Faith-Integrated Mental Health Interventions for African and Afro-Caribbean Populations: A Systematic Review

Faith-integrated mental health and addiction interventions occupy a critical but underresearched niche in the treatment landscape for African and Afro-Caribbean populations in North America, the United Kingdom, and sub-Saharan Africa. Despite consistent evidence that spirituality is a primary coping resource and meaning-making framework for these populations, the evidence base for structured faith-integrated clinical interventions remains fragmented and insufficiently synthesized. This systematic review examines the effectiveness, components, and implementation characteristics of faith-integrated mental health and addiction interventions delivered to African and Afro-Caribbean populations. Electronic databases searched included PsycINFO, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science, and JSTOR, covering the period from 2000 to 2024. A total of 4,217 records were identified; 43 studies were included following PRISMA-guided screening and quality assessment using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Key findings indicate that faith integration consistently improves engagement, retention, and cultural acceptability; that formal integration of spiritual components with clinical modalities produces superior outcomes to adjunct spirituality models; and that congregation-based support activation is the most underutilized yet highest-potential component across the included studies. Moderating factors including denominational tradition, clergy training levels, organizational capacity, and degree of clinical-congregational collaboration meaningfully influenced implementation outcomes across settings. Implications for clinical practice, counselor training, health equity policy, and future research are identified and discussed in relation to the persistent treatment access gaps facing African and Afro-Caribbean communities in diaspora and home-country contexts.