The clergyman's role in community mental health

Abstract

A review of the literature in the field of pastoral psychology indicates that much has been written about the emerging role of the clergy in commu nity mental health. In most of these articles and books this role is defined largely in terms of kinds of things the clergyman should or should not do. For example, it is suggested that he make an effort to understand the emo tional needs of his parishioners as well as create an atmosphere in his church where the isolated person can seek out and establish relationships of mutual trust with others. But he is cautioned against acting as an authoritarian figure when counseling an emotionally disturbed parishioner. He is also cautioned against attempting to cope with problems beyond his competence as a counselor. These kinds of prescriptions and proscriptions provide, in effect, a normative definition (i.e., a set of expectations for behavior) of the mental health role of the clergy as defined in the lit erature. The existence of a defined mental health role in the literature does not, of course, guarantee that it has been accepted as a legitimate part of the pastoral ministry. In view of this, one can ask the following questions: