Nursing Research ( ONLY NURSES AND NO PLAGARISM)
Depression Treatment 0
Running head: DEPRESSION TREATMENT IN AFRICAN AMERICAN BY CLERGY
Depression Treatment in African American by Clergy
University Of Texas Arlington
Depression Treatment in African American by Clergy
Depression Treatment
The perception of clergy as the bridge to God along with cultural barriers results in the shunning of mental health professionals for the treatment of depression among the African Americans (Smith & Cummins, 2017). Although depression chronicity is higher among African Americans (56.5%) compared to whites (38.6%), 63% of the Black Community believe that depression is a personal weakness with nearly two-thirds agreeing that it can be addressed through prayers. Additionally, studies reveal that nearly 40% of African Americans rely on clergy for mental issues (Taylor, Sullivan, & Kliewer, 2013). Despite the high percentage of severity and high dependency on religious leaders, less than half of the clergy have training in counseling. As an illness, depression is treatable through medication, psychotherapy or a combination of both. Evidently, the clergy has a role to play in reducing the chronicity of depression among the Black Community by drawing a thick line between their religious and counseling duties. The clergy ought to recommend depressed congregants to mental professionals if the symptoms exhibited by individuals are beyond their mandate (Taylor, Sullivan, & Kliewer, 2013). So, how does liaising with health professionals or getting more information on depression help in reducing the chronicity of depression among the African Americans?
After approval by the Institutional Research Review Board of the University of Cincinnati, Anthony, Johnson, & Schafer (2015) conducted research to examine the role of clergy and church in the treatment of depression among the African Americans. The research targeted 18-year-old or older African American clergy with the ability to read and complete the data collection tools. Several notable facts emerged from the research that explores the treatment of depression among the Black Community through clergy services. The interviewed religious leaders spent 50-80% of their time counseling the congregants with the services starting with the children before evolving to the whole family (Anthony, Johnson, & Schafer, 2015). Additionally, educational levels of the clergy had a notable influence on the counseling services i.e. the higher the levels, the more likelihood of having a depressed and anxiety counseling training hence the better the services. Lastly, over 50% of the clergy believe that depression and spiritual counseling are similar hence high chances of employing spiritual services to address depression symptoms in patients. However, nearly all the clergy agreed that additional information on depression is essential in addressing this illness among their congregants.
Reliability examines the consistency in the data collection and measurement methods. The research by Anthony et al. (2015) relied on the completion of the Mental Health Counseling Survey (MHCS), and Personal Profile Questionnaire (PPQ) hence required a clergy with the ability to read. The MHCS is a series of 11 questions designed by Wylie (1984) that examine the kind of competencies required for the minister to perform the depression and other mental illnesses (Anthony, Johnson, & Schafer, 2015). The PPQ form inquired for the personal information of the clergy with a focus on their education levels, marital status, gender, and age. Although the data collection tools were sent to 300 clergies, only 65 got the nod for their responses and information of which 0.95 were African Americans i.e. the Cronbach’s alpha for the research was .95. The principal investigator contacted the clergy first in person before sending them the data collection tools (Anthony, Johnson, & Schafer, 2015). Therefore, the high percentage of African America clergy along with the appropriateness of the data collection and measurement methods made this research reliable.
Validity examines the closeness of the employed instruments in investigating the concept under study. The researchers adopted a descriptive and quantitative research design to examines and answer the research questions fully. The research required the clergy to complete a PPQ and MHCS forms that explored the competencies of the religious leaders in offering depression counseling to their congregants (Anthony, Johnson, & Schafer, 2015). The criterion-related validity is evident in the study as this team of researchers delved into predicting the ineffectiveness of the clergy into addressing the depression among the congregants i.e. clergy require additional training and material on depression. Furthermore, the expertise of the researcher proves the validity of the research design employed.
Several strengths and weakness are evident from this study. Since the abstract concept of the study focused on investigating the effectiveness of the African American clergy in addressing depression among the congregants, the findings of the study were substantial. Furthermore, the data collection and measurement methods agreed with the Health Counseling Competencies required for any psychotherapist (Anthony, Johnson, & Schafer, 2015). Although the researchers targeted a variety of denominations, the study is not conclusive as it focused on a single Mid-Western city i.e. the study needed to cut across the whole country for exhaustive findings.
In the Depression and African American on the Mental Health America website, the author puts forth some facts on depression and examines common misconceptions about this illness among the African American. In the USA, over 19million cases of depression occur every year with the Black Community having over-representation. However, most African Americans perceive this illness as a personal weakness hence blind themselves to the fact that the difficulties of life are the chief causes of depression (Mental Health America, 2017). As such, African American would rather seek spiritual intervention than seek services of a mental health professional. Although seeking help is itself a form of strength, the author recommends that the depressed individuals seek psychiatrist services from mental health specialist for effective treatment.
Smith & Cummins (2017) examined the application of church-based programs in the treatment of related mental disorders among them depression. Participants suggested several interesting facts that explore further the abstract subject in the study. First, the African Americans prefer church-based programs to the traditional mental services due to the Black culture’s perception on depression (Smith & Cummins, 2017). Most of the members of the Black community believe that depression is a sign of personal weakness that can be addressed through spirituality hence the reliance on clergy. Finally, researchers reiterate the need for the religious leaders to get additional information and training on depression counseling to improve identification of symptoms and counseling services.
The church is a central organ in the lives of the Black Community with the religious leaders offering extended services to the congregants among them depression counseling. Most African Americans believe that depression is a sign of personal weaknesses hence prefer spiritual intervention to the traditional mental services. Anthony et al., (2015) argued that clergy with previous personal experiences and personal exposure to depression are more likely to give better depression counseling services compared to those without previous experiences i.e. the latter group of clergy rely mainly on the spiritual interventions (Smith & Cummins, 2017). Therefore, African American clergy requires training in depression counseling to offer effective psychotherapeutic services to their congregants. Additionally, the clergy should draw a line between their mandates as spiritual servants and understand the severity of symptoms that would necessitate the services of a mental health professional.
References
Anthony, J. S, Johnson, A., & Schafer, J. (2015). African American Clergy and Depression: What they know: What they want to know. Journal of cultural diversity, 22 (4), 118-126.
Smith, B. M., & Cummins, K. A. (2017). African Americans and Mental Health: Challenges and Church-Based Responses. Global Mental Health and the Church, 4, 105.
Taylor, K. A., Sullivan, T. N., & Kliewer, W. (2013). A longitudinal path analysis of peer victimization, threat appraisals to the self, and aggression, anxiety, and depression among urban African American adolescents. Journal of youth and adolescence, 42(2), 178-189.
Mental Health America. (2017). Depression and African American.Retrieved on July 15, 2017, from http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/depression-and-african-americans