Spiritual Issues Research Articles

Knowledge of and perception towards eclampsia among women and men in Unguja Island, Zanzibar: A qualitative study

Background Eclampsia is among the primary causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality in Zanzibar. Many women and men are not aware of the signs, symptoms and causes of eclampsia and may have different explanatory models. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the community understanding of pre-eclampsia, as a key stage to improve maternal and perinatal health in Unguja Island, Zanzibar. Methods A qualitative study design of six focus group discussions (FDGs) was performed using a focus group interview guide; 51 male and female respondents at three selected wards of Unguja Island, Zanzibar participated. Thematic analysis was applied using Qualitative data analysis (QDA Miner Lite software version 2.0.9). Results Overall participants demonstrated a lack of understanding regarding eclampsia. The majority of participants perceived that there are certain things related to eclampsia: Mjusi or Mdudu (devil/satanic), superstitious issues, tension/stress from partners, food consumption, eating slaughtered meat like chicken, cow and goat during pregnancy, nice smelling lotion, soap and perfumes have been stated to be the causes of eclampsia. Spiritual and traditional remedies were mentioned as a treatment for eclampsia, including herbs, makombe (written verses of the Qur’an) and steaming (smoked dry leaves). Local names of eclampsia used by the communities, in urban and rural areas are mjusi (lizard) or mdudu (bug), which means the devil enters a woman’s body, especially during pregnancy or within 42 days post-delivery. Conclusion Most participants had a lack of understanding of eclampsia and perceived that there are traditional and spiritual issues related to its causes, attributed risks and clinical presentation, which makes them rely more on traditional and spiritual treatments. Therefore, health educational programs in the community setting and at the antenatal clinics, aiming at improving knowledge and dismissing myths and misperceptions regarding eclampsia, are recommended in rural and urban areas of Unguja Zanzibar.

MODERNIZATION OF THE EPIC. UNFINISHED NOVELS AND STORIES BY IHOR KOSTETSKYI: GENRE, STYLE, AND STRUCTURE

The paper analyzes several works of Ihor Kostetsky’s experimental prose, in particular his unfinished novels “The Three Look in the Mirror” and “There Are No More Dead,” as well as the stories “Saint’s Day” and “The Story of Monk Heinrich,” focusing on genre, style, literary technique, and ideas. There is a noticeable connection between the writer’s literary practices and the achievements of 1920s Ukrainian literature, especially the work of avant-garde writers, whose technical inventions Kostetsky developed while focusing on the latest trends in postwar writing. Exploring themes related to the Ukrainian national movement, early Christianity, and the Middle Ages, Kostetskyi tests the possibilities of modernist writing and his own literary talent, demonstrating the importance of not only content but also form and material of his work. In the novels “Three Looks in the Mirror” and “There Are No More Dead,” Kostetsky adopts an unconventional approach to the traditional theme of the Ukrainian nationalist underground during the Second World War. He transforms its genre and style characteristics by combining multiple genres, such as detective and fantastic, while emphasizing an expressionistic style. To achieve this, the writer employs a wide range of literary means and techniques. Based on early Christian material, the story “Saint’s Day” is placed at the intersection of epic and drama genres. Its content is shaped by spiritual, religious, moral, and ethical issues, which the author reveals through an analogy between Apostle John’s period and his own time. “The Story of Monk Heinrich” is the author’s attempt to comprehend the ‘soul of the Middle Ages’ through the genre of mystery, cinematic techniques, and the elements of ‘mask theatre.’

