Beyond mental health stigma: Youth leaders’ voices through an African theology of hospitality

Abstract

The intersection of youth mental health and theological reflection and praxis is critical yet scarce within African contexts. Public health evidence shows the prevalence of mental health crises, and this evidence is usually limited to healthcare contexts such as hospitals or within public policymaking. In the backdrop of the COVID context of psychological, social and cultural displacements of young people, the effects on mental health are deleterious. This paper isolates mental health stigma through a mixed-methods analysis of data from 187 Kenyan emerging adults (19 to 29 years old) and 9 youth pastors in diverse Christian congregations. The paper shows that youth workers (or pastors), as directly involved in providing ministry to young people, serve as catalysts in the church’s response in fostering mental health wellbeing. This paper (1) provides empirical evidence of the prevalence of mental health issues among emerging adults in Kenyan congregations (2) examines the African contextual issues that lead to stigmatisation of young people undergoing mental health adversities, and (3) proposes a theology of hospitality that can be integrated within youth ministry models as a decolonial intervention for building better mental health resilience. The paper broadly shows how science (psychology) engaged theology can serve as a resource for interrogating social and psychological realities facing communities of faith, and lead to more hope-giving theological practices for leading young people homeward, towards psychological flourishing.