Question

Based on your faith beliefs, are people basically good or bad? Can they be trusted or not? Give your personal belief and share how that is rooted in your religious or spiritual faith tradition. Provide a specific example that illustrates your opinion.

Answer 1

Ans) Ideas about the relationship between religiousness and mental health have changed over the past few centuries.

- During much of the 20th century, mental health professionals tended to deny the religious aspects of human life and often considered this dimension as either old-fashioned or pathological, predicting that it would disappear as mankind matured and developed. However, hundreds of epidemiological studies performed during the last decades have shown a different picture.

- Religiousness remains an important aspect of human life and it usually has a positive association with good mental health. Even though most studies have been conducted in the United States in Christian populations, in the last few years several of the main findings have been replicated in samples from different countries and religions.

- Two lines of investigation that need to be expanded are cross-cultural studies and application of these findings to clinical practice in different areas of the world.

- Considering that religiousness is frequent and has associations with mental health, it should be considered in research and clinical practice. The clinician who truly wishes to consider the bio-psycho-social aspects of a patient needs to assess, understand, and respect his/her religious beliefs, like any other psychosocial dimension.

- Increasing our knowledge of the religious aspect of human beings will increase our capacity to honor our duty as mental health providers and/or scientists in relieving suffering and helping people to live more fulfilling lives.[3]

- Religious methods have often been used to treat the mentally ill. Initially, the priest was the most important counselor because he had the authority of religion along with psychological expertise. Faith and belief systems are very important constituents of psychological well-being and could be fruitfully utilized in psychotherapy. Their usage must be carefully evaluated.

- Hence, psychiatrists need to study religion vis-a-vis mental health more carefully as it is likely to increase the efficiency and acceptability of psychiatry to the masses. Finally, religion has a great influence in psychiatry including symptoms, phenomenology, and outcome.