Spirituality and mental health: Implications for ethics, medicine, and public health

Abstract

Summary The past few decades have witnessed major changes at the interface between spirituality and mental health. For example, research into religion and health outcomes has proliferated, spirituality is viewed as a risk or protective factor, and therapeutic approaches such as Twelve Step groups and mindfulness have become mainstream. However, no consensus exists on core competencies for clinicians in this area, and religiously reinforced mental health stigma persists. This paper examines the reasons for progress made to date as a basis for hope, and the implications for the place of spirituality in psychiatric ethics, medicine, and public health.