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The Emmanuel Research Review is a publication of the Emmanuel Gospel Center, and features articles, papers, resources, and information that we believe are helpful and relevant to urban pastors, leaders, and community members in their efforts to serve their communities effectively. |
Introduced by Brian Corcoran
Research Associate, Emmanuel
Gospel Center
Managing Editor, Emmanuel Research Review
The Assessment of Christian Counseling Needs in Metro Boston: A Preliminary Report shares the results of a recent survey conducted in the Metro Boston area during November of 2009 regarding Christian counseling.
The survey allows us to hear from local church leaders about their perceived needs regarding Christian counseling in the Boston area. This investigation provides preliminary findings to assist churches, ministries, and counseling agencies in strategically addressing counseling needs. When do church leaders refer counseling to others? What are the most common counseling issues in Boston? What role should the church have in the counseling process? What are the barriers in obtaining Christian counseling? How might churches and counseling ministries collaborate to address counseling needs?
As a preliminary survey and report, this is an initial investigation that begins to address a much larger realm of questions on the topic that could and should be expanded and refined in the future.
As always, we welcome your feedback!
Thomas Idiculla, Ph.D., President, Agape Partners International, Waltham, MA (www.agapepartners.org, tidiculla[at]agapepartners.org); Director, Mental Health Services Evaluation Department, McLean Hospital, Affiliate of Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA; 781-223-0082
Brian Corcoran, Research Associate, Emmanuel Gospel Center, Boston, MA (www.egc.org)
Rev. Bruce Peterson, Senior Pastor, Trinity Community Church, Norwood, MA (www.trinitycommunitychurch.org)
*Prepared on behalf of Abundant Life Counseling Center (ALCC), 459 Putnam Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139; 617 354-ALCC (2252), alccboston[at]gmail.com, www.alccboston.org
One in every five Americans experiences mental health/emotional/stress-related problems, regardless of age, gender, faith, economic status or ethnicity. This means nearly every fifth Christian in the pews has been touched in some way by mental health problems. A significant number of Christians continue to suffer in silence or stop attending church because they are not receiving the support they so desperately need. They become detached from the church and their spirituality, which is an important source of healing, wholeness and hope in times of difficulty.
In this context, the purpose of this survey is to identify the perceived needs for Christian counseling in Boston area. The results of this survey will be used to strategically address the counseling needs in Boston and provide such information to churches, ministries, and counseling agencies. The data was collected using a web-based survey questionnaire. The following survey questions were asked to assess the counseling needs.
In addition the following demographic data were collected: age, gender, race/ethnicity, city, title/role, name of the church or organization, affiliation, and Church ethnic composition.
The survey sample was taken from Emmanuel Gospel Center (EGC)’s church database. A sample of 453 leaders was identified from the EGC database for the online survey. Among those, 70 people completed the survey from November 5 to 30, 2009 (135 surveys didn’t go through, 4 opted out and 144 did not respond). Thus the final survey sample consists of 70 respondents that completed the online questionnaire.
Over half of the respondents identified themselves as part of multi-ethnic churches (60%), followed by White (16%), Asian (11%), Black (9%), and Hispanic (3%). The term multi-ethnic was not defined in the survey. Most (62%) were in urban areas Boston (25%) Dorchester (18%), Cambridge (15%), Brighton and Allston (5%), followed by suburban areas: Norwood (10%), Lexington (5%), Bedford, Chelsea, Franklin, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Medfield, Millbury, Newtonville, Roslindale, Stoughton, Waltham, and Westboro (23%). Please note that to calculate Boston totals both the “Boston” city and neighborhood responses such as Dorchester, Brighton-Allston, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, and Roslindale need to be combined.
One third of the respondents were affiliated with Baptist (34%), followed by Pentecostal/Charismatic (14%), Non-Denominational (11%), Independent (10%), Interdenominational (4%), Presbyterian (4%). Anglican (3%), Catholic (3%), Episcopal (3%), African Methodist Episcopal (3%), and others, including Congregational, Evangelical, Foursquare, Holiness, Lutheran, Methodist, Vineyard (7%).
Over half of the respondents were pastors (52%), followed by Elders or Members (20%), Administrators/Directors/Professors (9%), Counselors (7%), Sunday School Teachers, Small Group Leaders and Youth Leaders (6%), College/Campus Ministers (3%), and Missionaries (3%). The majority of respondents were male (66%), with mean age of 48 years. Sixty percent of them were White (60%), followed by Black (15%), Asian (14%), Hispanic (7%), Brazilian (2%), and West Indian (2%).
