“The black church can no longer be used for so-called one-stop shopping,” said Sherry Molock, an associate professor of psychology at George Washington University and co-pastor of the Beloved Community Church in Accokeek, where she offers therapy to parishioners.

“Prayer and connection to the church are all very beneficial, but it’s going to take more than that for someone who’s suffering from depression,” she said. “You do a disservice to your congregation to believe that you can treat people with serious mental illness” without professional help.

More churches in the Washington area are requiring their clergy to be trained in mental health counseling and referring parishioners to mental health professionals, she said. “In reality, we’re a team, and everyone has a role to play.”

Since her first visit to her university counselor, Dyson has gone from someone who used to hide that she was in therapy to someone who makes a living talking about it.

Her family didn’t really understand until this year. “They came and heard me speak, and it clicked,” she said. “They said, ‘We didn’t know how much pain you were in.’ ”

Her father, the Baptist minister, still doesn’t talk about it. But, she said, “he tells me he is extremely proud of me.”

Read the original article here:http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/therapists-say-african-americans-are-increasingly-seeking-help-for-mental-illness/2013/07/09/9b15cb4c-e400-11e2-a11e-c2ea876a8f30_story.html