Issues of spirituality in psychology and psychotherapy

Psychology was born from philosophy as the “science of the soul”, and was treated and practised as such by the ancient Greeks. Over time, especially after it was reborn in the 19th century as modern psychology with its origins in Wilhelm Wundt’s laboratory, it evolved into a strictly empirical science, distanced from metaphysics and detached from what is spiritual and hence immeasurable and methodologically problematic. Subsequent psychotherapeutic approaches have gone through phases from a reductionist understanding of man (psychoanalysis, behaviourism) to viewing him in a broader, also noetic perspective (existential analysis, logotherapy). There is a certain opposition here in the anthropological assumptions that shape psychology. We still use the prevailing materialistic anthropology, consistently limiting human functioning to its bio-psycho-social dimension; rationalizing all manifestations of human behaviour incomprehensible to reason (excluding the spiritual factor in its interpretation). However, we have realistic psychology and anthropological personalism, which recognizes the manifestations of man’s spiritual life. The constantly developing branch of psychology, which is the psychology of religion and spirituality, shows that the element of ratio is present in the centre of interest for modern psychologists, bringing further research on the connections between human religiosity and spirituality and his functioning in various areas. The practical dimension of psychology, i.e. psychotherapy, is based on assumptions that adepts of particular therapeutic modalities accept “on faith”, because they have no empirical confirmation. The growing popularity of using strategies and techniques derived from various spiritualities in psychotherapy shows how strongly the element fides is embedded in it. To sum up: fields such as psychology and psychotherapy, regardless of what they declare, have always been based on the elements of both fides and ratio, and today they still balance between spirituality and science.

Health Professionals' Approaches to Spirituality and Religiosity in Brazil: A Study Based on Item Response Theory.

This study aimed to estimate the proportion of Brazilian nurses, doctors, and psychologists who approach spirituality and religiosity (S/R) issues in professional practice. The study also explored these health professionals' willingness to interact with patients on issues related to S/R in their clinical practice using item response theory (IRT). From a nationwide cross-sectional web survey, demographic data and the opinions of doctors, nurses, and psychologists were collected regarding aspects related to S/R. For this study, the willingness of physicians to interact with patients regarding the S/R issues scale, developed by the Network for Research Spirituality and Health and translated into Brazilian Portuguese, was used. Information was adjusted according to the IRT. Of the 1095 participants, 335 (30.6%) were nurses, 433 (39.5%), doctors, and 327 (29.9%) were psychologists. The areas of activity with the most significant representation were primary healthcare (n = 292, 26.7%) and mental health (n = 296, 27.0%). A total of 76 (22.7%) nurses, 152 (35.1%) doctors, and 112 (34.3%) psychologists often or always asked about S/R in professional practice. There was a significant difference in the frequency of approach by nurses compared to doctors (p < 0.001) and psychologists (p = 0.001). Doctors were more willing to approach S/R, with a statistically significant difference between nurses (DM -0.72, 95% CI BCa [-1.38 to -0.11]) and psychologists (DM 1.44, 95% CI BCa (0.76-2.11)]. This study should encourage a morecomprehensive approach to human beings, contributing to more profound research in Brazil and worldwide.

Penerapan Pastoral Konseling terhadap Perkembangan Rohani Bagi Jemaat di GMIM Martin Luther Warembungan

Pastoral counseling is an essential aspect of church ministry aimed at supporting the spiritual growth of the congregation. This study aims to explore the role and importance of pastoral counseling in supporting the spiritual growth of the congregation at GMIM Marthin Luther Warembungan. Using a descriptive qualitative method, data were obtained through in-depth interviews with church leaders, pastoral counselors, and literature studies. The results of the study indicate that pastoral counseling plays a crucial role in helping congregants overcome various personal and spiritual issues, such as crises of faith, family problems, and emotional struggles. Effective pastoral counseling helps congregants find inner peace, strengthen their faith, and increase their involvement in church life. Additionally, trained pastoral counselors can provide the necessary emotional and spiritual support and guide congregants in their spiritual journey. This research confirms that pastoral counseling not only serves as a tool for problem resolution but also as a means to build a deeper relationship with God, enhance Biblical understanding, and facilitate spiritual transformation. Therefore, the church needs to pay more attention to developing comprehensive and sustainable pastoral counseling programs and ensure that pastoral counselors receive adequate training. Thus, pastoral counseling can become a strong foundation for the spiritual development and overall well-being of the congregation.

