Benefit of hagiotherapy for a war veteran suffering of PTSD: Case-report

Abstract

There is accumulated evidence indicating a beneficial influence of the usage of spiritual/religious parameters in the therapy of mental illnesses. In Croatia an authentic model of providing spiritual help, called hagiotherapy is used. It is based on the main principle that every human person is a spiritual/existential being, provided with a natural moral law, which differentiates him/her specifically from any other created creature. Its area of activity is the spiritual soul.We present a patient (age 43) who has been in medical treatment for the last five years due to chronic combat-related PTSD. During the war in Croatia (1991 – 1995) he participated in a series of war actions. Before the war he did not have any mental difficulties. After the end of the war, he felt some of the PTSD symptoms. However, because of the fear of being stigmatized he refused to seek for help. He attempted suicide twice. Only when his business and social functioning became severely disturbed, he initiated medical treatment. Due to a higher degree of religious engagement he was sent to the Center for Spiritual Help, where he underwent hagiotherapy. Before hagiotherapy a semi structured interview was conducted with the patient and the data on his spirituality/religiosity (SWB, DUREL, R-COPE), intensity of PTSD (M-PTSD, HAM-D, BDI, BHS, HTQ, SUAS) and biological markers (BMI, blood pressure, glucose, circadian rhythm of cortisol excretion, lipoproteins) were objectified. Some of these parameters were observed after hagiotherapy as well. The comparison of these results is presented in the poster.