Men of the Cloth: African-American Clergy's Knowledge and Experience in Providing Pastoral Care to African-American Elders with Late-Life Depression

Abstract

African-American clergy's ability to recognize late-life depression and their capacity to provide support with this illness have been neglected in the literature. Using a mental health literacy framework, the purpose of this research was to explore African-American clergy's knowledge of and treatments for late-life depression. In-depth interviews were conducted with nine African-American clergy who oversaw churches in central Kentucky. Collectively, all clergy were literate and aware of the need to provide support to elders with late-life depression. This study seeks to further clarify the role of African-American clergy and their understanding of late-life depression to inform future interventions and better collaborative relationships.

Keywords:

• African-American clergy
• urban
• late-life depression
• older African-Americans
• mental health literacy
• internal ministries