Heretical Views on the Deity and Humanity of Jesus Christ and the Evangelical Standpoint

This work aims to encourage Christians, teachers, and pastors to actively prepare themselves as apologists on Christ's deity and humanity. Defending the gospel's truth regarding Jesus' nature is crucial due to widespread perversions of this doctrine, which cause spiritual, theological, and moral issues within Christendom. Many professing Christians are unknowingly affected by the false teachings of growing cults, leading to confusion about Jesus being truly God and truly man— a fundamental Christian doctrine. Understanding this doctrine will aid Christians, pastors, new believers, and outsiders in appreciating Christ's plan and purpose. It will also encourage and strengthen theologians, pastors, and laypeople to study diligently and effectively propagate the true doctrine of Jesus Christ. As many are confused by perverted teachings, this work is necessary to clarify the true nature of Christ and reinforce commitment to His Lordship. Given the seemingly paradoxical nature of this doctrine, Christians, especially theologians, must face these challenges with God's power and strength to teach, preach, and expose the true doctrine of Jesus' deity and humanity. This effort will combat the age-old perversions introduced by Satan and propagated by cults.

Transpersonal aspects of advanced dementia

Individuals with life-limiting illnesses contend with pressing existential and spiritual issues and may experience spiritual distress. Dementia is a life-limiting neurocognitive illness, but there is poor knowledge of the existential and spiritual needs of people in the advanced stages. Professional carers often lack the knowledge, skills, and confidence to assess and address these needs. Consequently, people with advanced dementia generally receive inadequate spiritual care. This research, employing the method of Intuitive Inquiry, explored the existential and spiritual needs of people with advanced dementia by interviewing seven professional carers in the U.K. and analysing the data using thematic content analysis. The findings suggest that individuals with advanced dementia likely contend with existential and spiritual issues just as others with life-limiting illnesses do and can experience spiritual distress. Trauma-informed care and innovative ways of supporting them is needed. A wider conceptualisation of spirituality requires embedding in care practice is required to reflect spiritual diversity and acknowledge that people with advanced dementia may have exceptional human experiences. The capacity of people with diminished cognition for transpersonal development, and the potential therapeutic use of non-ordinary states of consciousness, requires further investigation.

Complementary interventions for cognitive rehabilitation in patients with cerebral palsy: a single-center study

Abstract Background Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neuromotor disorder that impairs a person’s ability to balance, stand, maintain posture, and walk. Research has indicated that Al Fatiha and negative air ion (NAI) are beneficial for ameliorating several behavioral, spiritual, physical, and societal issues. The objective of the present study was to assess the effect of Al Fatiha and NAI interventions on cognitive skills using Lumosity software. Methods This randomized control trial was conducted et al.-Umeed Rehabilitation Association, Karachi, Pakistan, between February and April 2021, following ethical approval (Ref: IBC-2017) from the University of Karachi. CP patients who volunteered for the study were randomly assigned to either the control group or to groups receiving interventions involving Al Fatiha and NAI exposure. Due to the limited number of consents obtained, participants were selected without consideration of age, cognition level, gender, mobility, motor type, and additional impairments. While all groups continued their regular therapies, the intervention groups underwent 31 structured sessions over a period of 6 weeks. Five Lumosity games were selected to assess the cognitive performance of all inducted participants in the three groups. Statistical analysis including paired t-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and post hoc tests was conducted using SPSS version 28 to compare outcomes among the three groups. Results Paired t-tests showed that the Al Fatiha intervention significantly enhanced selective attention (1133.3 ± 584.8, p &lt; .05) and working memory (31,036.2 ± 4013.9, p &lt; .001), while the NAI intervention resulted in improvements in information processing (31,036.2 ± 4013.9, p &lt; .01), selective attention (1150.0 ± 705.3, p &lt; .01), spatial fluency (6830.7 ± 4720.0, p &lt; .01), and spatial reasoning (8719.3 ± 3499.5, p &lt; .01). Apart from intervention groups, only spatial reasoning was improved in the control group (9068.3 ± 3450.1, p &lt; 0.05). One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc analysis showed significant differences among the control and intervention groups at baseline in information processing, selective attention, and spatial fluency. These cognitive functions are likely attributable to increased neuronal activity in the prefrontal cortex and elevated serotonin levels. Conclusion Based on the findings, both interventions are proposed as advanced, complementary, non-pharmacological, and cost-effective cognitive rehabilitation therapies for patients with CP. We recommend further research to validate these findings through second and third-phase clinical trials.

«Умелое слово» священника А. В. Анисимова: из истории русской духовной миссии в Иерусалиме во 2-й пол. 1880-х гг.

