How spirituality can improve mental health treatment

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Am Fam Physician. The latter measure is the only instrument directed specifically for mental health and takes minutes to complete. It is more useful for mental health professionals, as it provides a more comprehensive exploration of psychosocial issues. Besides assessment, the SH may also have therapeutic implications, sending a message to patients that the clinician is concerned with the whole person.

D'Souza R. The importance of spirituality in medicine and its application to clinical practice. Med J Aust. To our knowledge, the first study to investigate the feasibility and impact of taking a SH was by Kristeller et al. Int J Psychiatry Med. These investigators studied consecutive outpatients of four oncologists. Patients were alternately assigned to either usual care or usual care plus a SH, which lasted about 6 minutes on average.

The SH was well-accepted by patients and oncologists. After 3 weeks, patients from whom the SH had been obtained showed less depressive symptoms, better quality of life, and a greater sense of interpersonal caring from their physicians compared to the control group.

In another study, 45 Aging Ment Health. No patient said it was not important at all. Likewise, in a recent study of 3, internal medicine inpatients at a university hospital in the U.

Attention to inpatients' religious and spiritual concerns: predictors and association with patient satisfaction. J Gen Intern Med. However, only half of those had such discussions, demonstrating a large unmet need. With regard to psychiatric patients, Huguelet et al. A randomized trial of spiritual assessment of outpatients with schizophrenia: patients' and clinicians' experience.

Psychiatry residents received 90 minutes of training and 10 to 40 minutes of supervision on taking a SH during a regular appointment. After 3 months, patients who received the SH did not differ from patients who had not with regard to reports of satisfaction with care or adherence to medication. In summary, there are several good instruments for taking a SH during the clinical encounter, two of which are transcribed in Box 1.

What limited evidence is available suggests that taking even a short SH may raise important clinical issues, have an impact on patients' satisfaction with care, and perhaps even influence clinical outcomes.

Ethical boundaries. The spiritual history. South Med J. Person-centered approach. Implies appreciation of the physical, mental, and spiritual components of human beings, in what Cloninger 19 Given that clinicians' own spiritual or anti-spiritual values, beliefs, and personal history may raise important countertransference issues and influence clinical practice e.

Talking with patients about spirituality and worldview: practical interviewing techniques and strategies. Psychiatr Clin North Am. Open-minded approach with genuine interest in and respect of patients' beliefs, values, and experiences.

When clinicians and patients' worldviews are different, there may be conflict and disagreement. However, in some instances and when requested by the patient, clinicians should use their clinical judgment in sharing their beliefs.

Such sharing may help patients feel more comfortable in sharing their experiences and beliefs related to their tradition. The guidelines discussed in this section are based on the available evidence and on a broad review of clinical recommendations provided by professional association guidelines, 50 Holistic support: spiritual and religious [Internet]. Practice guidelines for the psychiatric evaluation of adults. The assessment of spirituality and religiousness in schizophrenia.

In an attempt to make these recommendations more cross-cultural, we sought input from authors writing from a wide range of cultural perspectives.

Native Americans and brief spiritual assessment: examining and operationalizing the Joint Commission's assessment framework. Soc Work. The use of language from the patient's spiritual tradition may help show respect and build trust. If the patient is not religious or spiritual, these questions are helpful in exploring his or her worldview. Another possible approach is to take a brief SH when assessing the patient's sociocultural background or developmental history.

Is spirituality or religion important in your life? Which activities? How often? How do your faith and religious community see your problem and treatment? Do they support it, oppose it, or are they neutral?

Do you have any other spiritual need that needs to be addressed? Spiritual needs assessments and measurements. Areas that often warrant further examination include:. In some ways, they provide the same impact. For example: Both religion and spirituality can help a person tolerate stress by generating peace, purpose and forgiveness. But benefits generally vary between the two due to their different nature.

Religion gives people something to believe in, provides a sense of structure and typically offers a group of people to connect with over similar beliefs. These facets can have a large positive impact on mental health— research suggests that religiosity reduces suicide rates, alcoholism and drug use.

Spirituality is a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves—it helps a person look within and understand themselves while also figuring out the greater answer of how they fit in to the rest of the world.

In other words: It helps people understand their interpretation of the meaning of life. Spirituality also incorporates healthy practices for the mind and body, which positively influences mental health and emotional wellbeing. Here are some of those benefits:.