The following churches were represented in the survey:
1-What situation might cause you to refer someone in need of counseling to a source other than yourself |
||
Responses |
% |
N |
Individual has history of mental/emotional illness |
90% |
40 |
Individual prefers having a counseling not on local church staff |
82% |
37 |
Individual threatens suicide |
84% |
38 |
Problem is a chronic one (e.g. addiction) |
80% |
36 |
Problem not resolved in three to four visits |
62% |
28 |
Feel Pastor should do all counseling |
2% |
1 |
Other
|
||
2-What mental health problems and/or counseling issues/needs do you think that Christians and people in churches of Boston most commonly face? |
||||
Responses |
Never/ |
Often |
Very often |
Total |
Struggles with finance/career |
6 |
23 |
27 |
56 |
Pornography, Computer and Internet Addiction |
10 |
25 |
20 |
55 |
Parenting or family related issues |
2 |
24 |
31 |
57 |
Mental health issues (e.g. Psychosis, Depression, Anxiety, etc) |
6 |
33 |
19 |
58 |
Marriage or relationship issues |
1 |
17 |
40 |
58 |
Grief and loss |
5 |
34 |
17 |
56 |
Domestic violence |
18 |
26 |
11 |
55 |
Child abuse/neglect |
20 |
30 |
6 |
56 |
Alcoholism and substance abuse |
13 |
25 |
18 |
56 |
Other
|
||||
3-What mental health problems and/or counseling issues most require referral by pastors and church leaders to outside agencies and therapists? |
||||
Responses |
Never/ |
Often |
Very often |
Total |
Marriage or relationship issues |
15 |
24 |
13 |
52 |
Parenting or family related issues |
18 |
25 |
10 |
52 |
Mental health issues (e.g. Psychosis, Depression, Anxiety, etc) |
2 |
17 |
39 |
57 |
Grief and loss |
26 |
22 |
2 |
50 |
Child abuse/neglect |
10 |
18 |
26 |
54 |
Domestic violence |
5 |
20 |
30 |
55 |
Struggles with finance/career |
22 |
26 |
3 |
51 |
Alcoholism and substance abuse |
3 |
21 |
33 |
57 |
Pornography, Computer and Internet Addiction |
13 |
27 |
14 |
54 |
4-What role do you think the church should have in the counseling process? |
||
Responses |
% |
N |
Prayer and support |
94.6% |
53 |
Referral |
94.6% |
53 |
Provide one-to one- counseling |
71.4% |
40 |
Lay counseling |
50.0% |
28 |
Support Group (e.g. Christian Recovery Group) |
76.8% |
43 |
Seminars |
69.6% |
39 |
Messages that are relevant life issues |
83.9% |
47 |
Other
|
||
5-To what counseling professionals or agencies do you as a leader or church currently make referrals or have you made referrals? (Check all that apply) |
||
Responses |
% |
N |
Christian Counseling agencies |
60% |
42 |
Individual Christian therapist |
41% |
29 |
Individual therapist (not necessarily Christian) |
26% |
18 |
Church-based counseling agency |
13% |
9 |
Don’t know |
13% |
9 |
Other
|
||
6-In your opinion what barriers most commonly keep Christians in Boston from receiving Christian counseling when it is needed? |
|||||
Responses |
No difficulty |
Somewhat |
Difficulty |
Extreme difficulty |
Total |
Unavailability of competent counselors |
1 |
26 |
22 |
6 |
55 |
Fear or unwillingness to seek help |
3 |
16 |
21 |
12 |
52 |
The inability to afford Christian counseling |
3 |
15 |
27 |
10 |
55 |
Lack of referrals or not knowing where to find Christian counselors |
0 |
13 |
26 |
16 |
55 |
Distrust of counselors unless recommended by their pastor or a trusted leader |
5 |
34 |
11 |
4 |
54 |
Social stigma |
6 |
21 |
12 |
13 |
52 |
Social/cultural/language issues |
9 |
22 |
12 |
11 |
54 |
Other
|
|||||
7-What ways might your church work in collaboration with Christian Counseling Agencies towards the vision of providing affordable counseling in Metro Boston? |
||
Responses |
% |
N |
Training and seminars |
64.3% |
36 |
Getting and sharing information about Christian counselors |
94.6% |
53 |
Providing individuals who serve on an agency board or other roles |
42.9% |
24 |
Exploring ways to make counseling available to the underserved |
71.4% |
40 |
Provide church facility as a counseling center |
33.9% |
19 |
Financial support |
44.6% |
25 |
Other
|
||
Most of the respondents felt that they did not have the skills or training required to handle mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, suicide, addiction. They feel that counseling issues are best handled by professional counselors and they prefer to refer such cases to a professional counselor, especially those cases that are clinical in nature or those cases not resolved in three to four visits.
The most common mental health problems that Christians in the Boston area face are ranked in the following order:
The following mental health problems and/or counseling issues most require referral by pastors and church leaders to outside agencies and therapists
The primary role of the church in the counseling process (ranked):
Referral Agencies you have used in the past for Christian Counseling (Ranked)
Note: 8 respondents reported, They don’t know, None because we had no knowledge of such agencies in area, Paucity of options
Barriers most commonly keep Christians in Boston from receiving Christian counseling when it is needed (ranked)
Church collaboration with Christian counseling agencies towards the vision of providing affordable counseling in Metro Boston (ranked)
As a preliminary survey and report, this is an initial investigation that begins to address a much larger realm of questions on the topic that could and should be expanded and refined in the future by Metro Boston church leaders and counseling agencies.
Bradford Smith, a Boston-based Christian psychologist and Director of Care and Counsel International (CCI) notes, "Ministering to the psycho-social needs of people is often the 'hole' in the wholistic mission of the church. We tend to divide the person into parts. The pastor cares for the spiritual, the counselor cares for the psycho-social, the psychiatrist cares for biologically-based problems, and so on. Jesus saw people in their wholeness and in the context of their community. The challenge for us as caregivers in Boston and around the world is to get to know and trust one another and integrate our approaches so that we can work together. It's essential that churches and Christian counselors develop stronger collaborative networks. CCI is playing a role in birthing these networks globally and, despite living within a stone's throw of some of the greatest academic and medical institutions in the world, the need for compassionate, biblically-informed care and counsel at home here in Boston is tremendous."
For additional information regarding this report please contact:
Thomas Idiculla, Ph.D., President, Agape Partners International, Waltham, MA (www.agapepartners.org, tidiculla[at]agapepartners.org); Director, Mental Health Services Evaluation Department, McLean Hospital, Affiliate of Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA; 781-223-0082
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