The article characterises the educational activities of the visiting employee of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem, priest Alexander Vasilyevich Anisimov in 1887–1889. It describes the main facts of his biography and shows that prior to his appointment to Jerusalem he had had close contacts with the Holy Land as a pilgrim and spiritual writer. The position of a visiting employee established on the initiative and with financial support of the Orthodox Palestine Society, was associated with the need to accompany Russian pilgrims during their trips to Holy Places, to hold cultural and educational lectures (Palestinian readings) in Russian houses in evening time. A. V. Anisimov, who worked under the direct supervision and in collaboration with the head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission, Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin), successfully coped with his responsibilities and gained love and respect of pilgrims. The readings were devoted to regular Christian holidays, the Sacred history of the Old and New Testaments, the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, various spiritual and moral issues, and were accompanied by a demonstration of pictures and choral singing. The obstacles to the continuation of A. V. Anisimov’s work included health problems, his desire to go beyond the boundaries of his duties, confl icts with the Greek clergy of Jerusalem Patriarchate. It is concluded that A. V. Anisimov’s activities laid the foundation for the Palestine Readings, which at that time were a new form of work and by the mid-20th century gradually transformed into a mass phenomenon, involving millions of Orthodox people throughout Russia.

Longing for a Broken Politics to Be Healed: A Book Symposium of Michael Wear’s The Spirit of Our Politics

Michael's Wear's 2024 book, The Spirit of Our Politics, inaugurates a unique and meaty symposium in the JSFSC that focuses on practical theologies of spiritual formation issues of public life. Wear's book delivers a discerning application of Dallas Willard's perspective to areas of political life. Symposium contributors include Michael Wear, Todd Hunter, Kyle David Bennet, Kaitlyn Schiess, and Chine McDonald. Guest Editor Joseph E. Gorra introduces the symposium, offers context on Wear, his book, and a call for further contributions in his Afterword. After Wear's book précis, Hunter, Bennett, and Schiess weave important themes of pneumatology, family spirituality, and ecclesiology as practitioner factors shaping the vitality of a Christian spiritual formation of public life. McDonald underscores the importance of incarnation, imagination, and invitation when leading institutions of public life. All contributors underscore how spiritual formation is central to civic renewal. Michael Wear's response integrates important themes among the papers, underscoring that Christian spiritual formation does not take place in isolation from actual contexts of public life.

Moral Injury: A Theme in Search of Definition

Moral injury refers to a complex psychological condition that is assumed to emerge following exposure to distressing events that challenge the moral values or ethical beliefs of individuals by direct commission, omission, observation, or betrayal by a trusted leader. Moral injury can be found across various occupational domains, such as military, healthcare, and law enforcement. Symptoms of moral injury can include guilt, a sense of moral disorientation, struggle with spiritual or existential issues, and more. This paper aims to summarize current debates on the definition, symptomatology, and assessment of moral injury. Furthermore, it discusses the conceptual and psychological overlap and differences between moral injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and addresses current therapeutic approaches for treating patients with moral injury.

Lovely tents: a Jewish ecospiritual perspective on urban homeless encampments

ABSTRACT Engaging with Jewish texts through a lens of ecospiritual social work provides a framework to incorporate housing rights and homelessness into ecospirituality. This article deploys a Jewish Ecospirituality perspective to consider the issue of urban homeless encampments as a spiritual and environmental justice issue. This article incorporates biblical interpretation and ecospiritual perspectives to situate a Jewish understanding of ecospirituality. It draws connections between the diasporic history of the Jewish people and the displacement found in urban park encampments utilizing Jewish environmental ethics and ecospiritual social work theory to deconstruct the rightful use of public space in the context of urban citizenship.

The Issue of Etiquette in “Avesta”

In addition to being the holy book of zoroastrianism counted from the ancient religions of the world, “Avesta” is important in the study of the centuries - old history, socio-economic life, spirituality and values of our ancestors. In the great spiritual heritage of our ancestors, special attention was paid to the issues of education and spirituality, which indicates that a high culture has existed in our country since ancient times. This article will talk about the ideas put forward in our rich spiritual heritage “Avesta” about etiquette, education, spirituality.

