A survey of the views of trainees in psychiatry regarding religious issues

Mental health, religion and spirituality: Attitudes, experience and expertise among mental health professionals and religious leaders in Somerset

“…Some recognize the importance of their own beliefs whatever they are but have no confidence in making use of them in their work except implicitly, while others see them as irrelevant (Clarke, 2001;Roskes et al, 1998). Unfortunately we did not question religious leaders about their own experience and its relevance in their work, but we would anticipate similar doubts, which must add to both professions diffidence in initiating care that addresses both 'mind' and 'soul'.…”

“…The fact that the vast majority of professionals have received no adequate training either before or after qualification makes sense of their reluctance to dabble in what is unknown to them (Hambidge, 1990;Loewenthal, 1995;Pulchalski et al, 2001;Roskes et al, 1998). We can not imagine much change in the current state of affairs until that situation is seriously addressed and both professions learn more about each other's disciplines and their relevance to the mental health, religion and spirituality of service users (Copsey, 2001;Mental Health Foundation, 2002).…”

“…They recognize how little time is available for this, and offer positive suggestions about what a curriculum should include to bring current research to bear more directly upon practice. Roskes et al (1998), Bowman (1998) and Coyle (2001) offer similar examples, and all encourage the involvement of clergy and chaplains both as educators and as students. In Hungary, there is a most imaginative programme to train pastors alongside mental health professionals (Tomcsanyi, 2000) in order to promote better mental health in a country still in the trauma of major political change.…”

“…Neeleman and King (1993) provide the most adequate survey of the religious attitudes and beliefs of psychiatrists in relation to their clinical practice in the UK (see Roskes et al, 1998 for an American comparison). Their questionnaire to 231 psychiatrists working in London identified that the vast majority of the respondents (92%) considered that there are links between religion and mental illness and 'that psychiatrists should concern themselves with the religious beliefs of their patients during assessment and therapy'.…”

Teaching Spiritual and Religious Competencies to Psychiatry Residents: A Scoping and Systematic Review

“…The included studies reported generally robust response rates and no material differences between responders and nonresponders. We excluded case reports from our systematic review, as well as studies for which the primary emphasis was on the development of cultural competencies; however, post hoc examination of excluded studies 24,33,35,64,[80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88] (see Supplemental Digital Appendix 5 at http://links.lww.com/ACADMED/B116) suggests that their inclusion would not have materially altered the core findings of this review.…”