The Qualitative Study of the African American Pastors' Perceptions of Marriage and Family Therapists

This phenomenological study investigates African American pastors' perceptions regarding mental health practitioners' roles. The research aims to comprehend the perspectives and experiences of ten participants, allowing them to select the location for data collection. This study investigates the relationship between interpretive phenomenon analysis and the perceptions of African American pastors using the hermeneutic phenomenology framework established by influential thinkers such as Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Sartre (Smith et al., 2022). As a philosophical discipline, phenomenology emphasizes the importance of an individual's lived experiences and worldview. Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Sartre have contributed to this discipline by emphasizing the inseparable relationship between a person's identity and environment, which includes their social network, language, cultural influences, and concerns. Collectively, these factors contribute to a sense of “being there.” For this phenomenological study, data collection will involve conducting in-depth, semi-structured interviews with African American pastors to collect comprehensive descriptions of their experiences. The subsequent data analysis will identify patterns and themes within the participants' accounts. This study aims to shed light on the perspectives of African American pastors regarding mental health professionals, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of their experiences and potentially informing the development of culturally sensitive approaches to mental health care.