Dr. J. K. Mutiso. Do not seem to have much in common But there is increasing awareness Aspects of spirituality offer benefits for Mental Health All healthcare.

Dr. J. K. Mutiso

•Do not seem to have much in common•But there is increasing awareness•Aspects of spirituality offer benefits for Mental Health•All healthcare strives to relieve pain and suffering•But good healthcare tries to do more•Focuses on the person not just the disease•A person includes body, soul, spirit

Body

Soul

Body interacts with environment via five sensesTouchSightHearingSmellTaste

Soul interacts with others and society Mind… thought processesVolition…decision makingHeart…emotional state

SpiritGives meaning and purposePeople’s deepest valuesHolds out hope and healing in loss

Connects with the beyondInteraction with the spiritual world.

Some Scholarly Articles“Recent studies have found that spirituality may serve as a psychological and psychosocial resource for coping with stress:” Koenig H. G. (Spirituality and mental health) International journal of psycho-analysis 2010.

Some Scholarly Articles“ A person's sense of spirituality informs his or her awareness of self and the society around them, and is intrinsic to their mental well-being” Swinton J. (Spirituality and mental healthcare: rediscovering of a “forgotten” dimension) 2012.

Some Scholarly Articles“all along, the majority position of psychiatry has been that psychiatry has nothing to do with spirituality. Religious beliefs and practices have long been thought to have pathological basis and psychiatrists have understood them in this light…”Verghese A. (Spirituality and mental health). Indian Journal of Psychiatry 2010.

Kenneth Pargament 2013Leading expert in psychology of spiritualityEditor-in-chief, “APA Handbooks of

Psychology, religion and Spirituality”(2013)Empirical studies of many groups dealing

with Major stressorsNatural disastersIllness And loss of loved onesDivorceSerious mental illness

Kenneth Pargament 2013Show spirituality is helpful to people in copingEspecially where resources are fewest

Or problems are uncontrollable

Kenneth Pargament 2013Positive spiritual coping methods

Spiritual support from GodRituals to facilitate life transitionsSpiritual forgivenessSupport from religious institutions/clergyReframing stressors into a benevolent

system of meaning

Kenneth Pargament 2013For mental health workers unfamiliar

with spirituality he advises, “put their toes in the water.”

“Ask their clients a question or two about their spirituality.”

“Communicate your own interest in spirituality

Large majority of mental health workers receive no training in spirituality

This has to change!

People with mental health problems need:To feel safe and secureTo be treated with dignity and respectTo feel they belong and are valuedTo make sense of their life and illnessTo develop their relationship with God

Benefits of spirituality in Mental healthFaster/easier recovery in some cases (e.g. grief)

Better relationships withSelfOthersGodEnvironmentNature

•A time, place and privacy to worship

•Reassurance that mental health

workers respect spirituality

•Encouragement in faith – chaplaincy

•Sometimes – be helped with

forgiveness

Place of Chaplaincy/Pastoral careTimes have changedChaplains are increasingly part of healthcare teams

CPE = Clinical Pastoral ExperienceGet on well with local clergy and faith communities

Work closely with themMake referrals when appropriate

Further Reading Barker P. & Buchanan-Barker P. (Eds). (2003) Spirituality and Mental Health:

Breakthrough.Whurr. Butler-Bowen T. (2006) 50 Spiritual Classics. Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Cook, C., Powell, A. & Sims, A. (Eds) (2009) Spirituality and Psychiatry. RCPsych Publicati

ons. Coyte M. Gilbert, P. & Nicholls V. (Eds.) (2007) Spirituality, Values and Mental Health:

Jewels for the Journey. Jessica Kingsley. Culliford L. (2007) Love, Healing and Happiness. O Books. Fontana D. (2003) Psychology, Religion and Spirituality. BPS Blackwell. Forest J. (2007) The Road to Emmaus: Pilgrimage as a Way of Life. Orbis Books. Galanter M. (2005) Spirituality and the Healthy Mind: science, therapy, and the need for

personal meaning. Oxford University Press. Kabat-Zinn J. (2004) Wherever You Go, There You Are. Piatkus Books. Koenig H.G. (2013) Spirituality in Patient Care: Why, How, When, and What, West

Conshohocken, PA, Templeton. Kornfield J. (1994) A Path With Heart. Rider. Nataraja S. (2008) The Blissful Brain. Gaia Books. Post S. & Neimark J. (2007) Why Good Things Happen to Good People. Broadway Books. Royal College of Psychiatrists (2013) 

Recommendations for psychiatrists on spirituality and religion. Scott Peck M. (1997) The Road Less Travelled. Rider. Swinton J. (2001) Spirituality and Mental Health Care: Rediscovering a Forgotten

Dimension.Jessica Kingsley. Whiteside P. (2001) Happiness: The 30-Day Guide. Rider.

Websites

The Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group

The Multi-Faith Group for Healthcare Chaplaincy website has valuable information about traditions, symbols, teachings and practices of nine world religions.

The National Spirituality and Mental Health Forum - an independent registered multi-faith charity.For additional resources, try typing ‘spirituality and health’, or ‘spirituality and psychiatry’ into an internet search engine.

References Anandarajah G. & Hight E. (2001) Spirituality and Medical Practice: using the HOPE

questions as a practical tool for spiritual assessment. American Family Physician, 63, 81– 92. Cook C.C.H (2009) Substance Misuse. In Cook, C., Powell, A. & Sims, A. (Eds) Spirituality and

Psychiatry 139-168 RCPsych Publications. Cook C.C.H. (2013) Controversies on the Place of Spirituality and Religion in Psychiatric

Practice. In Cook C.C.H. (Ed.) Spirituality, Theology and Mental Health, London, SCM, 1-19. Craigie F.C. (2008) Positive Spirituality in Health Care. Minneapolis, Mill City. Culliford L. (2002) Spirituality and Clinical Care. British Medical Journal. 325:1434-5. Culliford L. (2007) Taking a Spiritual History. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 13, 212-219. Culliford L. (2009) Teaching Spirituality and Healthcare to 3rd Year Medical Students. The

Clinical Teacher, Volume 6, Issue 1, pages 22-27, March 2009. Eagger S. (2005) ‘A guide to the assessment of spiritual concerns in mental

healthcare’. Faulkner A. (1997) Knowing our own minds. London: Mental Health Foundation. Gilbert P. & Nicholls V. (2003) Inspiring Hope: Recognising the Importance of Spirituality in a

Whole Person Approach to Mental Health. London: National Institute for Mental Health in England.

Gilbert, P. (2009) Introducing compassion-focused therapy Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 15, 199-208.

Koenig H., McCullough M., & Larson D. (2001) Handbook of Religion and Health. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Neely D. & Minford E. (2009) FAITH: spiritual history-taking made easy. Clinical Teacher. 6: 181-185.

Swinton J. (2002) Spirituality and the Lives of People With Learning Disabilities. The Tizard Learning Disability Review. 7, 4: 29-35.

World Health Organization. (1998) WHOQOL and Spirituality, Religiousness and Personal Beliefs: Report on WHO Consultation. Geneva: WHO.