Psychotherapy with African American Women with Depression: Is it okay to Talk about Their Religious/Spiritual Beliefs?

Religions

Maigenete Mengesha¹ 

[1] Department of Counseling Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Education, 1000 Bascom Mall, Madison, WI, 53706, USA;

关键词: African American women;    religious;    spiritual;    psychotherapy;    major depressive disorder;    depression;   

DOI  :  10.3390/rel3010019

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

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 patient-centered 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.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.