Spiritually Integrated Mental Health Treatment: What Does Experience Teach Us?
David H. Rosmarin, PhD, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Laurence Heckscher, MDiv, New England Pastoral Institute
Mena Mirhom, MD(s), St. Luke's Mental Health Center
Moderator: John Peteet, MD, Harvard Medical School
Despite a long history of mutual suspicion between psychiatry and religion, interest has recently grown in combining spiritual and psychological approaches to human problems. Models for collaboration between clergy and clinicians include consultation, co-management, education, assistance with referrals and working together on shared tasks. Various forms of intervention by single providers have also emerged, including spiritually sensitive or integrated psychotherapy, theistic psychotherapy, healing presence and support (e.g. provided by chaplains), pastoral counseling and psychotherapy, spiritual direction, healing prayer, and faith based programs such as Celebrate Recovery or Living Waters. However, this burgeoning area remains on the sidelines of psychiatric practice as few attempts have been made to compare these approaches, or to learn about their broader relevance for best practices. To this end, presenters in this session will describe examples of four of the most potentially generalizable of such approaches: spiritually oriented Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, mental health consultation to particular religious (Jewish) communities, pastoral psychotherapist involvement in an inpatient psychiatric unit, and development of a (Coptic) church based free mental health clinic.
The first presenter is a psychologist in a major psychiatric teaching hospital whose research and clinical work focuses on the provision of evidence-based spiritually-sensitive treatments to diverse populations. He will present recent data suggesting that upwards of 55% of his hospital's patients have a desire for spiritually-integrated treatments, and outline some key strategies for the integration of spirituality into Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. He will also describe his role serving as a resource for mental health referrals from orthodox rabbis in a major metropolitan area.
The second presenter is a pastoral psychotherapist at the doctoral level with seven years of experience as a member of the clinical teams of acute inpatient psychiatric units. She will use case examples to illustrate ways in which an understanding of the patient’s spiritual beliefs, emotions, values and practices psychology and spirituality can help clinicians offer more integrated and effective care in both private practice and hospital settings.
The third presenter, a recent medical graduate applying to psychiatry residency, is one of the founders of a free mental health center in New Jersey. The center provides free psychiatric care to the under-served and is operated by a faculty of volunteers from the Coptic Orthodox Christian community. The patient population is diverse and includes Middle Eastern refugees. The vision of the center was to integrate faith and spirituality in delivering quality psychiatric care. The center helps patients overcome the variety of barriers to their own care, including cultural stigma, lack of insight, language barriers, blurred distinctions between spiritual and psychiatric issues, as well as financial hardship. Many individuals are be reluctant to seek mental health services due to their religious beliefs or backgrounds. The chief medical officer of the clinic, a board certified psychiatrist who is also a parish priest, in many ways embodies the vision of the clinic. Many people in the center are more comfortable speaking with a priest about their mental illness, as they feel that this validates their feelings and decreases the stigma they encounter in their local community.
After describing these models of spiritually integrated care, panelists will engage members of the audience in a discussion of their experiences, in order to clarify what settings lend themselves to which approaches, and how they can be usefully combined to optimize care.
Laurence Heckscher, MDiv, New England Pastoral Institute
Mena Mirhom, MD(s), St. Luke's Mental Health Center
Moderator: John Peteet, MD, Harvard Medical School
Despite a long history of mutual suspicion between psychiatry and religion, interest has recently grown in combining spiritual and psychological approaches to human problems. Models for collaboration between clergy and clinicians include consultation, co-management, education, assistance with referrals and working together on shared tasks. Various forms of intervention by single providers have also emerged, including spiritually sensitive or integrated psychotherapy, theistic psychotherapy, healing presence and support (e.g. provided by chaplains), pastoral counseling and psychotherapy, spiritual direction, healing prayer, and faith based programs such as Celebrate Recovery or Living Waters. However, this burgeoning area remains on the sidelines of psychiatric practice as few attempts have been made to compare these approaches, or to learn about their broader relevance for best practices. To this end, presenters in this session will describe examples of four of the most potentially generalizable of such approaches: spiritually oriented Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, mental health consultation to particular religious (Jewish) communities, pastoral psychotherapist involvement in an inpatient psychiatric unit, and development of a (Coptic) church based free mental health clinic.
The first presenter is a psychologist in a major psychiatric teaching hospital whose research and clinical work focuses on the provision of evidence-based spiritually-sensitive treatments to diverse populations. He will present recent data suggesting that upwards of 55% of his hospital's patients have a desire for spiritually-integrated treatments, and outline some key strategies for the integration of spirituality into Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. He will also describe his role serving as a resource for mental health referrals from orthodox rabbis in a major metropolitan area.
The second presenter is a pastoral psychotherapist at the doctoral level with seven years of experience as a member of the clinical teams of acute inpatient psychiatric units. She will use case examples to illustrate ways in which an understanding of the patient’s spiritual beliefs, emotions, values and practices psychology and spirituality can help clinicians offer more integrated and effective care in both private practice and hospital settings.
The third presenter, a recent medical graduate applying to psychiatry residency, is one of the founders of a free mental health center in New Jersey. The center provides free psychiatric care to the under-served and is operated by a faculty of volunteers from the Coptic Orthodox Christian community. The patient population is diverse and includes Middle Eastern refugees. The vision of the center was to integrate faith and spirituality in delivering quality psychiatric care. The center helps patients overcome the variety of barriers to their own care, including cultural stigma, lack of insight, language barriers, blurred distinctions between spiritual and psychiatric issues, as well as financial hardship. Many individuals are be reluctant to seek mental health services due to their religious beliefs or backgrounds. The chief medical officer of the clinic, a board certified psychiatrist who is also a parish priest, in many ways embodies the vision of the clinic. Many people in the center are more comfortable speaking with a priest about their mental illness, as they feel that this validates their feelings and decreases the stigma they encounter in their local community.
After describing these models of spiritually integrated care, panelists will engage members of the audience in a discussion of their experiences, in order to clarify what settings lend themselves to which approaches, and how they can be usefully combined to optimize care.