---
title: "Psych News Alert: Youth Pastors Regularly Encounter Mental Illness, Yet Feel Ill-Equipped to Help, Study Finds"
description: Almost all pastors who deal with adolescents will encounter a mental health and/or substance abuse issue among their congregation and can...
image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/pastor_227256166-Jun-24-2025-03-43-04-2761-PM.gif
---

 6/24/24 11:16 AM

# Youth Pastors Regularly Encounter Mental Illness, Yet Feel Ill-Equipped to Help, Study Finds

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert)

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Almost all pastors who deal with adolescents will encounter a mental health and/or substance abuse issue among their congregation and can serve as a valuable source of guidance, yet only a quarter of them feel that they are qualified to recognize problems and help these troubled youth.

This finding comes from [a study](http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13674676.2014.966663#.VF0ziWctEcs) carried out by researchers at Baylor University who surveyed a broad scope of youth and college pastors across Texas.

The survey found almost 80 percent of youth pastors worked with at least one adolescent a year whom they knew or at least suspected had a mental health issue. However, fewer felt prepared for these situations; about 50 percent reported having some training related to mental illness, while only 26 percent felt qualified to work with young people dealing with a mental problem.

Many of these pastors did refer their adolescents to other professionals; 76 percent referred people to Christian counselors, 51 percent to a psychologist, and 34 percent to a psychiatrist. The pastors felt that a lack of connections was the biggest barrier in preventing them from working with mental health professionals with more frequency.

“Youth and college pastors want to get involved, which is a very positive sign,” said lead author Matthew Stanford, Ph.D., a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor. “They could be a key group that can help build a bridge between the psychiatric and religious communities.”

To read about APA’s efforts at bringing together psychiatry and faith, see the *Psychiatric News* article “[APA Hosts Meeting to Build Bridges Between Faith, Mental Health Communities](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.pn.2014.8a1).” You can also read APA President Paul Summergrad, M.D.’s column, “[Psychiatry and the Faith Community](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.pn.2014.8b24).”

(Shutterstock/iluistrator)

[adolescent mental health](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/adolescent-mental-health), [Mental Health and Faith Community Partnership](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/mental-health-and-faith-community-partnership), [psychiatry and faith](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/psychiatry-and-faith)

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