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Starting the conversation about spiritual needs and being with a person in spiritual distress can be difficult for staff and volunteers. Expressing spiritual distress is a challenge for patients and their loved ones, as knowing where to begin and how to put feelings into words can feel impossible.
The St Barnabas Hospice Spiritual Wellbeing Boxes have been developed to make vital interaction between patients, their loved ones, our staff and volunteers a little easier.
This systematic literature review analyzed the construct of spirituality as perceived by people who have experienced or are experiencing a major life event or transition. You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you requesting.
Psychology of Religion and Spirituality8.3 (Aug 2016): 228-234.
This study examined whether religious coping (positive and negative) prospectively moderated the relationship between stress and depressive symptoms in young adults. Religious commitment was examined as a potential moderator of the effect of religious coping on the stress-depression relationship. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Altered self-experiences arise in certain psychiatric conditions, and may be induced by psychoactive drugs and spiritual/religious practices. Recently, a neuroscience of self-experience has begun to crystallise, drawing upon findings from functional neuroimaging and altered states of consciousness occasioned by psychedelic drugs. This advance may be of great importance for psychiatry. You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
This article introduces the concept of spirituality in mental healthcare and its relevance to practice. It uses a short case study as an example from practice using Borton’s (1970) framework. After this, an analysis of recent literature discusses gaps in spiritual care provision from the perspectives of service users and nurses. The author offers recommendations to improve spiritual care at different levels of mental healthcare, with examples of successful implementation from different NHS trusts.
Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you requesting.
Spirituality in Clinical Practice3.3 (Sep 2016): 153-154.
This special section focuses on the unique ethical challenges in psychiatric practice, particularly when those challenges involve religious and spiritual beliefs, practices, or concerns. This article provides both an introduction and context for this special section as well as an overview of the articles that follow. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Journal of Counseling Psychology64.3 (Apr 2017): 302-309.
Although positive religious coping is generally viewed as an adaptive, functional coping pattern, some studies have actually found positive religious coping to be associated with more distress in military populations. In the current study, we examined the role of positive religious coping on distress across 2 time points. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a world-wide recovery mutual-help organization that continues to arouse controversy. In large part, concerns persist because of AA's ostensibly quasi-religious/spiritual orientation and emphasis. In 1990 the United States’ Institute of Medicine called for more studies on AA's effectiveness and its mechanisms of behavior change (MOBC) stimulating a flurry of federally funded research. This paper reviews the religious/spiritual origins of AA and its program and contrasts its theory with findings from this latest research. Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
The promotion of subjective well-being or wellness is an important aim of both policy and practice. Yet, little research has examined wellness among Muslims, despite the growth in the Muslim population and the discrimination they can encounter in the West. To address this gap in the literature, a model of wellness was developed and tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) with a sample of Muslims living in the USA (N = 265).
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Some patients value the opportunity to discuss their faith. For others, any mention of spirituality is an unwarranted intrusion. Login using your SSOTP NHS Athens for full text. SSSFT - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Psychology of Religion and Spirituality (Feb 15, 2018): No Pagination Specified
It is known that religiosity is a positive correlate of well-being among adolescents and emerging adults. The current study extends this focus by assessing the roles of self-efficacy and perceived social support, which are presumed to explain the association of religiosity with psychological well-being (PWB). To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Psychology of Religion and Spirituality (Jun 14, 2018): No Pagination Specified
Growing evidence for the salubrious association of spirituality with physical and mental health related outcomes has led to the consideration of spirituality as a protective factor against suicidal behavior. Although support for this basic association is robust, particularly in the context of religious belief and attendance, spirituality has yet to be explored as it relates to psychache—intense, unrelenting psychological pain. Additionally, self-forgiveness has emerged as an important protective factor against suicidal behavior, but has not been explored in the context of psychache.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
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Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy (Dec 20, 2018). DOI:10.1037/tra0000426
Objective: Religious coping has been shown to relate to psychological adjustment in survivors of disasters months or even years afterward. However, because very few studies have assessed coping and well-being during the immediate crisis, little is known about the role of religiousness at this critical time.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
In the first of a new series on how religion and culture can impact on practice, journalist Lauren Hoffman looks at Judaism. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
How might spiritual practice affect the brain? A new study suggests that heightened spiritual experiences may help to counteract the effect of stressors.
