TPC Journal-Vol 9 Issue 3-FULL

172 The Professional Counselor | Volume 9, Issue 3 African Americans that do access care, they can receive the wrong diagnosis or be prescribed higher dosages of medication (NAMI, 2018). Additionally, when African Americans believe there is a mental health problem, they take concerns to a primary care provider versus a mental health professional (Hays & Lincoln, 2017). Often, African Americans feel most comfortable seeking support for emotional and mental health concerns from their religious communities (Avent, Cashwell, & Brown-Jeffy, 2015). Faith and spirituality are reliable resources for African American communities (Hays & Lincoln, 2017; NAMI, 2018; Young, Griffith, & Williams, 2003) and can provide a means to cope when engagement in counseling services is low. Turner, Hastings, and Neighbors (2018) conducted a study with a large number of participants ( N = 5,008) focusing on the mental health help-seeking patterns of African American and Black Caribbean adults. These researchers sought to understand the relationship between race, ethnicity, religion, and help-seeking. Their results indicated that older adults with a stronger connection to their religion were more likely to participate in counseling (Turner et al., 2018). In many ways, this finding conflicts with some previous findings that suggest higher religiosity might decrease mental health treatment usage (Avent Harris & Wong, 2018). Researchers must continue to investigate this phenomenon and seek opportunities to harness religious coping as a pathway to mental health and wellness among African Americans. The Role of Religious Coping in Mental Health Although researchers are intrigued by religion’s role in mental health outcomes, religious coping remains a complicated construct to unpack. Religion is often a source of support and provides a sense of meaning when experiencing difficult life stressors (Park, 2005). According to Jackson and Bergeman (2011), multiple benefits for religiosity include resilience, broader support system, sense of meaning and hope, and perceived control over circumstances. Religious coping is often accessible and includes but is not limited to prayer, meditation, and worship (Pargament, Smith, Koenig, & Perez, 1998). Pargament, Feuille, and Burdzy (2011) recognize Pargament et al.’s (1998) Brief Religious Coping (Brief RCOPE) scale as the most common assessment of religious coping. In this quantitative assessment, individuals can identify the particular religious coping strategies they use (e.g., looked for a stronger connection with God ). Pargament et al. (1998) found that religious coping can be classified as negative or positive. Usually those who employ adaptive coping strategies create opportunities to incorporate belief in God in a healthy way, coalescing religious strategies with coping tools received in mental health treatment. However, it also is possible for individuals to engage in maladaptive forms of religious coping. This is characterized by depending solely on God for action and often blaming God when adverse circumstances persist (Avent, 2016; Pargament et al., 1998). Maladaptive religious coping is linked to negative health outcomes (Pargament et al., 2011). Further, there are psychological implications of negative religious coping. When individuals depend solely on spirituality without therapeutically confronting traumas and emotional symptoms, they miss opportunities to uncover and appropriately heal from past and present hurts (Avent, 2016). Although African Americans are known to use faith and spirituality to address emotional, physical, and psychological concerns, the research remains limited on how these strategies are enacted. Although there is extensive research with the Brief RCOPE, Pargament et al. (2011) recommend further investigation into the instrument’s application with diverse populations. The brief nature of the assessment allows counselors to obtain information in a short amount of time; however, it might limit the amount of data collected and other styles of religious coping can remain unaccounted for. Thus, it