RELIGIOUS BELIEF AND THE PRACTICE OF PSYCHIATRY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.v5i2.16Keywords:
mental health, spirituality, religion, psychiatry, spiritual illnessAbstract
A psychiatrist reflects upon his long experience of the complex interaction between religion and psychiatry. Although committed to the advances brought by the bio medical approach to illness, he identifies a widespread neglect of the Spiritual in mental health care, which belies its claim to be truly holistic. The article discusses the concept of spiritual illness and the limits of psychiatry, and then poses the question whether religious belief is good for a person’s mental health. In his conclusion the author, himself a Christian, underlines the need for psychiatry to have the fullest possible understanding of the patient’s world view, and that this will necessarily involve a consideration of the importance of the Spiritual.
References
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LARSON D. B. 1992 Associations between Dimensions of Religious Commitment and Mental Health. American Journal of Psychiatry 1992; 149, 557-9
LE FANU J. 1995 The Spiritual Disease. Sunday Telegraph, 9 July,1995.
MACLEOD D. 1988 Religion and Mental Illness in Caring for the mentally ill. Free Church Monthly Record, Jan and Feb 1988
MCCANDLESS J. B. 1984 Christian Commitment and a “Docetic” view of human emotions. Journal of Religion and Health 1984; 23, 2, 125-137
NOLAN P., CRAWFORD P. 1997 Towards a rhetoric of spirituality in mental health care. Journal of Advanced Nursing 1997; 26, 289-294
SCHUMAKER J. F. ed. 1992 Religion and Mental Health. Oxford University Press.
SIMS ACP 1994 Psyche – Spirit as well as Mind. British Journal of Psychiatry 1994; 165, 441-6
BLAZER D FREUD VS. GOD 1998 How Psychiatry lost its Soul and Christianity lost its mind. Inter Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois
FAULKNER A. 1997 Knowing Our Own Minds London, Mental Health Foundation.
JEEVES M. 1978 Psychology and Christianity – the view both ways. Inter Varsity Press, Leicester.
LARSON D B, PATTISON E M, BLAZER D G, OMRAN A R, AND KAPLAN B H 1986 Systemic Analysis of Research on Religious Variables in Four Major Psychiatric Journals, 1978-1982 American Journal of Psychiatry 1986; 143:3, 329-334
LARSON D. B. 1992 Associations between Dimensions of Religious Commitment and Mental Health. American Journal of Psychiatry 1992; 149, 557-9
LE FANU J. 1995 The Spiritual Disease. Sunday Telegraph, 9 July,1995.
MACLEOD D. 1988 Religion and Mental Illness in Caring for the mentally ill. Free Church Monthly Record, Jan and Feb 1988
MCCANDLESS J. B. 1984 Christian Commitment and a “Docetic” view of human emotions. Journal of Religion and Health 1984; 23, 2, 125-137
NOLAN P., CRAWFORD P. 1997 Towards a rhetoric of spirituality in mental health care. Journal of Advanced Nursing 1997; 26, 289-294
SCHUMAKER J. F. ed. 1992 Religion and Mental Health. Oxford University Press.
SIMS ACP 1994 Psyche – Spirit as well as Mind. British Journal of Psychiatry 1994; 165, 441-6
Published
2013-05-31
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Brown, T. (2013). RELIGIOUS BELIEF AND THE PRACTICE OF PSYCHIATRY. Health and Social Care Chaplaincy, 5(2), 16-20. https://doi.org/10.1558/hscc.v5i2.16
