The human being's spiritual experiences in a mental healthcare context; their positive and negative meaning and impact on health--a hermeneutic approach.
Tiburtius Koslander, Unni Å Lindström, António Barbosa da Silva
Scandinavian journal of caring sciences September 1, 2013 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-6712.2012.01067.x via PubMed
Summary
Patients' spiritual experiences in mental healthcare can have both positive and negative meanings, which are often misunderstood by caregivers as mere religious speculation. An analysis of 32 stories from William James' work reveals three main themes regarding spirituality's impact on health: positive meanings, negative meanings, and a combination of both. Addressing the spiritual dimension is crucial for mental healthcare providers to support patients effectively.
Study at a glance
| Design | hermeneutic study |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 32 |
| Population | stories of patients' spiritual experiences |
| Key finding | Patients' spiritual experiences can have both positive and negative meanings that are important for mental caregivers to address. |
Abstract
The study aims at describing different meanings of patients' spiritual experiences and their impact on patients' health in mental healthcare. The different contents of patients' spiritual experiences are often understood by caregivers as the expressions of patients' religious speculation. The study has a hermeneutic approach, inspired by Gadamer. Its theoretical pre-understanding is Caring Science perspective, according to which the human being is a unity of body, psyche and spirit. The sources are 32 stories selected from William James' book (1956) The Varieties of Religious Experience. They are hermeneutically interpreted and discussed in the light of international research on patients' spirituality to gain a deeper understanding. The results are three main themes: (i) the positive meanings of spirituality, (ii) the negative meanings of spirituality and (iii) the both negative and positive meaning of spirituality. Therefore, it is a very important task for mental caregivers to address patients' spiritual dimension to help them adequately.