Survey Finds Large Gap Between Psychologists and Clergy

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.

To better understand the role of clergy in relation to the practice of psychology, 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 even more alarming when one considers how often clergy members deal with mental health issues. Recent surveys have found that:

•four out of ten Americans seek assistance from clergy members in times of personal distress
•clergy are more likely than psychologists and psychiatrists combined to have a person with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.) mental health diagnosis come to them for assistance

Despite the current dearth of collaboration between mental health professionals and clergy members, the authors note that some encouraging progress has been made recently. They point out that ". . . as of January 1996, all psychiatric residency programs in the United States are required to address spiritual and religious issues in their formal training." Furthermore, recent surveys have found that one in three psychologists report a strong interest in religion and 736 to 90% of clergy indicate a desire to receive more training in mental health issues.

NIHR president and study co-author David B. Larson, M.D. summarizes, "Research has repeatedly established the importance of religion in mental health. It is imperative that those of us in the mental health community begin working more closely with the clergy."

Reference: Weaver, A.J., et al. "What Do Psychologists Know about Working with the Clergy? An Analysis of Eight APA Journals: 1991-1994." Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. 1997; 28(5): 471-474.