This edited collection addresses how therapy can engage with issues of race, culture, religion and spirituality. It is a response to the need for practitioners to further their understanding and skills base in developing ways of appropriately responding to the interconnectivity of these evolving issues.
Spirituality is an important aspect of occupational therapy theory and practice, yet it remains little understood. This timely book adds to the current debate by exploring the meaning of spirituality within occupational therapy and by outlining evidence which supports this area of practice. Beginning with the three stances surrounding spirituality for the common good and the theology of occupation, throughout its 10 chapters the book goes on to cover topics such as: Spirituality of caring; Theories of spiritual development; Definition of spirituality from occupational therapy literature; Differences between assessing spirituality and religion; Spirituality and ethics; Spiritual and cultural diversity in the occupational therapy clinic; Therapeutic self. By the end of the volume the reader will have the toolset required to consider spiritual concepts and their application to health principles. Occupational Therapy and Spirituality is written in an accessible format and is designed for occupational therapy and occupational science academics, researchers, and graduate students.
`This book is encyclopaedic in its range compacting much fascinating material into a small space....West has a gift for summarising and critiquing others' thought with brevity....The book will resource and stimulate its readers' - Counselling `There have been many books written about counselling with respect to class, politics, gender, culture and similar issues but, as far as I am aware , this is the first major work to be presented in this country about working with a client's spirituality and the importance this may have... Is a must for trainees in the field and for those who feel a client's spirituality is an irrelevance.'- Cahoots This thoughtful and intelligent book encour
The New York Times bestselling author of the classic The Care of the Soul addresses the needs of those providing soul care to others—therapists, psychiatrists, ministers, spiritual directors, teachers, and even friends—sharing his insights for incorporating a spiritual or soulful dimension into their work and practices. Soul Therapy is the culmination of Thomas Moore’s work. In his previous acclaimed books, he explored the soul in important areas of our lives—work, sex, marriage, family, religion, and aging. In this wise guide, he now returns to his core vocation: teaching practitioners—therapists, psychiatrists, ministers, spiritual directors, and others—how to offer soul care to those they assist. A training manual infused with a lifetime’s worth of wisdom, Soul Therapy is divided into five sections: What therapy or “soul care” is and how it works; What soul work is required of the helper to be able to address the needs of others; How to access and move forward the spiritual dimension; How to apply this work to specific areas, such as work, marriage, parenting, or teaching; How to deal with other issues that arise, such as developing a therapeutic style, dealing with one’s shadow, and the need for self-care. Profound yet practical, enlightened yet grounded in real-world experience, Soul Therapy will become a definitive resource for caregivers and practitioners for years to come.
Religiosity and spirituality (R/S) represent a very important factor of daily life for many individuals across different cultures and contexts. It is associated with lower rates of depression, suicide, mortality, and substance abuse, and is positively correlated with well-being and quality of life. Despite growing academic recognition and scientific literature on these connections this knowledge has not been translated into clinical practice. Part of the expanding Oxford Cultural Psychiatry series, Spirituality and Mental Health Across Cultures is a timely exploration of the implications of R/S on mental health. Written and edited by 38 experts in the fields of spirituality and mental health from 11 countries, covering a wide range of cultural and geographical perspectives, this unique resource assesses how mental health relates to world religions, agnosticism, atheism, and spiritualism unaffiliated with organised religion, with a practical touch. Across 25 chapters, this resource provides readers with a succinct and trustworthy review of the latest research and how this can be applied to clinical care. The first section covers the principles and fundamental questions that relate science, history, philosophy, neuroscience, religion, and spirituality with mental health. The second section discusses the main beliefs and practices related to world religions and their implications to mental health. The third reviews the impact of R/S on specific clinical situations and offers practical guidance on how to handle these appropriately, such as practical suggestions for assessing and integrating R/S in personal history anamnesis or psychotherapy.
Does my life have any deeper meaning? Does God really care about me? How can I find and follow my moral compass? What do I do when my faith is shaken to the core? Spiritual trials, doubts, or conflicts are often intertwined with mental health concerns, yet many psychotherapists feel ill equipped to discuss questions of faith. From pioneers in the psychology of religion and spirituality, this book combines state-of-the-art research, clinical insights, and vivid case illustrations. It guides clinicians to understand spiritual struggles as critical crossroads in life that can lead to brokenness and decline--or to greater wholeness and growth. Clinicians learn sensitive, culturally responsive ways to assess different types of spiritual struggles and help clients use them as springboards to change.
This book examines a collaboration between traditional Māori healing and clinical psychiatry. Comprised of transcribed interviews and detailed meditations on practice, it demonstrates how bicultural partnership frameworks can augment mental health treatment by balancing local imperatives with sound and careful psychiatric care. In the first chapter, Māori healer Wiremu NiaNia outlines the key concepts that underpin his worldview and work. He then discusses the social, historical, and cultural context of his relationship with Allister Bush, a child and adolescent psychiatrist. The main body of the book comprises chapters that each recount the story of one young person and their family’s experience of Māori healing from three or more points of view: those of the psychiatrist, the Māori healer and the young person and other family members who participated in and experienced the healing. With a foreword by Sir Mason Durie, this book is essential reading for psychologists, social workers, nurses, therapists, psychiatrists, and students interested in bicultural studies.
What place does spiritual need and healing have in the counselling room? Denying the spiritual dimension of personal distress can be potentially hurtful to clients, but the issue of spirituality is also fraught with professional and ethical issues for therapists. This book draws on original research to move the debate about spiritual need forwards in relation to therapeutic practice, supervision, and training. An international team of contributors offer a diverse range of perspectives to critically explore a wide spectrum of spiritual issues, including prayer, pastoral care and traditional healing. Edited by a leading figure in the field, this book: - Illuminates experiences of both clients and practitioners through detailed case vignettes - Draws on cutting-edge research in this growing field - Invites readers to address their own therapeutic practice with hands-on discussion points This measured and thoughtful approach provides a fascinating insight to an often complex and controversial topic. As such, the book is essential reading for trainees and practitioners of counselling and psychotherapy.
Integrating Spirituality into Counseling uses the Christian tradition as a starting point for developing a universal frame of reference and is predominantly based on an existential approach to counseling, one that is applicable to several faith traditions as well as spiritual but nonreligious audiences. The chapters of this book proceed from the theoretical toward the more practical, in a logical fashion, allowing a clear distinction between different topics, starting from meta-reflection and finishing with practical applications. The design of the book allows students to focus on whatever is of importance to them; each chapter is self-contained and can be read independently of the others. Integrating Spirituality into Counseling is designed for students of counseling, pastoral care, spirituality, theology, and chaplaincy. It will provide readers with the tools they need to work with spiritual issues across traditions. Students will also find advice for when to refer clients to religious leaders or ministers, and they’ll also deepen their understanding of the ways in which spirituality influences one’s life.
This handbook presents a thorough examination of the intricate interplay of race, ethnicity, and culture in mental health – historical origins, subsequent transformations, and the discourses generated from past and present mental health and wellness practices. The text demonstrates how socio-cultural identities including race, gender, class, sexual orientation, disability, religion, and age intersect with clinical work in a range of settings. Case vignettes and recommendations for best practice help ground each in a clinical focus, guiding practitioners and educators to actively increase their understanding of non-Western and indigenous healing techniques, as well as their awareness of contemporary mental health theories as a product of Western culture with a particular historical and cultural perspective. The international contributors also discuss ways in which global mental health practices transcend racial, cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and political boundaries. The Routledge International Handbook of Race, Culture and Mental Health is an essential resource for students, researchers, and professionals alike as it addresses the complexity of mental health issues from a critical, global perspective.