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Spiritual Health: What is it and Why is it Important?

Dawnofhope

Non-Proselytizing Baha'i
Staff member
Premium Member
But there must be a difference if you see "working in psychiatry" and "concerning yourself with spiritual health" as different things.

What do you see as the difference? What would you do as a chaplain that you weren't doing as a mental health professional?

(Besides seeing to religious observances, of course)
Psychiatry can become very reductionist and focus largely on biology to the detriment of an holistic approach to healing. Pharmaceutical approaches are emphasised rather than psychotherapies. Funding models often support drug treatments as they are seen as less expensive.

As an interfaith chaplain I would be assisting those who wish to make better use of their faith communities and spiritual practices for the purpose of healing. It would be a very different conversation in some instances compared to that which takes place within the doctor patient relationship.
 

Dawnofhope

Non-Proselytizing Baha'i
Staff member
Premium Member
The word 'health' is actually a bit strange of a word to use.
But I suppose the implication is that there are spiritual illnesses.
Perhaps things like hubris or greed which aren't apparently physical, mental or emotional faults.
- meaning that a person can be physically adept, mentally acute, and have a stable emotional state while also expressing these undesired traits.
We have to wonder what is it about being greedy or self-conceited or what-have-you that is defective.
Should you have the misfortune of closely associating with a high functioning psychopath the distinction between psychological and spiritual well-being becomes clear.
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
Should you have the misfortune of closely associating with a high functioning psychopath the distinction between psychological and spiritual well-being becomes clear.
I wouldn't say that a "high-functioning psychopath" is psychologically well.
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
Psychiatry can become very reductionist and focus largely on biology to the detriment of an holistic approach to healing. Pharmaceutical approaches are emphasised rather than psychotherapies. Funding models often support drug treatments as they are seen as less expensive.
So treatments like CBT are poorly funded - at least in your area - and you see chaplaincy as a way to fill the void that this leaves?

This is scary in two ways, IMO.

As an interfaith chaplain I would be assisting those who wish to make better use of their faith communities and spiritual practices for the purpose of healing. It would be a very different conversation in some instances compared to that which takes place within the doctor patient relationship.
Indeed. Bringing religion into the doctor-patient relationship is generally considered unethical.
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
If he doesn’t have a disorder of cognition, mood, volition and perception why would you consider him unwell?
A quick googling tells me that the colloquial term "psychopath" generally refers to antisocial personality disorder or dissocial personality disorder. Are you seriously arguing that these conditions have no bearing on psychological wellness?
 

Dawnofhope

Non-Proselytizing Baha'i
Staff member
Premium Member
So treatments like CBT are poorly funded - at least in your area - and you see chaplaincy as a way to fill the void that this leaves?

This is scary in two ways, IMO.

Chaplaincy services and CBT are two entirely different things, and one is not a substitute for the other.

Indeed. Bringing religion into the doctor-patient relationship is generally considered unethical.

Doctors are there meet their patients health needs, not teach patients about their religions.

A quick googling tells me that the colloquial term "psychopath" generally refers to antisocial personality disorder or dissocial personality disorder. Are you seriously arguing that these conditions have no bearing on psychological wellness?

So let's assume antisocial personality disorder is a medical condition. How do we cure it?
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
Chaplaincy services and CBT are two entirely different things, and one is not a substitute for the other.
I'm glad you agree. It originally sounded like you didn't.

What did you mean by this, then?

"As an interfaith chaplain I would be assisting those who wish to make better use of their faith communities and spiritual practices for the purpose of healing."

Doctors are there meet their patients health needs, not teach patients about their religions.
Is "teaching patients about their religions" all you'd want to do? What does this have to do with any sort of "healing?"

So let's assume antisocial personality disorder is a medical condition. How do we cure it?
Not with prayer, that's for sure.

I'm not sure how this relates back to what we were talking about (i.e. the distinction between spiritual wellness and psychological wellness).
 

Dawnofhope

Non-Proselytizing Baha'i
Staff member
Premium Member
I'm glad you agree. It originally sounded like you didn't.

What did you mean by this, then?

