Another good day today, inspired by Marcus's newsletter and 'coffee' with Megan, i've been thinking about religion and spirituality a lot recently. I've been wanting to write, but haven't found my voice exactly. I've today again found something i'm good at (i think) and passionate about; psychiatry and spirituality.
Chatting with Megan today about 'pagan' spirituality I found the idea of developing an evidence based framework for spiritual/alternative therapy in western psychiatry really appealing. I can see a time where (say a hundred years in the future) where it's common place for a psychiatrist to offer spiritual therapy along side the pharmacological, just another bit of the therapeutic toolkit. Anton Boisen (and other) Christian perspectives have examined the theme of therapeutic spiritually based psychiatry. I think the idea has much merit and the poetry of truth about it.
There is already facility for the broad minded western based psychiatrist to incorporate this is a 'bio-psyco-social' model under the 'social' umbrella. 'Religiosity' is not one of my favourite words BUT is has been examined recently as a factor in better mental health, i interviewed an Irish psychiatrist about it recently for radio (i'm still working on the piece).
I think the main focus should be developing any evidence out there for these 'alternative' approaches so that this ancient spiritual dimension to mental health care is re-developed and these old ways and understandings of things are very likely quite real and not lost (again).
As a hypothesis I would propose that some mental health issues that patients 'suffer' from today are caused by spiritual maladies and simple and basic (some largely forgotten as 'science' has deafened our spiritual sensitivity. That the 'delusions' and 'hallucinations' are manifestations of spiritual conflict as such could possibly be reversed by for example a Karmic approach as remedy (in concert with more 'traditional' therapy).
We once knew, we forgot and we are vaguely now aware again.
:]
Chatting with Megan today about 'pagan' spirituality I found the idea of developing an evidence based framework for spiritual/alternative therapy in western psychiatry really appealing. I can see a time where (say a hundred years in the future) where it's common place for a psychiatrist to offer spiritual therapy along side the pharmacological, just another bit of the therapeutic toolkit. Anton Boisen (and other) Christian perspectives have examined the theme of therapeutic spiritually based psychiatry. I think the idea has much merit and the poetry of truth about it.
There is already facility for the broad minded western based psychiatrist to incorporate this is a 'bio-psyco-social' model under the 'social' umbrella. 'Religiosity' is not one of my favourite words BUT is has been examined recently as a factor in better mental health, i interviewed an Irish psychiatrist about it recently for radio (i'm still working on the piece).
I think the main focus should be developing any evidence out there for these 'alternative' approaches so that this ancient spiritual dimension to mental health care is re-developed and these old ways and understandings of things are very likely quite real and not lost (again).
As a hypothesis I would propose that some mental health issues that patients 'suffer' from today are caused by spiritual maladies and simple and basic (some largely forgotten as 'science' has deafened our spiritual sensitivity. That the 'delusions' and 'hallucinations' are manifestations of spiritual conflict as such could possibly be reversed by for example a Karmic approach as remedy (in concert with more 'traditional' therapy).
We once knew, we forgot and we are vaguely now aware again.
:]
