Spirituality - Assignment Example

Spirituality One very significant issue with the use of religion for the treatment of mental health problems is the clash between the religious beliefs of the psychologist and the patient. The patient can only be made to benefit from the spiritual treatment if he/she whole-heartedly participates in the process, which fundamentally depends upon the patient’s approval of the psychologist’s suggestions from the religious standpoint. Hence, the religious beliefs of the psychologist need to coincide with those of the patient for both to move in the same direction.

The second significant issue with the use of spirituality to treat the patient is that it requires a great deal of effort on the part of both the psychologist and the patient. “Patients who experience their parents as rejecting, critical, controlling, angry, devaluing, or shaming often project the same characteristics onto God” (Richards et al., 1998, p. 125). Changing the patient’s perspectives is an emotionally and psychologically demanding task for the psychologist. While the psychologist may be very determined, it may be beyond his ability to motivate the patient to show the required determination.

The third significant issue is that spiritual treatment is slow. Although its effects may be longer lasting as compared to the drug treatment, yet it consumes a lot of time for the psychologist and the patient to reach the level where the patient can gain the benefits of spiritual treatment. The spiritual treatment is unlike the treatment with drugs that require minimal participation from the patient as the drugs work on their own and often have instant effects on the mind of the patient.References:Richards, P. S., Hardman, R. K., Frost, H. A., Berrett, M. E., Clark-Sly, J. B., and Anderson, D. K. (1998).

Spiritual Issues and Interventions in the Treatment of Patients with Eating Disorders Patients. AMCAP JOURNAL. 23(1): 121-144. Retrieved from https://ojs.lib.byu.edu/spc/index.php/IssuesInReligionAndPsychotherapy/article/viewFile/415/393.