UIC Clinical Psychologist to Create Mental Health Program for Clergy

Deborah Bayliss | As of Thursday, June 12, 2014

Posttraumatic stress disorder, according to BlackMentalHealthnet.com, is one of the mental illnesses thought to occur more frequently in the Black community than in the general U.S. population because Blacks are more likely to be exposed to traumatic events and are at greater risk of being victims of violent crimes and of knowing someone who suffered violence.
Posttraumatic stress disorder, according to BlackMentalHealthnet.com, is one of the mental illnesses thought to occur more frequently in the Black community than in the general U.S. population because Blacks are more likely to be exposed to traumatic events and are at greater risk of being victims of violent crimes and of knowing someone who suffered violence.

Dr. Jennifer Shepard Payne, a licensed clinical social worker at the University of Illinois at Chicago, also an ordained minister, is conducting research to find out how church pastors currently address their congregation’s mental health issues and will use the information to create a training program to help guide clergy in addressing those issues.

“I’m originally from Los Angeles, California and I noticed that a pastor I was under would refer people to me as a clinical social worker,” said Shepard Payne on how her research, which initially focused solely on depression, got started. “My research was to find out how pastors address mental health issues in terms of race, socio-economic demographic status, etc… and I found that when some of them address mental health issues from their pulpits, it was with negative connotations.”

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Dr. Jenner Shepard Payne, licensed clinical social worker at the University of Illinois at Chicago, also an ordained minister, is conducting research to find out how church pastors currently address their congregation’s mental health issues and will use the information to create a training program to help guide clergy in addressing those issues.

Payne said the mental health training program is being created specifically for urban clergy; something she said is sorely needed.

“In my research, I’ve interviewed a total of 48 pastors, 24 from Los Angeles and 24 Chicago for my study titled “Urban Pastors Project,” Payne said. “They’re all very interested and I want to find out what they need to help them address the mental health (needs of their congregations).

A consultant to pastors on mental illness issues, Payne has already trained clergy at a variety of churches and councils on recognizing signs of mental illness, handling congregants with personality disorders, and addressing child abuse.

When asked about some of the things pastors said they needed help with, Payne said, “One pastor spoke to me about needing help to address his own trauma from having to bury so many young people who were killed as a result of gun violence. They also talked about needing help with how to deal with past abuse, Posttraumatic Stress, depression, and clinical depression. Almost all of them said they did not get the training to deal with these mental health issues at seminary school."

Posttraumatic stress disorder, according to BlackMentalHealthnet.com, is one of the mental illnesses thought to occur more frequently in the Black community than in the general U.S. population because Blacks are more likely to be exposed to traumatic events and are at greater risk of being victims of violent crimes and of knowing someone who suffered violence.

The principal investigator of the Clergy Depressive Counseling Survey, a study completed in 2008 asking clergy about their beliefs and their treatment practices when working with depressed parishioners, Payne’s primary research focus is minority mental health disparity, focusing on depression in black communities.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, less than one-half of people with serious mental illness receive treatment. In 2010, adults living below the poverty level were three times more likely to have serious psychological distress as compared to adults over twice the poverty level, In general minorities have less access to, and less availability of mental health services.

 The death rate from suicide for African American men was almost four times that for African American women, in 2009.

 African Americans are 20% more likely to report having serious psychological distress than Non-Hispanic Whites.

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