psychotherapy with african american women with depression is it okay to talk about their religiousspiritual beliefs心理治疗与非裔美国女性抑郁症是可以谈论他们religiousspiritual信仰.pdfVIP

Religions 2012, 3, 19–36; doi:10.3390/rel3010019 OPEN ACCESS religions ISSN 2077-1444 /journal/religions Article Psychotherapy with African American Women with Depression: Is it okay to Talk about Their Religious/Spiritual Beliefs? Maigenete Mengesha 1 and Earlise C. Ward 2,* 1 Department of Counseling Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Education, 1000 Bascom Mall, Madison, WI, 53706, USA; E-Mail: mengesha@ 2 Clinical Science Center, School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin, K6/ 340600 Highland Ave Madison, WI 53792, USA * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: ecward@; Tel.: +1-608-263-0745. Received: 17 December 2011; in revisedform: 10 January 2012 / Accepted: 10 January 2012 / Published: 18 January 2012 Abstract: A growing body of research focusing on African Americans‘ mental health is showing that this group relies heavily on their religious/spiritual beliefs and practices to cope with mental health issues including depression. Unfortunately, the psychotherapy literature provides little guidance on how to incorporate religion/spirituality into psychotherapy with African American women. With the growing cultural diversity of the U.S. population, there has been more emphasis on providing patient-centered culturally sensitive care, which involves providing care that is respectful of, and responsive to, individual patient preferences, needs, and values. This paper provides a synthesis of literature that psychotherapists coul