1st Edition

Psychiatry and Religion Context, Consensus and Controversies

Edited By Dinesh Bhugra Copyright 2019
    252 Pages 4 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    252 Pages 4 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Psychiatry and Religion: Context, Consensus and Controversies works to eradicate the distinction between spiritual and psychological welfare and promote greater understanding of the relationship between the two.

    This book brings together chapters from fifteen mental health practitioners and pastoral workers to explore what their different philosophies have to offer the individuals in their care. As well as all the major world religions, the text also provides detailed information about newer religions and the significance of their belief systems for mental health management. The book examines the positive and negative effects that strict moral codes and religious rituals can produce and shows how awareness of these effects is crucial to the treatment of these patients.

    This classic edition of Psychiatry and Religion, with a new introduction from Dinesh Bhugra, will continue to provide an important resource to practicing and training psychiatrists.

    Table of Contents

    Dedication

    List of Contributors

    Preface for the Classic Edition

    Part I Introduction and History

    Chapter 1 Religion and Mental Heath

    Dinesh Bhugra

    Chapter 2 Religion and Psychiatry: Extending the Limits of Tolerance

    K.W.M. Fulford

    Chapter 3 Religion and Madness in History

    Maurice Lipsedge

    Part II Religions: East and West

    Chapter 4 Christianity and Psychiatry

    John Foskett

    Chapter 5 ‘The Cracked Crucible’: Judaism and Mental Health

    Howard Cooper

    Chapter 6 Psychosocial Factors and the Genesis of New African-American Religious Groups

    Ezra E.H. Griffith & Khalipha M. Bility

    Chapter 7 Hinduism and Ayurveda: Implications for Managing Mental Health

    Dinesh Bhugra

    Chapter 8 Buddhist Psychology and Implications for Treatment

    Padmal de Silva

    Chapter 9 New Religions and Mental Health

    Eileen Barker

    Chapter 10 Islamic Communities and Mental Health

    Aziz Esmail

    Part III Psychopathology, Psychiatry and Religion

    Chapter 11 Psychiatry and Religion: A General Psychiatrist’s Perspective

    John L. Cox

    Chapter 12 The Neurophysiology of Religious Experience

    Peter Fenwick

    Chapter 13 Psychopathology, Emobodiment and Religious Innovation: An Historical Instance

    Roland Littlewood

    Chapter 14 Guilt, Religion and Ritual

    Tony Nayani & Dinesh Bhugra

    Chapter 15 Mental Illness or Life Crisis? A Christian Pastoral Counselling Contribution

    Mark Sutherland

    Chapter 16 Conclusions: Religion, Mental Illness and Mental Health - The Way Forward

    Dinesh Bhugra

    Index

    Biography

    Dinesh Bhugra is Emeritus Professor of Mental Health and Cultural Diversity at the IoPPN, King's College London. He is Past-President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (2008–2011) and the World Psychiatric Association (2014–2017). He is President of the British Medical Association (2018–2019).

    Religion and spirituality are a prominent coping strategy for many of our patients, and can promote their emotional and cognitive growth. Themes related to religion may feature prominently in the ideation of several of them. An aberrant way to understand religion has become in recent years a source of conflicts and mass violence which have had an enormous impact on the mental health of thousands of people. This book is one of the most comprehensive and well-balanced sources of information, reflection and wisdom about this key dimension of our life and professional practice.

    Mario Maj, Professor of Psychiatry and Chairman at the Vanvitelli University of Naples, Italy, and Past-President of the World Psychiatric Association