Shirk

Clergy's perceptions of their training and competence in regards to pastoral counseling compared to mental health professionals.

Daimi Shirk

Abstract

Clergy play a significant role in providing counseling for individuals with mental health concerns, yet often their formal education does not include adequate counseling training, which can leave them feeling less than confident in their ability to help. Lack of awareness about mental health issues also has an impact on how clergy referral to mental health providers. The goal of this study was to determine the perceptions that clergy have about whether their education prepared them for pastoral counseling. It also evaluated the competency ministers perceive themselves to have and compared their responses to those of mental health professionals. While the hypothesis that at least 50% of clergy would believe that their education did not prepare them for pastoral counseling overall was not supported, there were high levels of variability regarding the issue. Clergy generally agree that their education does not prepare them for counseling individuals with mental illness. Clergy’s beliefs about their self-perceived competence in pastoral counseling were inconsistent with their beliefs about the preparation they received from their education. Their self-perceived competence levels were higher than anticipated based upon their beliefs about their education. Mental health professionals had a significantly higher belief that their education prepared them for counseling and in their self-perceived competence. Ninety-six percent of the clergy indicated that they would refer individuals to a mental health professional if they believed a mental illness were involved. Implications of findings are discussed in relation to the need for theological higher education institutions to review the training they provide.

Keywords: clergy, pastoral counseling, seminary training