Why Look for a Christian Therapist?

Research tells us why.

Despite their popularity with patients, psychologists largely ignore the role of clergy. While psychologists routinely collaborate with professionals in medicine and nursing, one key group of professionals is consistently overlooked: the clergy. A recent research review found that a scant .02% of the studies in leading psychology journals considered clergy in their data.

A group of researchers from the University of Hawaii and the National Institute for Healthcare Research (NIHR) surveyed eight leading psychology journals from 1991 to 1994. Each article was reviewed to see if it contained statistics that examined "the role or use of religious professionals."

The reviewers found that of the over 2,400 studies examined, only four assessed the role of the clergy in mental health.

This lack of attention to the role of the clergy in mental health is alarming. Recent surveys have found:

-Four out of ten Americans seek assistance from clergy members in times of personal distress while only 8% go to a mental health professional.

-Clergy are more likely than psychologists and psychiatrists combined to have a person with a mental health diagnosis come to them for assistance.

Surveys have found that one in three psychologists report a strong interest in religion and 73% to 90% of clergy indicate a desire to receive more training in mental health issues.