| Summary: | The first paper is an in-depth literature review into the knowledge and representations of mental health conditions within faith communities. From the literature it appeared that there was an undeveloped area of research into the reporting of experiences of mental health conditions, from within congregations and from individual, key informants within these settings. In particular, my interest lay in Pentecostal Christians due to previous research which highlighted the potential areas of concern in accessing support through mental health agencies. Subsequently the second paper utilised a focus group method to explore how three Pentecostal congregations conceptualised mental health conditions, and also sought to identify their experiences of being in contact with individuals with mental health conditions. Following on from this, the third paper used a case study approach to access how key informants made sense of their unique experiences of disclosing their mental health conditions within their congregations. The aim of this was to provide further clarity and insight into how Counselling Psychologists can aid the process of efficient liaison work between churches and mental health agencies.
|
|---|