"As an interfaith chaplain I would be assisting those who wish to make better use of their faith communities and spiritual practices for the purpose of healing."


Is "teaching patients about their religions" all you'd want to do? What does this have to do with any sort of "healing?"

If you wanted to engage in a serious discussion about this topic it would be helpful to consider where some medical research is heading. Some find academic papers a little dry.

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn/2012/278730/

Not with prayer, that's for sure.

I'm not sure how this relates back to what we were talking about (i.e. the distinction between spiritual wellness and psychological wellness).

It's important to appreciate the medical model has its limitations. Its easy to classify antisocial personality disorder and any other aberration of human character as a disease, but the purpose of doing so is to find a remedy or cure. Despite all the advances in medical science, that's not going to happen anytime soon with ASPD. Why? Its not really a disease like pneumonia or even depression.
 

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
If you wanted to engage in a serious discussion about this topic it would be helpful to consider where some medical research is heading. Some find academic papers a little dry.

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn/2012/278730/
Academic papers are fine - my bread and butter is engineering studies and government reports - but I'm not sure what point you were trying to make with this one.

It talked about how religiosity - i.e. being religious - is beneficial. As someone who's non-religious but also has strong beliefs about things like respecting patient autonomy, the idea of someone running around a hospital, say, with the idea that religiosity is an unqualified good and who has the goal of infusing religiosity - of any variety - into patient care is not something I'm comfortable with. It sounds like a recipe for treating non-religious patients with a lack of respect.

I'm fine with seeing to the religious needs of religious patients, particularly if they're having a long hospital stay. It's an important part of keeping them happy and comfortable, which is a benefit in and of itself and I'm sure has therapeutic benefit as well.

All that is fine. I think an interfaith chaplain probably isn't equipped to handle all of those needs themselves - some mainstream religions require that only their own priests can do certain rituals - but it makes sense for there to be a "point man" who can deal with some needs directly bring in other religious ministers as needed for the rest.

What you've said thst raises concerns, though is that while you've been vague about what "spiritual well-being" means,

- the way you describe implies to me that you expect that non-religious people have "spiritual well-being" that needs attending to, but

- when you talk about how "spiritual well-being" is attended to, it seems like you always come back to religion.

So how does this all translate into a chaplain's approach to non-religious patients?

If you were a chaplain and you encountered a non-religious patient, what would you do? Would you respect their lack of religion? Would you be able to provide them anything of value?

Overall, I think that chaplaincy has a horrible track record with respecting the rights of the non-religious. I've heard too many stories of chaplains using their position as a way to find a vulnerable "mission field" that they wouldn't have been able to proselytize to otherwise.

Even when the chaplain's motives are good, I've found that many of them just don't have the skill set to deal with the non-religious. For instance, I remember the officiant at my father's funeral. He was a Protestant minister and also a chaplain, and he tried to counsel and console my family and me before the funeral service. It became apparent very quickly that he had nothing to say that would bave provided comfort to someone who didn't believe in God or Heaven. He just couldn't relate to an atheist mindset, so he ended up being inept at what he was trying to do.

It's important to appreciate the medical model has its limitations. Its easy to classify antisocial personality disorder and any other aberration of human character as a disease, but the purpose of doing so is to find a remedy or cure. Despite all the advances in medical science, that's not going to happen anytime soon with ASPD. Why? Its not really a disease like pneumonia or even depression.
I'm not sure what any of this has to do with your original point. A psychopath certainly wouldn't be given a clean bill of mental health, so I'm still not sure if there's anything in the term "spiritual well-being" that isn't covered by "mental well-being."
 
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Ponder This

Well-Known Member
If he doesn’t have a disorder of cognition, mood, volition and perception why would you consider him unwell?

I'm not sure what any of this has to do with your original point. A psychopath certainly wouldn't be given a clean bill of mental health, so I'm still not sure if there's anything in the term "spiritual well-being" that isn't covered by "mental well-being."

I'm unclear as to why it would be classified as a mental disorder if there are no mental dysfunctions. Can anyone clarify that point? Is a person mentally unwell if he doesn't want to socialize with other people? :confused:
 
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