Findings In a multigenerational longitudinal observational study (112 parents and 214 offspring), parent belief in the high importance of religion was associated with an approximately 80% decrease in risk in suicidal ideation/attempts in their offspring compared with parents who reported religion as unimportant. The association of parental belief was independent of the offspring’s own belief in the importance of religion and other parental risk factors and was statistically significant.. Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy Vol. 10, Iss. 3, (May 2018): 360-367.
Objective: Potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs)—violations (perpetrated or witnessed) of one’s deeply held beliefs or values—have been associated with several forms of psychological distress. The values violated by PMIEs are often influenced by one’s religion/spirituality (r/s). Struggles with one’s r/s beliefs and/or practices may also contribute to elevated psychological distress. To further develop a framework for understanding and treating the sequelae of PMIE exposure, we examined the role of r/s struggles in the relation between PMIE exposure and psychological distress. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
It is time to improve clinical approaches to faith in mental healthcare, particularly in psychotherapy. Understood as a psychological trait, faith has potentially great personal salience and introduces socially desirable biases into human reasoning. Therapies may have faith-informed components, either explicitly, or (as with some forms of mindfulness) implicitly, which may modify the patient’s faith as well as producing symptomatic change. In this narrative review, the ethics of faith’s inclusion in therapy is briefly appraised. The psychology of faith is discussed, and a model of the influence of the practitioner’s faith on therapeutic choice is presented. Finally, faith-informed approaches to practice, including their impact on therapeutic effectiveness, are considered and recommendations made for their optimal implementation. To read the full article, log in using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
The impact of religious/spiritual activities on clinical outcomes in patients with serious mental illnesses remains controversial, which was addressed in this international cross-sectional study. To read the full article, log in using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Spirituality in Clinical Practice (Jul 12, 2018). DOI:10.1037/scp0000174
In this paper, we described how we have recently incorporated compassion training in the form of Loving Kindness Meditation into an existing psychotherapy for war-related PTSD called Adaptive Disclosure. We provided background to support the assumption that targeting compassion deficits in war-related trauma may improve mental and behavioral health by helping patients engage in adaptive and potentially reparative behaviors, particularly improving social connections. We also described how compassion training may help veterans suffering from traumatic loss and moral injury, specifically. Throughout, we provide clinical heuristics that may help care providers who work with veterans who have experienced diverse war traumas.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Spirituality in Clinical Practice (Jul 19, 2018). DOI:10.1037/scp0000170
Research on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in military veterans has increasingly converged on the conclusion that several types of spiritual distress (guilt, shame, loss of meaning and purpose, disruption in relationship with a higher power, and moral distress) are related to mental health outcomes in cross-sectional, longitudinal, and cross-lag studies. While theorists have suggested that theological and cognitive explanations for evil (i.e., theodicy) may play a role in this relationship, no studies have examined the relationships between theodicy, spiritual distress, and PTSD in veterans.. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Psychology of Religion and Spirituality (Mar 25, 2019). DOI:10.1037/rel0000260
The California Mental Health & Spirituality Initiative in 2009 developed and executed a survey-based campaign to document the spirituality-related needs, preferences, and experiences of individuals and families receiving public mental health services. Through secondary analysis of the data collected in this grassroots initiative, the purpose of this study was to describe the attitudes of individuals receiving mental health services in California regarding spirituality and to identify significant predictors of the degree of interest in integrating spirituality into mental health care. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice (Feb 25, 2019). DOI:10.1037/cns0000185
It is widely assumed that belief in God allows people to better cope with life’s stresses. This stress-buffering effect is not limited to religion; when faced with stress, nonreligious people cling on to other belief systems, notably belief in science. We report an experimental test of whether people are able to down-regulate an acute stress experience by reflecting on their beliefs. We used the Trier Social Stress Test to induce stress in religious and scientist participants from the United Kingdom by having them discuss arguments for and against the United Kingdom leaving the European Union (“Brexit”). To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
a man who claims knew Carlos Castaneda and some of the people he speaks about tries to disceren if Don Juan is real, partially real or a work of fiction
To gain insight into the quantity and quality of spiritual care provided by nurses in curative cancer care, from the perspectives of both patients and nurses. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Family is one of the primary sources of spiritual care for people with schizophrenia. Gaps in perspectives between family care-givers and patients not only result in improper spiritual care, but also lead to family conflicts and hamper recovery. Yet, the mutual understanding of spirituality among both parties is often neglected. We here reported part of a larger study that explored the meaning and the role of spirituality in schizophrenia rehabilitation from the perspectives of patients, mental-health professionals and family care-givers. The result suggests that discrepancies in conceptions of spirituality between patients and their care-givers may affect patients’ family dynamic and their recovery
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The goal was to analyze the association of religiosity with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in a UK nationally representative sample. . To read the full article, log in using your MPFT NHS OpenAthens details.
