Arndt Büssing

Based on information gathered from the internationally used Spiritual Needs Questionnaire, this book offers analyses of the spiritual and existential needs among different groups of people such as the chronically ill, elderly, adolescents, mothers of sick children, refugees, patients' relatives, and others. The theoretical background, specific empirical findings and the relevance of addressing spiritual needs is discussed by experts from different professions and cultural contexts. Supporting a person's spiritual needs remains an important task of future healthcare systems that wish to more comprehensively care for the healthcare needs of patients, and of religious communities to ensure that spiritual concerns of all persons, independent of their religious orientations, are met in and outside healthcare settings.

The Spiritual Needs Questionnaire as a Global Resource for Health and Social Care

Spiritual Needs in Research and Practice

René Hefti

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Integrating Religion and Spirituality into Clinical Practice" that was published in Religions

Integrating Religion and Spirituality into Clinical Practice

Harold G. Koenig

Donna Ames

This eBook focuses on a relatively new frontier in psychiatry, the topic of “moral injury” (MI), which is examined here in the setting of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Veterans and Active Duty Military. We define MI, describe how to identify it by screening, explain the impact that MI has on mental health outcomes (particularly PTSD and mental health problems often associated with PTSD), and provide information on what clinicians can do about it. While the focus here is on Veterans and Active Duty Military, MI is much more widespread than just among former or current military personnel. Healthcare professionals, first responders, clergy, and many patients seeking mental health care are also likely suffering from MI, which is not recognized or treated because clinicians are not familiar with it. Burnout among health professionals and those engaged in other high-stress occupations may often have MI as an underlying condition that is driving the burnout or related emotional condition. Therefore, psychiatrists and all mental health professionals must know about this syndrome, utilize the tools now available to identify it, and learn about interventions that can be employed to treat it. Success in treating many of the common mental health conditions that appear resistant to treatment may depend on knowing about this new (yet very old) syndrome.

Moral Injury in Veterans and Active Duty Military with PTSD

Why do we need more questionnaires to measure aspects of spirituality/religiosity when we already have so many well-tried instruments in use? One answer is that research in this field is growing and that new research questions continuously do arise. Several of these new questions cannot be easily answered with the instruments designed for previous questions. The field is expanding and, consequently, the research topics. Meanwhile several multidimensional instruments were developed which cover existential, prosocial, religious and non-religious forms of spirituality, hope, peace and trust—and several more. The ‘disadvantage’ of these instruments is the fact that some are conceptually broad and often rather unspecific, but they might be suited quite well for culturally and spiritually diverse populations when the intention is to compare such diverse groups. This is the reason why more research on new instruments is needed as can be found in this Special Issue, and to stimulate a critical debate about their pros and cons.

Arndt Büssing

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