Spirituality and Psychiatry addresses the crucial but often overlooked relevance of spirituality to mental well-being and psychiatric care. This updated and expanded second edition explores the nature of spirituality, its relationship to religion, and the reasons for its importance in clinical practice. Contributors discuss the prevention and management of illness, and the maintenance of recovery. Different chapters focus on the subspecialties of psychiatry, including psychotherapy, child and adolescent psychiatry, intellectual disability, forensic psychiatry, substance misuse, and old age psychiatry. The book provides a critical review of the literature and a response to the questions posed by researchers, service users and clinicians, concerning the importance of spirituality in mental healthcare. With contributions from psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, nurses, mental healthcare chaplains and neuroscientists, and a patient perspective, this book is an invaluable clinical handbook for anyone interested in the place of spirituality in psychiatric practice.

‘Clinical psychiatry and its practice very often follows a biopsychosocial perspective in understanding causation and treatment of psychiatric disorders. However, very often clinicians when considering social factors do not include the role religion and spirituality play in the management of various mental illnesses. This book fills a major gap by making psychiatrists and other healthcare professionals aware of the need of spiritual assessment and including spirituality as a key component of not only the clinical formulations but also in management plans which will be acceptable to patients and their families. The editors have pulled together an impressive array of authors in highlighting the importance of the subject. They truly deserve our appreciation and thanks in reminding us the role spirituality can play in the recovery of patient, supporting their carers and families and their functioning.’

Dinesh Bhugra CBE - Professor Emeritus of Mental Health and Cultural Diversity, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, Kings College, London, UK

‘The prevalence of spiritual or existential distress is high in the world, often presenting as mental health issues in the clinical setting. Yet the identification and treatment of spiritual distress requires a unique set of skills and interprofessional approaches. Spirituality and Psychiatry is an excellent resource for all mental health professionals and learners in this field providing the theoretical framework and the clinical approaches to addressing spirituality in patient care. It is about the accompaniment of the sufferer in their journey toward healing—so critically important in today’s healthcare systems.’

Christina Puchalski - M.D., Professor of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Executive Director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

‘Spirituality and Psychiatry is an essential clinical reference, drawing upon the research evidence base, the wisdom of leading experts in the field, and case studies drawn from clinical experience. Taking a different approach than many other books it aims to provide a guide to the integration of spirituality in psychiatric practice and addresses the central clinical controversies and concerns in the field. A ‘must have’ for all clinicians interested in spirituality and mental health.’

Harold G. Koenig - M.D., Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, and Director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health, Duke University Medical Center, North Carolina, USA

‘This updated and expanded second edition of Spirituality and Psychiatry is timely, reminding us of the importance of addressing meaning and purpose in life, truth, and values, as fundamental concerns in person centred clinical practice. In the context of the recent pandemic, with a cost of living crisis and war in Europe, these existential themes have never been more important than now. This book is essential reading for all psychiatrists.’

Baroness Sheila Hollins - Professor Emeritus in Psychiatry of Intellectual Disability at St George’s University of London; Honorary Professor of Spirituality, Theology and Health, University of Durham, UK; and past President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the British Medical Association