A Best Practice Handbook on Effective Collaboration for Faith Leaders and Licensed Mental Health Clinicians
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Authors
Smith, Dedra
Issue Date
2026-05
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
collaboration , Faith Leaders , Licensed Mental Health Clinicians
Alternative Title
Abstract
Faith leaders and mental health clinicians are important people of power. They have the ability to shift an entire community with their words. Many individuals that have a mental health disorder and a strong faith background tend to rely heavily on their faith community even when they need additional support from the mental health community. The problem addressed in this project was the lack of collaboration between licensed mental health clinicians and faith leaders who work with congregants who suffer from mental health illnesses. The purpose of this qualitative project was to explore the barriers of effective collaboration between faith leaders and mental health clinicians, so that congregants who struggle with mental health disorders can have support from faith leaders and mental health clinicians simultaneously. Helene Anderson’s collaboration dialogue theory was used as the guiding theoretical framework for the project. This scholar explored how language, knowledge, being/belonging is the foundation to collaborative dialogue and how faith leaders and mental health clinicians interpret information and understanding from each other’s perspective. Twelve participants participated in this project consisting of six mental health clinicians and six faith leaders. The project question explored what was needed to develop a best practice handbook to increase collaboration between licensed mental health clinicians and faith leaders who work with congregants who suffer from mental health disabilities. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews. NVivo 15 software was used for data analysis, and three major themes emerged, including building relationships, barriers to collaboration, and the impact of mental health in the place of worship. The findings of this project suggested that faith leaders and mental health clinicians have barriers related to trusting one another. It is recommended that faith leaders and mental health clinicians complete training on building relationships through training and education and remove barriers to collaboration.