Gerontology and Geriatrics Education: Study Shows How CADER Course Helps Faith Leaders Address Older Adults’ Mental Health Concerns  

The need for mental health services for older adults continues to grow alongside the older adult population in the United States. Faith leaders and faith communities can play a key role in connecting older adults to essential mental health services, as older adults attend religious services more than any other age group.

The Center for Aging and Disability Education and Research at Boston University School of Social Work developed a course to address this need. Mental Health and Aging for Faith Leaders trains faith leaders to identify and respond to mental health concerns in older adults. In a recent study, Bronwyn Keefe, CADER director, and Annalee Wilson, CADER evaluation and workforce training manager, alongside partners at Rush University, examined how the course prepares faith leaders to support older adult mental health.

A Course Built on Research and Firsthand Expertise

The Mental Health and Aging for Faith Leaders course is a self-paced, online course open to faith leaders and members of faith communities. Throughout the course, learners study the mental health conditions that affect older adults, build an understanding of barriers to treatment, develop skills to discuss mental health with older adults, and learn to refer them to resources and services.

The Powerful Impact of Faith Leader Training

A total of 44 faith leaders piloted the Mental Health and Aging for Faith Leaders course. Learners completed a self-assessment of their skills related to mental health and aging before and after completing the course, including the ability to describe various mental health conditions, identify mental health resources, and support resilience. Those who completed the course saw a significant increase in their self-assessed skills after completing the course.

When asked how they will apply what they learned, faith leaders said that they will pay more attention to the mental health of older adults in their faith community and implement more mental health programming. Many also intended to promote awareness of aging and mental health.

A Plan for Future Care

The study shows that this type of training can prepare faith leaders to better respond to older adults’ mental health concerns. Faith communities are a trusted resource for older adults, and these spaces can play a strong role in addressing common mental health challenges. Given that this training is highly scalable, the research team hopes to expand it to other faith communities and to gather additional data on how faith leaders have implemented what they have learned.