In this book Wynnetta Wimberley addresses the often overlooked crisis of depression in African American clergy, investigating the causes underlying this phenomenon while discussing possible productive paths forward. Historically, many African American pastors have had to assume multiple roles in order to meet the needs of congregants impacted by societal oppression. Due to the monumental significance of the preacher in the African American religious tradition, there exists a type of ‘cultural sacramentalization’ of the Black preacher, which sets clergy up for failure by fostering isolation, highly internalized and external expectations, and a loss of self-awareness. Utilizing Donald Winnicott’s theory of the ‘true’ and ‘false’ self, Wimberley examines how depression can emerge from this psycho-socio-theological conflict. When pastors are depressed, they are more prone to encounter difficulties in their personal and professional relationships. Drawing from a communal-contextual model of pastoral theology, this text offers a therapeutically sensitive response to African American clergy suffering with depression.

The purpose of this cross sectional study was to investigate stigma associated with depression treatments and to approximate its association with treatment acceptability among African American Clergy. There were 109 African American clergy who completed three measures: treatment specific stigma instrument, treatment acceptability instrument, and a demographic questionnaire, anonymously. Three hypotheses were tested using descriptive statistics, Mantel-Haenszel common odds ratio estimate, Pearson correlation coefficient, and ordinal logistic regression. Statistical analysis revealed stigma did increase with the expansion of the social circle; Christian mental health counseling had the highest acceptability rate among clergy not pastoral or lay counseling and there was an association between treatment specific stigma and treatment acceptability.

These researchers interviewed 10 African American clergy who provide counseling services to members of their congregations, in order to examine participants' beliefs, patterns of responses to presenting problems, and level of knowledge about mental illness. The rationale for this project is to discover how closely the views of the participants match with those of professionally trained MSW level social workers and further, to evaluate the clergy member's ability to provide services. After each participant reviewed a vignette, she or he was asked questions about the vignette in order to discover participant's levels of familiarity with common mental health conditions (i.e. mentally healthy conditions, depression, schizophrenia, alcohol dependence and substance-related disorders). Findings indicate that the participants have a common perception that mental illness is caused by stressful situations and a chemical imbalance in the brain. The clergy expressed a willingness to make referrals to mental health agencies within their community when an individual's need for treatment was serious and beyond their own capacity for treatment. This project is a collaboration of Charlotte M. Conley and Merita L. Wolfe. The authors equally worked on the development of the project including the writing, reviews of the literature, transcribed tapes and coded the data.

Overcome with mental anguish, Monica A. Coleman's great-grandfather had his two young sons pull the chair out from beneath him when he hanged himself. That noose remained tied to a rafter in the shed, where it hung above the heads of his eight children who played there for years to come. As it had for generations before her, a heaviness hung over Monica throughout her young life. As an adult, this rising star in the academy saw career successes often fueled by the modulated highs of undiagnosed Bipolar II Disorder, as she hid deep depression that even her doctors skimmed past in disbelief. Serendipitous encounters with Black intellectuals like Henry Louis Gates Jr., Angela Davis, and Renita Weems were countered by long nights of stark loneliness. Only as Coleman began to face her illness was she able to live honestly and faithfully in the world. And in the process, she discovered a new and liberating vision of God. Written in crackling prose, Monica's spiritual autobiography examines her long dance with trauma, depression, and the threat of death in light of the legacies of slavery, war, sharecropping, poverty, and alcoholism that masked her family history of mental illness for generations.

"The mental health of African American pastors, who are called to minister to an oppressed people and speak truth to power, while undergoing the same daily trauma of racism and violence from external sources, is paradigmatic to Prophet Elijah. He was attacked relentlessly by those who held power (Jezebel/King Ahab/Prophets of Baal) causing him to fall into a deep depression where he prayed for God to take his life. The pressure of social ills emanating from systemic racism in high and low places pointed at African American pastors is debilitating, depressing, and destructive thus eroding their mental health. Can self-care improve the mental health of African American pastors dealing with systemic racism?" -- Leaf [ii].

Master's Thesis from the year 2011 in the subject Psychology - Consulting and Therapy, grade: A, Walden University (Public Health), language: English, abstract: The purpose of this critical literature review study is to review the existing research related to faith-based counseling and its specific use for treating depression symptoms among African American adults. Forty-seven peer-reviewed articles from the professional literature were selected for review based on relevance to African Americans and faith based organizations. Results of the review indicated the need to critically evaluate efficacy of faith-based programs based on scientifically determined outcomes. The implications for positive social change include increased access to affordable healthcare in a trusting environment, decreased prevalence rates for depression in African Americans, and reduction in disparities in mental healthcare delivery. Current research has indicated that there are disparities in mental healthcare treatment that are affecting African Americans. The literature has not strongly supported the use of spiritual leaders as counselors primarily because of a lack of certification in mental health counseling among clergy. However, the literature has shown that religious faith can have a positive effect on quality of life.

The United States is experiencing a dramatic shift in demographics, with minorities comprising a rapidly growing proportion of the population. It is anticipated that this will likely lead to substantial changes in previously established values, needs, and priorities of the population, including health and mental health for individuals, families, and society at large. This volume focuses on determinants of minority mental health and wellness. This emphasis necessarily raises the question of just who is a minority and how is minority to be defined. The term has been defined in any number of ways. Wirth (1945, p. 347) offered one of the earliest definitions of minority: We may define a minority as a group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment, and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination. The existence of a minority in a society implies the existence of a corresponding dominant group enjoying higher social status and greater privileges.