Spiritual and Religious Competencies in Clinical Practice

The last 20 years have seen considerable developments in the relationship between spirituality and health and in spiritual literacy for clinicians – the existence of the special interest group in spirituality and psychiatry within the Royal College of Psychiatry is indicative of this phenomenon. Although the Christian background of the US is somewhat different to that of Europe, the 16 research-based guidelines about how to navigate the spiritual and religious domains of clients' lives are equally applicable. A survey of 300 psychologists revealed that 80% of them thought that psychologists should receive training in spiritual and religious competencies, while 70% of them said that they had no such training. The rationale for such training is very strong, especially as clients wish to address such issues and that spirituality and religion are links to psychological well-being.

The three parts divide the 16 competencies into attitudes, knowledge and skills, the most important of which is demonstrating empathy, respect and appreciation for clients. Psychologists also need to appreciate the increasing spiritual and religious diversity among their clients, and can be considerably challenged by beliefs that they personally find uncongenial, as some of the case histories demonstrate. It is here that becoming more self-aware about your own beliefs and their role in therapeutic relationships is critical. Other important areas include knowing the difference between spirituality and psychopathology, eliciting spiritual resources, knowledge of legal and ethical issues, ways of taking a spiritual history and acknowledging your own limits. This is essential reading for mental health professionals, but is also accessible to the general reader. The book also contains provisional training guidelines and a list of resources related to specific competencies.