Painting workshops for people living with dementia as a means of expression and communication: revelations from our elders

PurposeThis study aims to explore art workshops for people living with dementia as a process enabling creative expression and fostering communication with others.Design/methodology/approachTo enable detailed exploration of the expressive powers of painting and drawing, the authors draw several examples from a series of painting workshops for people living with dementia, which formed part of the PPI for research into experiences of restraint within care.FindingsArtwork enabled personal expression, facilitated conversation with others and revealed hidden knowledge and abilities, but also revealed dangers of miscommunication, specifically here related to technological changes and spirituality.Research limitations/implicationsIndividual differences in responses to painting will exist meaning that the specific findings outlined here are unique to individuals and not always generalisable. This follows from the quality of the individual communication that may be enabled by painting, meaning that close attention to each person is both fostered and required.Practical implicationsArt activities can provide a means to enable deep personal expression and agency in people living with dementia, which can contribute to countering dehumanisation.Social implicationsAttention to the process of painting can be beneficial in fostering verbal and non-verbal communication with individuals who have difficulties in communication. Attention to cultural issues in care needs to incorporate understanding of spiritual and religious issues and take note of gaps in understanding related to technological as well as cultural changes between generations.Originality/valueMuch work in this area explores art activities for people living with dementia in terms of beneficial outcomes. This work explores the creative process inherent in painting, drawing upon insights from art theory and providing in-depth individual insights through case studies. Both researchers in this study are artists and the work drew upon their understanding of the processes of painting.

Bibliometric Analysis on Gender and Spirituality in Literary Studies

Publications on gender and spirituality have been prominently featured in many journals indexed by various databases. This article employs bibliometric analysis to investigate publication trends on gender and spiritual issues in literary studies within the Scopus database. This research utilized the VOSviewer application to analyze keyword co-authorship, co-occurrence, and citations. The bibliographic data for this study were downloaded from the Scopus database on January 8, 2024, with a search restriction over the last ten years between 2014 and 2023, and under two fields: 1) social sciences and 2) arts and humanities. The results show that of the 34 eligible publications, there are four main highlights. First, the co-authorship of research publications is relatively low and is only undertaken by a few researchers. Second, the co-occurrence of keywords reveals three main research trends over these ten years: gender-based experiences and practices, gender-based concepts, and religion and spirituality. However, keywords related to literary criticism did not appear. Third, the number of citations for documents is uneven and is dominated only by certain authors, affiliations, and countries. Lastly, network visualization reveals limited interconnectivity between topics, such as gender spirituality and literature. These results conclude that interdisciplinary research in the field of literary criticism remains widely open to address existing research gaps and encourage researchers to collaborate on related topics.

Prevalence and Socio-demographic Variations in Traditional Medicine Use: A Study from East Nile Locality, Sudan

Traditional medicine (TM) remains a cornerstone of healthcare in Sudan, across urban and rural settings. We explored TM use and its association with socio-demographic characteristics (age, sex, education, economic status, and residence) in East Nile locality (ShargAlneil), Khartoum State. A survey encompassing 609 households (44.7% rural, 55.3% urban) revealed a high prevalence of TM use: over 80% reported using at least one form. Notably, significant socio-demographic variations emerged. Individuals with higher education leaned towards herbalists (p&lt;0.05), while those with lower education favored religious healers (p&lt;0.05). Similarly, older adults preferred religious healers (p&lt;0.05), while males tended to choose herbalists (p&lt;0.05). The most common ailments preferred to be treated by TM practitioners were spiritual and psychological issues, bone injuries, stomachaches, and headaches. Conversely, conditions like malaria, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease were primarily preferred to be managed by modern medicine. This study highlights the widespread use of TM across diverse demographics, with preferences for specific types of practitioners. It also underscores a selective trust in modern medicine for certain diseases. Integrating socio-demographic and cultural perspectives into healthcare delivery can enhance understanding of community needs and guide the development of appropriate interventions. Further research is warranted to delve deeper into the reasons behind these variations in treatment preferences.

Quality of life in primary immunodeficiency: Its contribution to shared decision-making and patient outcomes.

