{"title":"The challenging task of defining spirituality","authors":"Andrzej K. Jastrzębski","doi":"10.1080/19349637.2020.1858734","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2020.1858734","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Many concepts in science lack clarity. Developing clear definitions of research phenomena is one of the most challenging tasks for academics of various proveniences. Defining spirituality seems to be one of those challenges. The author of this article synthetically describes historical and present-day challenges in defining spirituality in order to develop an appropriate awareness of certain major choices one has to make, while using a particular definition of spirituality. A universal definition of spirituality is not proposed here. Instead, the author develops a topology of definitions of spirituality intended to increase both semantical and methodological awareness of the remaining challenges.","PeriodicalId":51916,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81468222","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Expanding the vision of neurotheology: make neuroscience religion’s ally","authors":"W. Klemm","doi":"10.1080/19349637.2020.1858735","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2020.1858735","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Religion and science are often deemed to conflict. Neurotheology is a new way of exploring the interface of neuroscience and religion. Neuroscience shares many of the same concerns about human welfare as religion and also provides the credibility of secular rationale, evidence, explanation, and resolution for many religious ideas for wholesome living. The analysis here reveals and explores nine categories where neuroscience can augment religious life: (1) Harm avoidance, (2) Actualization, (3) Stress reduction, (4) Positive Reinforcement, (5) Human capacity for learning, (6) Biology of love, (7) Sanctity of life, (8) Social neuroscience, and (9) Body ad brain health.","PeriodicalId":51916,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87546725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nicole Lindsay, Deanna Haami, N. Tassell-Matamua, P. Pomare, H. Valentine, J. Pahina, Felicity Ware, Paris Pidduck
{"title":"The spiritual experiences of contemporary Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand: A qualitative analysis","authors":"Nicole Lindsay, Deanna Haami, N. Tassell-Matamua, P. Pomare, H. Valentine, J. Pahina, Felicity Ware, Paris Pidduck","doi":"10.1080/19349637.2020.1825152","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2020.1825152","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT For Aotearoa New Zealand Māori, wairua (spirit) is an integral aspect of existence and important source of well-being. In this qualitative study, 15 Māori participants discuss their personal experiences of wairua. Inductive thematic analysis revealed a diverse range of highly meaningful spiritual experiences occur for Māori, and align with historical accounts about wairua and existing academic research on anomalous experiences. Within Māori culture socially accepted structures exist to reference anomalous experiences against, which facilitate acceptance and normalcy to such occurrences. Valuing and acknowledging Māori spirituality has tremendous therapeutic potential for addressing issues of mental well-being within Aotearoa New Zealand.","PeriodicalId":51916,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85488833","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Supporting the wellness of laity: clinicians and Catholic deacons as mental health collaborators","authors":"G. Milstein, J. Ferrari","doi":"10.1080/19349637.2020.1850391","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2020.1850391","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Religion is a salient part of cultural competence for mental health clinicians. This paper describes rationales for clinicians to work with a less well-known Catholic clergy: permanent deacons. Demographic, personality structure and religious commitment data from nearly 2,000 deacons support collaboration with clinicians to improve the continuity of mental health care. Guidelines for this work are provided by the Clergy Outreach & Professional Engagement (COPE) model: clergy first support mental health without clinicians, then clergy may need to reach out to clinicians, then clinicians may need to reach out to clergy to provide care salient to persons of religious faith and to help sustain recovery. Deacon examples are provided throughout the paper. Future research is recommended.","PeriodicalId":51916,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81552758","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Devon Bowser, M. Joseph, Laura M. Crothers, Jered B. Kolbert, Imac S. Holmes
{"title":"A constructivist approach to promoting spiritual competence in counselor trainees: a pilot study","authors":"Devon Bowser, M. Joseph, Laura M. Crothers, Jered B. Kolbert, Imac S. Holmes","doi":"10.1080/19349637.2020.1844607","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2020.1844607","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a two-and-half hour constructivist-oriented training session upon the spirituality and religious competency of 15 master’s level counseling students. The results revealed that the master’s-lever counselors in training demonstrated a significant overall increase in spiritual and religious competency. Although the intervention resulted in a significant increase in the spiritual and religious competency scores, the participants’ scores at posttest remained below the minimum cutoff score, echoing a consistent finding in the literature that counselor preparation programs are not adequately training students to incorporate spirituality and religion in their work. Students who scored higher on a Personal Spiritual and Religious Practices scale demonstrated greater increases in their spiritual competency.","PeriodicalId":51916,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88724253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
