Abstract
The present study examined the perception of contemporary German psychiatric staff (i.e., psychiatrists, psychotherapists and nurses) regarding their approach towards religious/spiritual issues in their clinical practice, and how clinical chaplains perceive attitudes and behaviors towards religiosity/spirituality of other psychiatric staff members. To answer these questions, two separate studies were conducted to include psychiatric staff and clinical chaplains. Curlin et al.’s questionnaire on Religion and Spirituality in Medicine: Physicians’ Perspectives was the main instrument used for both studies. According to the self-assessment of psychiatric staff members, most contemporary German psychiatric staff members are prepared and open to dealing with religiosity/spirituality in therapeutic settings. To some extent, clinical chaplains agreed with this finding, but their overall perception significantly differs from the staff’s own self-rating. Our results suggest that it may be helpful for psychiatric staff members and clinical chaplains to exchange their views on patients regarding religious/spiritual issues in therapeutic settings, and to reflect on how to apply such findings to clinical practice.
Highlights
When patients suffer from severe illnesses and mental crises, they frequently ask themselves why they have become a “victim” of such a difficult situation and why or whether they “deserve” it.It is not unusual for patients to ask existential questions and to reflect on and seek out the meaning of life [1,2]
This study aimed to find out how chaplains perceive the attitudes as well as the behaviors of other psychiatric staff members towards religiosity/spirituality
The present study examined how contemporary German psychiatric staffs perceive their approach to religious/spiritual issues when such topics arise in therapeutic settings
Summary
When patients suffer from severe illnesses and mental crises, they frequently ask themselves why they have become a “victim” of such a difficult situation and why or whether they “deserve” it.It is not unusual for patients to ask existential questions and to reflect on and seek out the meaning of life [1,2]. Ministry of Health on June 17th, 2014 edited guidelines for psychotherapists to (re-)establish boundaries against esoteric, spiritual and religious practices [6]. In addition to the stipulation to refrain from religious/spiritual methods and practices in psychiatric and psychotherapeutic practice, these guidelines point to an increased yet perhaps unprofessional interest in esoteric and religious/spiritual issues in mental health practice. The mere avoidance of religious/spiritual practice in therapeutic settings does not yet resolve the question of how to perceive and deal with these issues in mental health care. Religious/spiritual issues are part of the human mind and behavior in general—that is to say an object of behavioral sciences, psychiatry included—and they play a role, for better or for worse, in the mental conditions of psychiatric patients
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