2025 Mental Health Summit for Clergy

The 2025 Mental Health Summit for Clergy is a three-hour virtual summit designed to equip clergy with essential mental health knowledge to better support themselves and their congregations. Through expert-led sessions and practical discussions, participants will explore how to recognize mental health challenges and respond with care, how to build effective partnerships with community mental health, and learn how to intentionally weave mental health and wellness awareness into every aspect of congregational life, from sermons and small groups to outreach and pastoral care. As we acknowledge the emotional demands of ministry, this summit also offers tools to support clergy well-being as they become informed, compassionate leaders in promoting mental well-being in their faith communities.  

Agenda (all times Eastern)

11:15am        Welcome and Centering
                         Rev. Joselyn Spence  

11:25am       Session 1: Keynote – Recognizing Mental Health
                        Dr. LaVerne Collins  

12:15pm      Session 2: Incorporating MH in Congregational Life
                       Rev. Joselyn Spence

12:50pm     Small Break  

1:15pm        Session 3: Clergy Wellness
                       Rev. Joselyn Spence

1:50pm       Small Groups
                       NBA’s Mental Health & Wellness Team and Special Guests  

2:20pm      Closing  

Speakers: 

Rev. Joselyn Spence, LPC, ATR, RYT serves as the Director of the NBA’s Mental Health and Wellness Initiative. In this role, Joselyn works to design and implement programs that promote holistic wellness across all NBA programs. This work is done through the creation of learning resources for clergy and community leaders, addressing the needs of pastors in a variety of ministry settings, sharing the stories that help to eliminate stigmas related to mental health and wellness. She is passionate about mental health care, holistic wellness, communal care ethics, and spirituality. As a holistic wellness specialist, she has worked at the intersection of these passions to develop research and provide empathic care to all she is called to serve.

Dr. LaVerne Collins is a National Certified Counselor and owner of a private practice and counselor training company, New Seasons Counseling, Training and Consulting, Inc., as well as the owner of Collins Christian Life Coaching, LLC. Working as a counselor, writer, professional coach, mentor, trainer, workshop presenter, minister and serial entrepreneur for over 25 years, she has vast experience in helping people and organizations manage life’s unexpected crises, grief and loss issues, relationship issues, and mental health. Dr. Collins is the author of two books, The Fruit of Your Pain: Experiencing Spiritual Renewal Through Seasons of Struggle and OVERLOOKED: Counselor Insights for the Unspoken Issues in Black American Life. 

Additionally, she has published several works in professional textbooks and trade publications, including a two-year “Honoring Diversity” series focused on cultural competence in clinical work for the American Counseling Association’s Counseling Today magazine. She is also a contributing author to Multicultural Counseling: Responding with Cultural Humility, Empathy, and Advocacy and Sage Encyclopedia of Multicultural Counseling, Social Justice, and Advocacy. In addition to various clinical roles, Dr. Collins served as the Program Director and Interim Vice President for the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) Foundation and Professional Services Division.  She was also an adjunct professor/lecturer in Counselor Education and Development at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro (UNCG), and currently, she serves on the Industry Advisory Council for the University of Phoenix.

Dr. Collins has a dual bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and an M.S. Ed in Community Counseling from Duquesne University. She holds a Ph.D. in Christian Counseling from South Florida Bible College and Theological Seminary. She is certified in coaching, clinical supervision, grief, trauma, integrative nutrition coaching, telehealth counseling, and addiction counseling.