Quality of life (QOL) measures have become increasingly important in the management of patients with complex diseases. There are a number of instruments to measure QOL that include broad areas or domains of physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and environmental issues. The number of potential domains plus the large number of items within each domain have led to the development of a large variety of QOL instruments and of different approaches by using both health-related and non-health-related factors. Health-related QOL (HRQOL) measures have been incorporated into clinical trials to assess changes in the patient's perspective on his or her disease and the effects of treatment. An important aspect of these HR-QOL instruments is that these questionnaires are patient reported and usually self-administered. The life-long therapy of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) or subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIG) can be a challenge to the patient, his or her family and the physician. A number of patient-reported surveys have been published that examined treatment satisfaction and the comparison between IVIG and SCIG replacement therapy in patients with primary immunodeficiency. This review explores the use of HR-QOL surveys in patient preferences for mode and route of immunoglobulin therapy and site of care. Shared decision-making will be explored to emphasize the importance of this approach in optimizing patient care and compliance.

Preventing dropout in spiritually integrated psychotherapies: What are the effective methods of attending to clients' spirituality?

The purpose of this study was to examine associations between clinicians' use of varying types of spiritual interventions in the first session of spiritually integrated psychotherapies (SIPs) and clients' likelihood of returning for a second session. In total, 154 practitioners of SIPs from 33 settings in a practice-research network reported on their implementation of different methods for addressing clients' religion/spirituality on an after-session summary checklist. Roughly 80% or more of the clinicians implemented at least one spiritual intervention in the first session; on average, clinicians used 3.26 (SD = 3.66) of the interventions on the checklist. Occurring with 20% or more of the 1,094 clients, the most commonly used spiritual interventions included listening to spiritual issues, discussing compassion and hope, affirming clients' divine worth and attempts to trust God. In total, nearly one in five clients did not return for a second session. Focusing on interventions that were empirically linked with clients' engagement in a second session in bivariate analyses, discussion of spiritual dimensions of clients' problems and solutions was associated with a 118% greater probability that clients engaged in SIPs; in contrast, discussion of hope was linked with a 40% decrease in treatment engagement. In conclusion, findings highlight the potential opportunities and risks for implementing interventions that attend to clients' spirituality and/or religious faith at the start of SIPs. Research is needed to understand factors associated with the effective use of spiritual interventions and methods of training clinicians accordingly. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Religion and spirituality in therapeutic training in the UK: A survey of current and recent trainees

AbstractBackgroundResearch indicates counsellors and psychotherapists receive little training around working with clients who present with religious or spiritual issues and feel unprepared to work with these clients.AimsThis paper presents part of the findings from an online survey that aimed to explore how trainee and newly qualified counsellors and psychotherapists, who identify as religious or spiritual, experienced undertaking therapeutic training in the UK.MethodThis online survey collected data on how much training participants received on their courses in religion/spirituality, how this training was delivered, how satisfied they were with their training, their knowledge base and skills around religion/spirituality, and what areas relating to religion/spirituality participants would like to see incorporated into therapeutic training. The survey data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis.ResultsOver half of the participants received no training in this area, with a further third receiving minimal input. Participants reported low satisfaction rates with training received unless integrated throughout their course and identified specific knowledge gaps around religious/spiritual literacy, therapeutic skills, and awareness of religion and mental health research. Participants wanted more input on religion/spirituality in the training syllabus to increase their knowledge base and therapeutic competences.ConclusionThis research employed a non‐randomised sample, which limits the generalisability of these findings to a wider training population. Survey participants were also a highly religious/spiritual group, with 87% indicating they engaged in weekly religious/spiritual practices. Participants identified as Christian and White, and reported receiving person‐centred or integrative training.

Postsecular, Christian, or Humanistic Spirituality in Social Work within Secular Europe.

The spirituality discourse within social work has been developing for several decades, albeit more in the USA than in the states of the EU. Europe or the countries of the EU were characterised as an exceptional case because of their secularity. Social work in Europe is also typically secular. Nevertheless, the spirituality discourse within social work is slowly developing also in Europe. In social services, chaplains, pastoral workers and assistants, and similar professions are often more responsible for spiritual care than social workers. Should social workers approach spiritual issues from the client's point of view or from atheological stance or rather just from the social workperspective? What reasons and arguments can we formulate and express? This text will discuss both these questions and their context as well as the possible answers.