This case study focuses on the treatment of a 44-year-old Dutch man presenting with an anxious God representation and religious struggles according to DSM-5 criteria. Having received prior treatment for a panic disorder and alcohol use disorder, the patient was given a 60-day treatment in which the Jesus Prayer intervention was used to address his religious and spiritual problems. To our knowledge, this is the first case study involving the Jesus Prayer in the treatment of a patient. The intervention had positive effects on the patient’s religious and spiritual problems concerning an anxious God representation, religious struggles, stress levels and surrender to God. The intervention may also play a supporting role in decreasing symptoms of depression and anxiety and in promoting global mental health, as reliable change index analyses revealed symptom reduction between baseline levels and at post-assessment levels for all measured symptoms, with a semi-gradual decrease over the course of treatment. These improvements were continued in a 3-month follow-up assessment, suggesting promise for the Jesus Prayer as an effective treatment method for religious and spiritual problems. Recommendations regarding the importance of assessing the religious life of patients and implementing spiritual interventions are discussed, as well as the relevance of the therapist’s own assumptions when treating a religious or spiritual problem.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.