Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

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Evaluation of a clergy stress management intervention
(2003) Arumugam, Stanley; Edwards, S.D.
The ministry is regarded by many as one of the most stressful vocations. Researchers highlight the need for clergy self care as a strategy in the management of stress and the prevention of burnout. This research study documents the design, implementation and evaluation of a clergy stress management programme as a health promotion intervention. A series of one day workshops was facilitated amongst forty five ministers from various denominations selected by their membership of the ministers fraternals in Stanger, Richards Bay, Tongaat and Secunda communities. The effectiveness of the clergy stress management programme was evaluated using a phenomenological approach. There was unanimous report of high satisfaction levels related to clergy experience of the workshops. The most common themes reported by participants were that the workshop provided them with an opportunity for personal empowerment in that it challenged some of their faulty thinking about ministry life and calling, encouraged personal insight for new behaviour, improved their knowledge of stress and gave them practical tools to manage personal stress. The stress management intervention was also described as an opportunity for renewal and restoration. This study confirms the need for holistic health promotion interventions amongst the clergy as an important group of helping professionals.