Hughes, T. (2009). Rural African American clergy: Are they literate about late-life depression? Aging and Mental Health, 13(1), 9–16.PubMedCrossRef

Stansbury, K., & Schumacher, M. S. (2008). An exploration of mental health literacy among African American clergy. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 51(1/2), 126–142.PubMedCrossRef

Stokes, A. (1986). Ministry after freud. New York: Pilgrim Press.

Sussman, L. K., Robins, L. N., & Earl, F. (1987). Treatment-seeking for depression by black and white Americans. Social Science and Medicine, 24, 187–196.PubMedCrossRef

Taylor, R. J., Chatters, L. M., & Levin, J. S. (2004). Religion in the lives of African Americans: Social psychological and health perspectives. Newbury Park: Sage.

Taylor, R. J., Ellison, C. G., Chatters, L. M., Levin, J. S., & Lincoln, K. D. (2000). Mental health services in faith communities: The role of clergy in black churches. Social Work, 45(1), 73–87.PubMedCrossRef

Vassol, E. L. (2005). African American pastors’ perceptions of their congregants’ mental health needs. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas.

Weaver, A. J., Koenig, H. G., & Ochberg, F. M. (1996). Post-traumatic stress, mental health professionals, and the clergy: A need for collaboration, training, research. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9, 847–856.PubMedCrossRef

Young, J. L., Griffith, E. H., & Williams, D. R. (2003). The integral role of pastoral counseling by African American clergy in community mental health. Psychiatric Services, 54, 688–692.PubMedCrossRef

Title: African American Clergy: What are Their Perceptions of Pastoral Care and Pastoral Counseling?
Authors: Kim L. Stansbury
Debra A. Harley
Lois King
Nancy Nelson
Gillian Speight
Publication date: 01-09-2012
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Religion and Health / Issue 3/2012
Print ISSN: 0022-4197
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6571
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-010-9413-0

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

African American Clergy: What are Their Perceptions of Pastoral Care and Pastoral Counseling?

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 3/2012

I Believe I Am So Called: Reflections on a Vocation in Medical Education

Hospitable Hospitals in a Diverse Society: From Chaplains to Spiritual Care Providers

The Recovery of Religious and Spiritual Significance in American Psychiatry

Religious and Spiritual Practices Among Patients with Cancer

Alliance of Support for Low-Income Latino Men with Prostate Cancer: God, Doctor, and Self

A Dangerous Method, A Film Directed by David Cronenberg: An Extended Review