Definitions of Spirituality and Religion
Degree of involvement or state of awareness or
devotion to a higher being or life philosophy.
Not always related to conventional religious beliefs.
(p. 208)
It defines religiosity as the
Degree of one's religious involvement,
devotion to religious beliefs, or adherence to
religious observances...term is associated with
religious organizations and religious personnel.
(p. 184)
Thus a religion is a dogma, a set of
beliefs about the spiritual and a set of practices
which arise out of those beliefs. Spirituality is that
realm of human experience which religion attempts to
connect us to. Sometimes it succeeds and sometimes
it fails. While spiritual is not a synonym for religious,
a person who has internalized the beliefs and practices
of a religion generally would be considered spiritual.
However, one can be "religious" without being "spiritual"--many
members of religious institutions perform the necessary
rituals and accept the creed (at least superficially),
but their ethics, morals, and opportunities for
day-to-day practice of their religion do not match
their professed beliefs. (p.6)
Krippner, S. and Welch, P. (1993). Spiritual Dimensions of Healing. New
York: Irvington.
Everyone has a spirituality, is that each of us
must answer basic questions like ''Who am I?" or "What
is the meaning of my existence?" or "Why am I suffering?" We
are all spiritual, even if we don't belong to a
faith group or have a spiritual practice. Spirituality
is characterized by a freely undertaken, mature
commitment to religious beliefs and practices...On
the other hand, people can be "religious" without
allowing the many resources of their religious
tradition to touch their spirits in a significant
way
Spirituality plays a major role in the recovery movement,
as we shall explore in lessons 4-7. However, the mental
health field has a heritage of 100 years of ignoring
and pathologizing spiritual experiences and religion.
Freud promoted this view in several of his works, such
as in Future
of an Illusion wherein he pathologized religion
as:
 A
system of wishful illusions together with a disavowal
of reality, such as we find nowhere else...but in a
state of blissful hallucinatory confusion.
 Albert
Ellis,PhD is the creator of Rational Emotive Therapy,
the forerunner of cognitive modification approaches
now widely used in cognitive-behavioral therapies. In
a recent interview,
Ellis stated:
Spirit and soul is horseshit of the worst sort.
Obviously there are no fairies, no Santa Clauses,
no spirits. What there is, is human goals and purposes...But
a lot of transcendentalists are utter screwballs.
From a recovery perspective that views spiritual awakening
as central to the healing process, this could be called "Stinking
Thinking!"
 BF
Skinner,PhD, the psychologist who pioneered understanding
of behavior modification principles that are the other
half of cognitive-behavioral therapies, did not publish
a single word on the topic of spirituality. He approached
humans as stimulus response boxes with varying behaviors
that depend on environmental contingencies. Skinner's
psychology gave no attention to inner experience, which
does leave out a lot of what makes people human beings.
However, Skinner's implicit views on religion can be
gleaned from the novel he wrote about a Utopian community, Walden
Two.
In this novel, one member describes religion as:
an explanatory fiction, of a miracle-working mind...superstitious
behavior perpetuated by an intermittent reinforcement
schedule
New Diagnostic Category:
Religious or Spiritual Problem
As noted above, the mental health system has become
much more open to recognizing the importance of spirituality
in mental health and in recovery from mental disorders.
One major step was the acceptance a new diagnostic
category for Religious or Spiritual Problems into the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual-IV in 1994.
This category can be used when the focus of clinical
attention is a religious or spiritual problem. Examples
include distressing experiences that involve loss
or questioning of faith, problems associated with
conversion to a new faith, or questioning of other
spiritual values which may not necessarily be related
to an organized church or religious institution.
(p. 685)
The adoption of this new category as a nonpathological
category (it is listed as a problem along with Bereavement)
has also led to increased inclusion of religious and
spiritual issues into the curriculum of psychiatry,
nursing and mental health training in other disciplines.
 History
of the DSM-IV category Religious or Spiritual Problem (V62.89)
QUIZ EXERCISE 6:
Which of these were cited in the proposal described in the History of the DSM-IV category Religious or Spiritual Problem (V62.89 ...
a) increasing the accuracy of diagnostic assessments when religious and spiritual issues are involved b) reducing the occurrence of iatrogenic harm from misdiagnosis of religious and spiritual problems c) improving treatment of such problems by stimulating clinical research d) all of the above
Record your answers for later insertion into the Quiz. |
QUIZ EXERCISE 7:
In the DSM-IV, Religious or Spiritual Problem ...
a) is included in the section on Adjustment Disorders b) cannot be diagnnosed if there is a co-existing Axis I disorder c) is included for the first time in the DSM d) is listed as a proposed category for further consideration.
Record your answers for later insertion into the Quiz. |
In some talks I have given, I have used this ancient
Scandinavian fairytale as an allegory of how the mental
health field and spirituality need to "get married" and
get to know each other better:
A kingdom was falling into ruin, and an oracle was
consulted who determined that the kingdom could only
be saved if the beautiful princess marries a dragon.
The reluctant princess is advised by a wise woman
to wear 10 layers of wedding dresses and when they
are alone on their wedding night to ask the dragon
to shed a layer of his skin each time she sheds a
dress. When in fact he does so ten times, the dragon
stands revealed as a prince, and the couple and kingdom
live happily ever after.
Some would say that mental health and spirituality
are already married but need couples counseling to
help them get along better! The development of this
course, originating in presentations to consumers and
staff at the San Francisco, Sonoma, and Contra Costa
County Departments of Mental Health, is also an example
of the increased receptivity and sensitivity to spirituality
within mental health.
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