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Comment. A key challenge in military medicine has been the treatment of the mental health of military service members who have been deployed in operations in recent years. The most effective course of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been highly debated and is a central focus in the military community because of the large number of service members returning from deployment with PTSD. 1 More than a third of patients with PTSD do not recover even after many years, showing PTSD to be a chronic and costly illness to service members, their families, and society as a whole. 2 Traditional treatment of PTSD has not been uniformly successful because of comorbidities, side-effects of drug therapy, and time and energy needed for psychotherapy. 3 Pharmacotherapy has shown insufficient benefit in the treatment of PTSD, 4 while adherence and the treatment success of various psychotherapies has been disappointing. When patients with PTSD do not respond to traditional treatment, new approaches should be considered. 5. Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Psychology of Religion and Spirituality8.1 (Feb 2016): 54-64.
Religiousness has frequently been found to be associated with higher reported mental health levels than those found in individuals lower in reported religiousness. These results have often been inferred by scholars to mean that secular groups have poorer levels of mental health despite the fact that secular populations have rarely been included in studies. In this study, an ideologically diverse sample of 4,667 respondents was included to determine the relationships among general dogmatism levels, existential dogmatism, religiousness, and 5 indicators of mental health. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Spirituality in Clinical Practice3.1 (Mar 2016): 14-17.
A systematic bias leading to clinically and ethically problematic neglect of spirituality in the mental health professions is discussed. Relevant data suggesting the presence of this bias are reviewed and the form the bias often takes in practice is illustrated through a composite case example. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
To explore nurse comfort with patient-initiated prayer request scenarios. Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens for full text. SSOTP - request a copy of the article from the library - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Palliative care advocates a holistic, multiprofessional approach to the care of people with life-threatening disease. In addition to the control of physical symptoms attention should also be paid to psychosocial, cultural and spiritual aspects of the patient's experience of illness. Guidance documents and research evidence reflect the complexity of the patient's journey and the need to regularly assess these areas of need over time. Cultural background can shape how patients respond to life-threatening illness, as can the beliefs held by the patients, whether religious or more broadly spiritual. Research evidence shows the importance of identifying and addressing cultural and spiritual aspects of care held by patients, families and staff. These are often neglected in clinical practice due to the focus on biomedical concerns and staff discomfort in engaging with beliefs and culture. Recent studies have highlighted gaps in the research, and some methodological difficulties and indicate many patients welcome healthcare staff enquiring about the importance of their beliefs and culture. Identifying research priorities is necessary to guide future research and strengthen the evidence base. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Come and visit our first pop-up library at Severn Fields, Shrewsbury 19th July 11.00am-3.00pm. Join the library, borrow and return books, get help finding information and evidence, set up an Athens account, find out what the library can do for you and your team.
This article explains the concept of parish nursing and provides a historical perspective of this service. It describes the development of a parish nursing service in Heartsease, Norwich, which complements community nursing practice by focusing on the importance of providing spiritual care alongside physical, psychological and social care. Case studies are provided to illustrate the benefits of a parish nursing service to individuals and the community. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details