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Cho, Gloria Hyun Young

University of British Columbia

This thesis explored the perspectives of Korean pastors on the mental health and related needs of Korean-Canadians. Pastors were the focus of this study due to their community leadership roles within the Church, which could offer them unique insights into the Korean immigrant community. This qualitative study aimed to identify the needs of the community, the role of the church in meeting those needs, and what pastors believed would help them foster mental health and well-being in their congregants. Seven Korean pastors with diverse backgrounds and experiences were interviewed using a semi-structured guide. Using interpretive description (Thorne et al., 1997), the findings from the thematic analysis were contextualized within the framework of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological model (1979). The study revealed four main themes. The first theme identified unique mental health concerns of different generations of Korean-Canadian immigrants. In 1st generation immigrants, social isolation was the main stressor, whereas economic and general life stressors were of greater concern for 1.5 and 2nd generation immigrants. The second theme discussed faith's dual role in mental health. Although the hope provided through faith was a strong protective factor against mental health concerns, faith also had the potential to adversely impact mental health. The third theme explored the church's role as a place for social support and cultural connection. Differences between the older, 1st generation and the younger, 2nd generation of immigrants were evident. Theme three also highlighted pastors’ acknowledgements of their own limitations in supporting mental health concerns within their congregations. Finally, the fourth theme focused on pastors' desire for psychoeducation and preferred formats for the delivery of this information, as well as their views on collaborating with mental health professionals and preference for Korean-Christian professionals. The multi-faceted role of the Korean-Canadian church provides many opportunities to foster the mental health of Korean immigrants. It is crucial to understand the differences within this population and contextualize them within the stressors unique to the Korean immigrant community. By doing so, relationships within the Church can be leveraged to encourage psychoeducation and help-seeking, reduce stigma, and build strong social supports within the Korean-Canadian community.

Text

2024-08-23

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/89017

Psychology

University of British Columbia

UBCO

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/