Spirituality and Mental Health Care

Introduction - Setting the context. Part 1 Foundations: Defining the concepts; spirituality, religion and mental health. Part 2 The evidence: Spirituality and mental health - an empirical perspective; spirituality and mental health - a service user's perspective. Part 3 Rediscovering the ''Soul'' - Effective spiritual care: Developing a model of spiritual care; spirituality and community care.

Spirituality in nursing has been sidelined for generations - being reduced largely to ascertaining the patient's religion then informing the nearest chaplain. This book makes a very strong case for the relevance of a deeper knowledge and skills base in the field of spirituality for nurses and other health care practitioners as an integral aspect of holistic care. It offers much theoretical and practical advice (e.g. giving examples of specific mental health problems such as depression and schizophrenia and suggestions for tools for spiritual assessment). It ought to be used as a core text for those who encounter people with mental health problems and who wish (ought) to embrace spirituality in everyday care.