Psychotherapy with African American Women with Depression: Is it okay to Talk about Their Religious/Spiritual Beliefs?
Journal Title: Religions - Year 2012, Vol 3, Issue 1
Abstract
A growing body of research focusing on African Americans‘ mental health is showing that this group relies heavily on their religious/spiritual beliefs and practices to cope with mental health issues including depression. Unfortunately, the psychotherapy literature provides little guidance on how to incorporate religion/spirituality into psychotherapy with African American women. With the growing cultural diversity of the U.S. population, there has been more emphasis on providing patient-centered culturally sensitive care, which involves providing care that is respectful of, and responsive to, individual patient preferences, needs, and values. This paper provides a synthesis of literature that psychotherapists could use to become more culturally sensitive and patientcentered in their clinical practices; that is, to recognize and integrate religion/spirituality into their work with African American women experiencing depression, and possibly other groups with similar needs.
Authors and Affiliations
Maigenete Mengesha and Earlise C. Ward
Keywords
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- EP ID EP25227
- DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/rel3010019
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