Carolina Roberta Ohara Barros E Jorge da Cunha, Fabio Scorsolini-Comin
{"title":"Reasons and Expectations for Seeking Spiritual Treatment in Brazilian Spiritist Centers: A Qualitative Study.","authors":"Carolina Roberta Ohara Barros E Jorge da Cunha, Fabio Scorsolini-Comin","doi":"10.1007/s10943-024-02068-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10943-024-02068-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The objective of this study is to identify the main motivations and expectations for seeking spiritual treatment (ST) in spiritist centers. This is a qualitative study developed at two spiritist centers in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. ST was considered as the set of activities that use magnetic current as the main treatment method. We observed that most of the participants first sought treatments from health professionals and that, after insufficient results, they went in search of ST. Their treatments take place simultaneously and, for the participants, they complement each other. The motivations that led the participants to ST ranged from physical reasons to mental health complaints and even family conflicts. One possibility for investing in this type of treatment is due to the participants' desire for a more comprehensive approach, and not as a mere solution to the problem that directly afflicts them.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":"4445-4461"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141187109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kayla Ford, Jessica Van Denend, Jason DeViva, James Cooke, Anne Klee
{"title":"ACTing Spiritually: Integrating Spiritual Care and Mental Health Care within a US Department of Veterans Affairs Inpatient Psychiatric Unit.","authors":"Kayla Ford, Jessica Van Denend, Jason DeViva, James Cooke, Anne Klee","doi":"10.1007/s10943-024-02065-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10943-024-02065-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As a part of the VA's interprofessional fellowship in psychosocial rehabilitation, the authors developed an 8-week spirituality group manual, ACTing Spiritually, which incorporates principles of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) into a spirituality group protocol. The group, administered weekly as possible for 28 weeks on an inpatient psychiatric unit at a veterans affairs (VA) medical center in West Haven, CT, aimed to incorporate veterans' spirituality into their mental health treatment through concepts of acceptance, values, mindfulness, and committed action. ACTing Spiritually ran in tandem with a basic ACT group and the two groups had comparable average group sizes, suggesting interest in ACTing Spiritually similarly compares to interest in a basic ACT group in this context. In addition, development of the group yielded several qualitative findings, including a discussion of the similarities and differences between ACT and spiritual care, clinical gains for chaplains conducting the group, and clinical tensions that arose through the process of integration. The study provided preliminary evidence of the potential feasibility and acceptability of ACTing Spiritually. Next steps should include a formal evaluation of its potential efficacy.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":"4533-4548"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141440979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does Forgiveness Underlie the Relationship Between Religiosity and Meaning in Life Among Members of Sexaholics Anonymous in Poland?","authors":"Marcin Wnuk, Edyta Charzyńska","doi":"10.1007/s10943-023-01842-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10943-023-01842-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Religiosity and meaning in life are recognized as factors supporting recovery from addictions. However, little is known about the moral mechanisms involved in the relationship between religiosity and meaning in life among individuals with addictions. The main purpose of this study was to test the direct and indirect (through forgiveness by God/higher power and interpersonal forgiveness) relationships between subjective religiosity and the presence of meaning in life among 80 members (72 men and 8 women) of Sexaholics Anonymous (SA) in Poland. The following measures were used: a single-item measure of subjective religiosity, subscales from the Forgiveness Scale and the Heartland Forgiveness Scale, and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire. The sequential mediation model was tested using Hayes PROCESS macro. The results showed a direct positive relationship between subjective religiosity and the presence of meaning in life. Moreover, subjective religiosity was positively related to forgiveness by God/higher power, which, in turn, directly and indirectly (through interpersonal forgiveness) predicted higher levels of the presence of meaning in life. The study suggests that among SA members, religious faith facilitates perceiving one's own life as meaningful, both directly and indirectly, through aspects of forgiveness. Members of SA may benefit from their belief in God/higher power and religiously-rooted forgiveness to support the meaning-making processes.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":"4215-4231"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11576830/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9593585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Postsecular, Christian, or Humanistic Spirituality in Social Work within Secular Europe.","authors":"Michal Opatrný","doi":"10.1007/s10943-024-02105-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10943-024-02105-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>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 a theological stance or rather just from the social work perspective? 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.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":"4424-4444"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142047311","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Challenge or Threat? The Effects of the Standard and a Second-Generation Mindfulness Intervention with Buddhist Practices on Cognitive Appraisals of Stress: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Experiment Performed in Switzerland.","authors":"Liudmila Gamaiunova, Pierre-Yves Brandt, Matthias Kliegel","doi":"10.1007/s10943-023-01964-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10943-023-01964-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Contemplative approaches rooted in Buddhist traditions have been linked to the attenuation of response to social stress. Anticipatory cognitive appraisals of social situations potentially represent a mechanism explaining the stress-reducing effects of contemplative practices. The cognitive appraisal of threat is associated with an anticipated loss of social self-esteem. In contrast, the cognitive appraisal of challenge involves recognizing the potential for gain or growth in stressful situations and is associated with a more adaptive cardiovascular response. In this secondary analysis of a randomized controlled experiment performed in Switzerland, we evaluated the effects of two contemplative interventions on cognitive appraisals of challenge and threat and associated physiological profiles. The interventions were a standard Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program and a new program (MBSR-B), which included several elements from Buddhist practices. After an eight-week intervention, participants completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and underwent the assessment of primary cognitive appraisals and cardiovascular response to stress. The results demonstrated greater challenge appraisal in the MBSR (n = 20) and MBSR-B (n = 21) groups compared to Control (n = 24), and MBSR-B participants scored higher on the challenge than threat appraisal. At the physiological level, the groups did not differ on changes in cardiac output and total peripheral resistance. Still, an exploratory analysis demonstrated that the MBSR-B group's cardiovascular profile best resembled challenge appraisal. The results suggest that contemplative approaches foster challenge appraisal, contributing to a more adaptive response to stress.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":"4773-4792"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11576654/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138886263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shengyu Gu, Konstantin Sokolovskiy, Olga Evreeva, Svetlana Ivleva
