McLean Hospital Spirituality and Mental Health Consultation Service: A Novel Approach to Integrated Treatment
Morgan Medlock, M.D., MDiv., Director, McLean Hospital Spirituality and Mental Health Consultation Service, McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School
David H. Rosmarin, Ph.D, ABPP, McLean Hospital
Background: A considerable body of research has shown that spirituality is functionally associated with mental health, yet this topic is rarely addressed in psychiatric practice. This is unfortunate since many patients wish to speak to their providers about spiritual life. In a recent survey of over 250 psychiatric patients at McLean Hospital, 60.5% reported affiliation with a religious group, 70.8% reported “fairly” or greater belief in God, and 58.6% reported “fairly” or greater interest in integrating spirituality into their treatment (Rosmarin et al., 2015). Our study assessed the feasibility and interest in creating a spirituality and mental health consultation service that provides patients and staff with tools and knowledge for integrating spirituality into psychiatric treatment.
Methods: McLean Hospital recently launched a Spirituality and Mental Health Program (SMHP), a hospital-wide initiative to provide clinical intervention as well as education and research on spiritual issues in mental health. The program curriculum includes individual case consultation throughout the hospital, involving assessment and recommendations regarding how patient spirituality may be clinically relevant. The consultation service is available for all levels of care: inpatient, partial, residential, and outpatient.
Results: Over the last ten months, SMHP clinicians have been referred and seen approximately 40 patients for individual case consultation. Patients have been asked to provide feedback regarding their consultation experience, and data collection is ongoing. Thus far, patients and staff have given strongly positive feedback regarding the need and impact of this novel clinical intervention.
Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first consultation service that fully integrates patient spirituality into a clinical care model (i.e., clinician-based, rather than chaplaincy-based). Developing a consultation service focused on spiritual assessment and intervention is feasible, acceptable to staff and patients, and may have a significant impact on clinical outcomes.
David H. Rosmarin, Ph.D, ABPP, McLean Hospital
Background: A considerable body of research has shown that spirituality is functionally associated with mental health, yet this topic is rarely addressed in psychiatric practice. This is unfortunate since many patients wish to speak to their providers about spiritual life. In a recent survey of over 250 psychiatric patients at McLean Hospital, 60.5% reported affiliation with a religious group, 70.8% reported “fairly” or greater belief in God, and 58.6% reported “fairly” or greater interest in integrating spirituality into their treatment (Rosmarin et al., 2015). Our study assessed the feasibility and interest in creating a spirituality and mental health consultation service that provides patients and staff with tools and knowledge for integrating spirituality into psychiatric treatment.
Methods: McLean Hospital recently launched a Spirituality and Mental Health Program (SMHP), a hospital-wide initiative to provide clinical intervention as well as education and research on spiritual issues in mental health. The program curriculum includes individual case consultation throughout the hospital, involving assessment and recommendations regarding how patient spirituality may be clinically relevant. The consultation service is available for all levels of care: inpatient, partial, residential, and outpatient.
Results: Over the last ten months, SMHP clinicians have been referred and seen approximately 40 patients for individual case consultation. Patients have been asked to provide feedback regarding their consultation experience, and data collection is ongoing. Thus far, patients and staff have given strongly positive feedback regarding the need and impact of this novel clinical intervention.
Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first consultation service that fully integrates patient spirituality into a clinical care model (i.e., clinician-based, rather than chaplaincy-based). Developing a consultation service focused on spiritual assessment and intervention is feasible, acceptable to staff and patients, and may have a significant impact on clinical outcomes.