Session: The Congregational Healers United to Restore Community Health (CHURCH) Project: A Community-Partnered Participatory Research with Black Faith Leaders to Improve African American Mental Health (Society for Social Work and Research 30th Annual Conference Anniversary)

African Americans face a disproportionate exposure to critical risk factors such as poverty, neighborhood disadvantage, and racial discrimination, which contribute to adverse mental health outcomes. Despite this, they are only half as likely as their White counterparts to seek professional mental health services, primarily due to barriers such as access issues, stigma, mistrust, and a lack of culturally competent providers. For many in the African American community, clergy often serve as the first, preferred, and sometimes the only source of mental health support. However, there is a notable lack of research and mental health interventions that explicitly involve clergy or faith-based approaches.

To address this gap, a collaborative research partnership known as the CHURCH (Congregations as Healers United to Restore Community Health) project was established, bringing together mental health clinicians, researchers, community-engaged scholars, social work students, and African American clergy. The project aims to develop, implement, and evaluate an evidence-based, spiritually informed mental health training curriculum called Renew Your Mind. This curriculum integrates spirituality, sacred music, and traditional practices within Black Churches, such as sermons and worship service, to promote positive mental health in African American communities in culturally relevant and sustainable ways.

This symposium will feature three presentations, each focusing on: 1) an overview of the CHURCH project partnership development and a report on the results from the process evaluation of the CBPR partnership; 2) the development of 'Renew Your Mind,' a culturally tailored, spiritually integrated, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) based mental health training program for Black faith leaders; and 3) the findings from the feasibility and acceptability study of 'Renew Your Mind'.

Subsequent to the presentations, a discussant will comment on the presentations to set the stage for the interactive discussions between the presenters and participants on topics related to 1) the contributions of faith communities to mental health promotion within radical and ethnic minority populations; 2) strategies to strengthen the capabilities of faith communities in mental health promotion; 3) strategies to empower racial and ethnic minority faith communities to influence the mental health profession, advocating for a better integration of spirituality into mental health practices.