{"title":"Religious Beliefs Shaping Health Care and Transforming Health Concepts: The Case of Shanghai.","authors":"Shengyu Gu, Konstantin Sokolovskiy, Olga Evreeva, Svetlana Ivleva","doi":"10.1007/s10943-023-01864-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10943-023-01864-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study examines the connection between health and religious beliefs in modern Chinese society and builds a model reimagining the conception of health. The study draws on interviews with 108 patients (52 were women and 56 were men) at Huashan Hospital (Shanghai City, China). The survey ran between May 10 and May 14, 2021. More than 50% of female and male respondents reported having religious beliefs. Most acknowledged the crucial role of faith and religious beliefs in overcoming treatment challenges and alleviating patient suffering. The role of faith and religious beliefs in physical/mental treatment and health maintenance received the highest average percent positive score among female respondents. According to the multiple regression results of demographic parameters (age, ethnicity, gender, education, and urban or rural residence), only gender had a statistically significant effect on the impact of religious beliefs on health care attitudes. The proposed model builds on the Confucian concept of Ren (humanity), which refers to a harmonious relationship between people within a family or society bound by specific rules. The results of this study can help expand awareness about religion and its role in healthcare as a means to support patients' spiritual and physical health.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":"4376-4396"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9826983","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Role of Religious Comfort and Strain on Social Well-Being among Emerging Adults in Poland: Serial Mediation by Meaning Making Processes.","authors":"Dariusz Krok, Małgorzata Szcześniak, Beata Zarzycka","doi":"10.1007/s10943-024-02102-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10943-024-02102-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Religious struggles tend noticeably to influence the sphere of social well-being in emerging adulthood as individuals modify their religious beliefs and practices, form personal identity patterns, and rediscover new life purpose and values. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether meaning-making and meaning in life (presence and search) can serially mediate the hypothesized links between religious comfort vs. strain and social well-being. Self-report measures of religious struggles, meaning-making, meaning in life, and social well-being were completed by 368 emerging adults (aged 18 to 29, 52.2% female). The serial mediation analysis showed that the relationship between religious comfort vs. strain and social well-being was mediated by meaning-making and presence of meaning, but not by a search for meaning. These results suggest that religious struggles may represent unique aspects of developmental spiritual processes in emerging adulthood with implications for social well-being.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":"4110-4129"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11576892/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142005578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Julianne Bryant, Melanie Nyhof, Michael W Hassler, Jennifer Abe, Anthony Vives De León
{"title":"Spiritual and Emotional Care Among Clergy as First Responder-Victims in Puerto Rico: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study.","authors":"Julianne Bryant, Melanie Nyhof, Michael W Hassler, Jennifer Abe, Anthony Vives De León","doi":"10.1007/s10943-024-02165-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10943-024-02165-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A longitudinal qualitative study was conducted to explore the experiences of church leaders (10 priests, pastors, and pastors' wives) who provided disaster spiritual/emotional care (DSEC) to the island of Puerto Rico during a period of intense and repeated crises from 2017 to 2022. Utilizing a narrative inquiry approach, 18 in-depth interviews were conducted and analyzed. Findings indicated that the participants engaged in psychological, social, and religious coping strategies to actively cope with the stress and trauma of being first responder rescuer/victims. Regional, cultural and contextual factors are considered in an effort to understand and enhance services to populations where disaster is the new normal.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":"4580-4608"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11576822/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142562974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Meditation, Mindfulness, and Prayer: Three Spiritual Modalities Utilized for Healing.","authors":"Jeff Levin","doi":"10.1007/s10943-024-02122-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10943-024-02122-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This paper describes three spiritual practices utilized for healing. These modalities-meditation, mindfulness, and prayer-share a spiritual foundation and appear to operate, in part, through mind-body connections that can be accessed to ameliorate physical and psychological symptoms and to promote health. For each modality, this paper discusses pertinent conceptual issues, summarizes empirical evidence suggestive of a role in healing, and outlines theoretical support for such a relationship. Also discussed is a fourth modality, energy healing, and how it might be studied, as well as why further investigation of spiritual healing is merited and a worthwhile topic for medical research.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":"4726-4744"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142141445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Effects of Malocclusion Among Priests in Enugu, Nigeria: An Anglican Church-Based Study.","authors":"Azubuike Chukwubumnobi Okeke, Nkiruka Folaranmi, Ifeyinwa Obi","doi":"10.1007/s10943-024-02104-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10943-024-02104-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Malocclusion refers to the departure from the normal relationship of teeth to other teeth in the same and opposing arch. It can negatively impact on facial appearance and the quality of life of a person. The present study aimed to investigate the influence of malocclusion on the role of priests as counsellors and preachers in Nigeria as perceived by church members. This was a cross-sectional survey of 112 church members who completed an electronic questionnaire. Thirty-five (31.3%) participants said unattractive dental appearance (malocclusion) will impact negatively on their acceptance of the priest's gospel message. Twenty-seven (24.1%) said dental appearance will influence the choice of priest that they go to for counselling while 71 (63.4%) said it will not. The study found that though unattractive teeth arrangement did not significantly affect the priest's duties as it pertains to sermons and counselling, awareness on the importance of orthodontic care among the clergy is necessary and should be encouraged among all spiritual leaders.</p>","PeriodicalId":48054,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Religion & Health","volume":" ","pages":"4683-4695"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142056926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}