Clergy's Knowledge of Psychopathology

Abstract

Although the literature suggests that clergy provide a substantial amount of psychotherapeutic counseling, and that potential clients seek out the clergy as a primary source of psychotherapeutic assistance, little is known about the degree of knowledge that clergy have about basic psychopathology. A 120-item multiple choice test was developed to assess knowledge about psychopathology, based on the material covered in Abnormal Psychology courses. The test was administered to clinical psychologists, graduate students in Clinical and Counseling programs, undergraduate students in Abnormal and in Introductory Psychology, and to clergy including Catholic priests, Jewish rabbis, Protestant ministers, Eastern religious leaders and those in nontraditional ministries. Clergy scored lowest of all groups, indicating a lack of exposure to basic material and/or lack of knowledge of psychopathology.