F. Shirzad, Z. Ghaempanah, F. Safavifar, M. Biglari Abhari, M. Shamsaei, Stepan Bilynskyy, H. Koenig
{"title":"Islam and Mental Health: translation, book review, and commentary by religious scholars and mental health professionals","authors":"F. Shirzad, Z. Ghaempanah, F. Safavifar, M. Biglari Abhari, M. Shamsaei, Stepan Bilynskyy, H. Koenig","doi":"10.1080/19349637.2020.1829525","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2020.1829525","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The book “Islam and Mental Health” seeks to examine Islam as a resource and a liability for mental health among Muslims. This paper describes the translation of this book into Persian, examines how mental health professionals in Iran view its contents and reviews whether the information is consistent with Iranian religious beliefs based on views of Shiite Islamic scholars. For this purpose reviewing relevant research and Islamic sources, the book’s text was presented both independently and together to religious scholars and to mental health professionals for comments. The results revealed consistencies and inconsistencies with Muslim beliefs and Iranian cultural traditions.","PeriodicalId":51916,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83182763","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Spirituality and adjustment: The role of identity","authors":"Shengnan Li, S. Berman","doi":"10.1080/19349637.2019.1593068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2019.1593068","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The study examined the relationship between spirituality, identity development, and maladjustment variables. A total of 1,016 college student participants (53.9% female) were recruited from a major state university in the southern United States, the structural equation modeling revealed that aspects of identity development mediated the relationship between certain aspects of spirituality (spiritual transcendence, spiritual search, and spiritual function) and certain maladjustment variables (existential anxiety, identity distress, and internalizing symptoms). Identity exploration and identity commitment items appeared to have some unique relationships with the other variables, as did the various aspects of spirituality. Implications for measurement and future research are discussed.","PeriodicalId":51916,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84975501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Spiritual interventions in health care studies in Iran: A systematic review","authors":"Zahra Momeni Keleshteri, C. Rohani","doi":"10.1080/19349637.2019.1620667","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2019.1620667","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT There is no agreement about the design of spiritual interventions. Therefore a systematic review was conducted to determine the available evidence on the type of interventions in Iranian health care studies and to evaluate the quality of the studies. Interventional studies, between April 2008 and April 2018, were extracted from domestic and international databases and finally, 39 studies were selected. The findings showed that there were three main approaches: spiritual, religious and compilation, and different protocols. For obtaining valid results in health care studies, the development of clinical guidelines for designing spiritual interventions appropriate to the culture is deeply felt.","PeriodicalId":51916,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79015698","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Women, identity development and spirituality in the Anglican Church of Canada: A qualitative study","authors":"Meghan Richey, Cynthia Bilodeau, Miriam K. Martin","doi":"10.1080/19349637.2019.1593917","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2019.1593917","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This study investigated the interplay of gender and spirituality in the identity development of women within the religious institution of the Anglican Church of Canada. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to investigate the experiences and meaning making of the participants with regards to their identity development within their religious contexts, in order to better understand the influence of these phenomena on each other and to map a process of identity development that may be particular to women. Analysis revealed a framing theme of intergenerational journey, and the superordinate themes of disruption in integration, differentiation, and authenticity in integration.","PeriodicalId":51916,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86079726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Empathy and mental health associated with non-conventional healing practices","authors":"Alejandro Parra, Rocio Giudici","doi":"10.1080/19349637.2020.1808150","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2020.1808150","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate empathy and mental health in individuals who practice spiritual healing techniques. A sample of 190 healing practitioners was recruited to evaluate the healing experiences, along with to test cognitive-perceptual deficit and empathy. Significant differences were found due to age in two groups (Practitioners, n = 71, and Newly initiated, n = 119). Practitioners scored high on cognitive and affective empathy and proneness for cognitive and social schizotypy compared to the newly initiated. An secondary analysis also showed positive correlations between the total score of healing modalities and both schizotypy and empathy, as well as higher scores of spirituality and training in various healing techniques. These and other findings may allowed us to build a personality profile of healers as characterized by an adaptive dissociative personality trait and the ability to establish links with their clients/patients.","PeriodicalId":51916,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89386665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}